BioHax Picks / Longevity

Bone Broth itself has been around for centuries. In Chinese medicine, whose origins date back over 2,500 years, bone broth has always been used to support digestive health, as a blood builder, and to strengthen the kidneys. Then, beginning in 12th century Egypt, physician Moses Maimonides was known to prescribe chicken soup as a medicinal remedy for colds and asthma.

The bone broth diet has had a resurgence in the last ten years and is now a popular eating plan that combines the principles of intermittent fasting and the Paleo diet while also allowing you to take advantage of the benefits of bone broth.

It’s incredibly effective and can bring huge benefits from weight loss skin health, hair texture and even joint function without having to meticulously measure calories or macronutrients like many other eating plans.

What is Bone Broth?

Chicken soup isn’t just good for the soul. There’s a reason that it’s prescribed by doctors and mothers alike when you feel under the weather.

All bone broths — beef, chicken, fish, lamb and more — are staples in the traditional diets of every culture and the basis of all fine cuisine. They’re also now a staple in the Paleo diet and the keto diet. That’s because bone broths are nutrient-dense, easy to digest, rich in flavor and boost healing.

Bone broth or stock was a way our ancestors made use of every part of an animal. Bones and marrow, skin and feet, tendons and ligaments that you can’t eat directly can be boiled and then simmered over a period of days. This simmering causes the bones and ligaments to release healing compounds like collagen, proline, glycine and glutamine that have the power to transform your health.

Nutrition researchers Sally Fallon and Kaayla Daniel of the Weston A. Price Foundation explain that bone broths contain minerals in forms that your body can easily absorb:

• calcium
• magnesium
• phosphorus
• silicon
• sulphur
• and others

They contain chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine, the compounds sold as pricey supplements to reduce inflammation, arthritis and joint pain.

A study of chicken soup (broth) conducted by the University of Nebraska Medical Center wondered what it was in the soup that made it so beneficial for colds and flu. Researchers found that the amino acids that were produced when making chicken stock reduced inflammation in the respiratory system and improved digestion.

Also, research proves it can also boost the immune system and heal disorders like allergies, asthma and arthritis.

What Is a Bone Broth Diet?

By Dr Josh Axe, Functional Medicine Doctor & Nutritionist.

The bone broth diet plan is a meal plan that involves cycling between following a Paleo diet five days per week and fasting for two days weekly over a period of 21 days. The 21-day bone broth diet plan was first made popular by Dr. Kellyann Petrucci, a nutritionist who wrote several bone broth diet book resources, such as “Dr. Kellaynn’s Bone Broth Diet.”

It involves eating one to three servings of bone broth per day each day, alongside a diet rich in whole, unprocessed foods for five days per week. During these days, grains, gluten, soy, dairy and sugar should also be restricted. Two days per week, you should fast and consume only bone broth for all of your snacks and meals throughout the day.

Proponents of the plan claim that the bone broth diet results in quick weight loss, better skin, improved gut health and decreased inflammation. Let’s take a look at a few of the potential ways that the diet can enhance overall health.

Health Benefits

1. Supports Weight Loss

Many people use the bone broth diet for weight loss, and for good reason. In fact, there are plenty of bone broth diet reviews out there claiming that it can help shed stubborn pounds and jump-start weight loss within a matter of days.

So how does bone broth help you lose weight? The diet plan swaps out processed foods and unhealthy ingredients for nutritious whole foods while also bumping up your intake of protein, which has been shown to reduce appetite and caloric intake to support weight loss.

It also involves the practice of intermittent fasting, which can decrease levels of specific hormones responsible for controlling hunger while also improving overall body composition.

2. Decreases Inflammation

Although acute inflammation is an important process used by the immune system to protect against invaders and ward off infection, sustaining high levels of inflammation long term is thought to be at the root of chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes and cancer. The bone broth diet may help decrease inflammation, which can be especially beneficial for those suffering from autoimmune conditions, such as Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and rheumatoid arthritis.

It works by pairing bone broth — an ingredient that contains anti-inflammatory compounds like collagen — with intermittent fasting, a practice that has been linked to decrease markers of inflammation as well.

