Fasting-Like Diet Slows Aging, Reduces Cancer Risk

The study was first done with yeast, then with mice. A University of Southern California news release reports, researchers at the school showed that cycles of a four-day low-calorie diet that mimics fasting (FMD) cuts visceral belly fat and elevates the number of stem cells in several organs of old mice — including the brain, where it boosts neural regeneration and improves learning and memory. The researchers found that an FMD, which started at middle age, extended life span, reduced the incidence of cancer, boosted the immune system, reduced inflammatory diseases, slowed bone mineral density loss and improved the cognitive abilities of older mice. Now the USC team is testing the diet, which slashes caloric intake down to 34 to 54 percent of normal, on people, and the findings are encouraging. Three cycles of a similar diet given to 19 subjects once a month for five days decreased risk factors and biomarkers for aging, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer with no major adverse side effects. USC’s Valter Longo, director of the USC Longevity Institute and study leader, believes that for most normal people, the FMD can be done every three to six months. His group is testing its effect in a randomized clinical trial, which will be completed soon, with more than 70 subjects.