3. Promotes Gut Health

Thanks to its anti-inflammatory effects, the bone broth diet can help support gut health and protect against leaky gut syndrome. Leaky gut syndrome is a condition caused by changes in the permeability of the intestinal lining, which allows particles and toxins to pass from the digestive system to the blood, resulting in inflammation.

Studies show that collagen, one of the main compounds found in bone broth, helps strengthen the lining of the gut, which could potentially aid in the prevention of leaky gut.

4. May Improve Joint Function

If you suffer from chronic joint pain, swelling or stiffness, adding bone broth to your routine may be beneficial. This is because it’s a great source of collagen, which helps restore cartilage and keep the joints healthy.

According to a study published in Current Medical Research and Opinion, supplementing with collagen was found  to be effective at decreasing activity-related joint pain in athletes within just six months.

5. Keeps Skin Healthy

Bone broth is great for slowing the signs of aging to keep skin healthy and hydrated. In fact, studies show that the collagen found in bone broth could improve skin elasticity and moisture in older women. Although more research is needed, some also report improvements in cellulite and stretch marks thanks to the beneficial effects of bone broth and collagen on connective tissue cells.

Who Should Follow This Diet?

For most healthy adults, the bone broth soup diet is safe and associated with minimal adverse side effects. It may be especially useful for those looking to boost weight loss, improve joint function, support healthy digestion and decrease inflammation. To determine if the diet is right for you, try following a seven-day bone broth diet plan to see how you feel. There are plenty of bone broth diet tips and resources out there that can help ease the transition and maximize its potential effectiveness.

However, the bone broth diet may not be right for everyone. Women who are pregnant and nursing, for example, should not follow the bone broth diet and should instead focus on consuming a well-rounded, nutrient-rich diet. Those with underlying health conditions like diabetes or kidney disease should also consult with their doctors before considering the bone broth diet.

How to Follow a Bone Broth Diet

The bone broth diet involves following a healthy diet five days per week and consuming only bone broth twice per week, similar to intermittent fasting. The diet should be followed for 21 days in total, with six days of bone broth fasting and 15 days of eating over the course of the entire plan. Fasting days should be separated by at least one regular day of eating in between.

During the days that you do eat, you should consume one to three cups of bone broth per day as snacks and limit ingredients such as sugar, dairy, soy, grains, gluten and processed foods. On fasting days, stick to one cup of bone broth for each meal and snack, plus unlimited liquids such as water or herbal tea.

Here is a sample bone broth diet meal plan for both an eating day and bone broth fasting day to help get you started:

Click here for organic bone broth in both beef, chicken and beef and vegetable stew broth.

Sample Eating Day:

• Breakfast: Eggs Benedict
• Snack: 1 cup beef or chicken bone broth
• Lunch: Vegetable Beef Barley Soup with side salad
• Snack: 1 cup beef or chicken bone broth
• Dinner: Blackened Salmon with Creamy Avocado Dressing and roasted broccoli

Sample Bone Broth Fasting Day:

• Breakfast: 1 cup beef or chicken bone broth
• Snack: 1 cup beef or chicken bone broth
• Lunch: 1 cup beef or chicken bone broth
• Snack: 1 cup beef or chicken bone broth
• Dinner: 1 cup beef or chicken bone broth

Recipes

What can you eat on the bone broth diet? Although the diet involves fasting two days per week, enjoying a variety of nutritious, healthy foods during the days that you do eat is just as important to ensuring success. Fortunately, there are plenty of bone broth diet recipe ideas out there, making it easy to fill your week with delicious meals on the days that you do eat. Need some inspiration? Here are a few bone broth diet recipes to help get you started:

• Moo Shu Chicken Lettuce Wraps
• Grain-Free Apple Crisp
• Cauliflower Steak with Italian Seasoning
• Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
• Paleo Protein Pancakes

Risks and Side Effects

While the bone broth cleanse diet can be beneficial for many, with most shedding between 4-8 kilos in the first week, there are several health conditions where heavy medication is being taken that need to be considered, so it’s always best to talk to your doctor before making any dietary changes in those instances.

The bone broth diet is also not recommended for those who have been told by their health practitioner to follow a vegan or vegetarian diet. Also note that the diet is intended to be a short-term plan and should not be followed for long periods of time.

Additionally, keep in mind that not all bone broth is created equal and should come from organically kept animals. So what is the best bone broth to buy if you are on the bone broth diet? Be sure to purchase a product from a reputable retailer and select a supplement that is free of fillers, artificial sweeteners and chemicals. Alternatively, you can try making your own bone broth at home using a simple slow cooker recipe. This puts you in full control of what’s going on your plate to help maximise the potential health benefits of the bone broth diet.

Dr. Terry Wahls stunned the medical community by reversing painful symptoms of MS. The foundation of her protocol: food.

DR Wahls is truly a medical marvel and is a prime example of what it means to use food as medicine.

In 2000, Dr. Wahls was diagnosed with a chronic neurological disorder, secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, which confined her to a tilt-recline wheelchair for four years. As a physician who was initially very skeptical of using wellness interventions to treat her disease, Dr. Wahls found herself exploring all options to heal and minimise the pain, as conventional medicine had zero effect given there is no cure for MS.

In 2007, Dr. Wahls discovered Functional Medicine and based on clinical studies completed on animals; she then applied those findings and outcomes to treat and manage her disease using the power of food and lifestyle changes.

Today, Dr. Wahls has gone from being virtually bedridden to completing an 18-mile bicycle tour.

With this inspiring story and further developing her own protocol, Dr. Wahls has been helping people all over the world to treat their autoimmune conditions.

Dr. Terry Wahls is a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Iowa. She is also the author of The Wahls Protocol: “How I Beat Progressive MS Using Paleo Principles and Functional Medicine” and the cookbook “The Wahls Protocol Cooking for Life: The Revolutionary Modern Paleo Plan to Treat All Chronic Autoimmune Conditions.”

The foundation of her protocol focuses on food and includes a whopping 18 servings of vegetables a day. This dietary protocol is so nutrient dense that it was able to help her body and immune system heal.

This video highlights the plant foods, proteins, and fats that Dr. Wahls incorporates, how she developed this disease and the overall remedy. She also discusses lifestyle changes including meditation, stress reduction, movement, and much more.

Image credit: Sunrise on Twitter

Dr. Wahls’ story is an incredible story of hope and proof that what we eat and how we live matters, especially when it comes to optimizing health and improving quality of life.

So, if you have an autoimmune disease or know someone that does, this video is truly inspiring and definitely worth the time to find out how we can reduce symptoms of these diseases. 

Dr Mark Hyman has dedicated his life to tackling the root causes of chronic disease through the power of function medicine and believes we all deserve a life of vitality. He is also the Medical Director at Cleveland Clinic’s Centre for Functional Medicine, Fonder of The UltraWellness Centre and a ten-time #1 New York Times Bestselling author.

Dementia is a very big problem that’s becoming bigger every day.

Statistics from the US show 10% of 65-year-olds, 25% of 75-year-olds and 50% of 85-year-olds will get dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. It’s predicted that Alzheimer’s will affect 106 million people by the year 2020 and is the seventh leading cause of death in the world.

Type 3 diabetes is a term used when Alzheimer’s is triggered by insulin resistance in the brain. This condition is used to describe people who have type 2 diabetes and are also diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia.

Diabetes itself refers to a condition where the body has difficulty converting sugar to usable energy and there are two other kinds of diabetes:

Type 1 Diabetes - is a chronic health condition in which your body doesn’t produce enough of the hormone insulin. There is currently no cure for diabetes. Neither type 1 (juvenile onset or insulin-requiring) diabetes or type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes ever goes away.

Type 2 Diabetes - is a chronic condition in which your body develops resistance to insulin, and your blood sugar level becomes very high as a result. Both genetics and environmental factors such as being overweight and inactive are contributing factors. If you have prediabetes lifestyle changes such as eating healthy organic foods and being active can slow or stop the progression.

What’s the link between Alzheimer’s and diabetes?

New research shows insulin resistance, or what Dr Mark Hyman calls “diabesity” (from eating too many carbs and sugar and not enough fat) is one of the major factors that starts the brain-damage cascade, which robs the memory of over half the people in their 80s, leading to a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.

Here’s the bad news/good news from Dr Hyman:

“Eating sugar and refined carbs can cause pre-dementia and dementia. But cutting out the sugar and refined carbs and adding lots of fat can prevent, and even reverse, pre-dementia and early dementia. Sugar causes pre-diabetes and diabetes, which often leads to significant memory loss.

Chronic stress takes a toll on your body and brain. Stress shrinks the hippocampus, the memory center of the brain. So, find your pause button every day and make time for some stress relief. Relaxation isn’t a luxury if you want to prevent or reverse dementia. Whether that involves deep breathing, meditation, or yoga, find something that helps you calm down.

Lack of sleep can cause impaired brain function, leading to CRAFT syndrome, which stands for “can’t remember a _____ thing.” Studies show poor sleep becomes a risk factor for cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease. Aim for at least 8 hours of quality sleep every night.

We now know that physical activity can prevent and even slow down the progression of cognitive decline and brain diseases like dementia. Even a 30-minute walk can help. More active readers might want to incorporate high-intensity interval training or weightlifting.”

Here are the symptoms, diagnosis, causes and prevention methods outlined by Healthline:

Symptoms of type 3 diabetes

The symptoms of type 3 diabetes are the same as symptoms of dementia or early Alzheimer’s. These symptoms include:  

• memory loss that affects daily living and social interactions
• difficulty completing familiar tasks
• misplacing things often
• decreased ability to make judgements based on information
• sudden changes in personality or demeanour

Diagnosis of type 3 diabetes

There’s no specific test for Alzheimer’s or type 3 diabetes. Your doctor will ask several questions about your family history and your symptoms. Brain imaging, like MRIs and CT scans, can give your doctor a picture of how your brain is working. Cerebrospinal fluid tests can also look for indicators of Alzheimer’s.

If you have the symptoms of type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s and haven’t been diagnosed with either one, you may be sent for a fasting blood sugar test and a glycated hemoglobin test.

If you do have type 2 diabetes, it’s essential that you begin treatment for it. Treating type 2 diabetes could minimize damage to your brain and slow the progression of Alzheimer’s or dementia.

The average life expectancy for a person with Alzheimer’s is 8 to 10 years from the time that they’re diagnosed. But some people with Alzheimer’s can live as many as 20 years post-diagnosis.

Causes and risk factors for type 3 diabetes

People who have type 2 diabetes may be up to 60 percent more likelyTrusted Source to develop Alzheimer’s or dementia. One studyTrusted Source of over 100,000 subjects with dementia pointed out that women with type 2 diabetes had a higher probability of developing vascular dementia than men.

Risk factors for type 2 diabetes include:

• a family history of diabetes
• high blood pressure
• being overweight or obese
• certain chronic health conditions, such as depression and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)

Preventing type 3 diabetes

If you already have type 2 diabetes, there are ways that you can lower your risk for developing type 3. Here are some of the proven methods for controlling type 2 diabetes and minimizing organ damage:

• Exercise four times per week for 30 minutes per day.
• Eat healthy foods rich in protein and high in fibre.
• Carefully monitor your blood sugar according to your health team’s recommendations.
• Take any prescribed medications on schedule and with regularity.
• Monitor your cholesterol levels.
• Maintain a healthy weight.

Type 3 Diabetes: The Connection between Alzheimer’s and Metabolic Syndrome

Scientists now calls Alzheimer’s disease “Type 3 diabetes.” What’s the link between Alzheimer’s and diabetes? Dr Mark Hyman explains how new research shows insulin resistance - diabesity (from eating too many carbs and sugar and not enough fat) is one of major factors that starts the brain-damage cascade, which robs the memory of over half the people in their 80s, leading to a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.

Mark Hyman, MD released his original series of 8 documentaries called “The Broken Brain.”  In this series he interviews over 50 experts who explain the sweeping epidemic of broken brains, manifesting as anxiety, depression, ADHD, autism, Alzheimer’s, bipolar disorder, even traumatic brain injury, and a host of other mental disorders.

Dr Hyman is one of the worlds most recognised functional medical practitioners and is also the Medical Director at Cleveland Clinic’s Centre for Functional Medicine, Founder of The Ultra Wellness Centre, and ten-time #1 New York Times Best-selling author.

The second docu-series aptly called “Broken Brain 2,” goes into even more details about the food, gut, heart and brain connection.

Subtle symptoms that can lead to broken brains poor memory, poor quality of sleep, difficulty with concentration, brain fog, etc. Even if you think you are healthy, you might be ignoring these signs and could improve and optimize your well-being through awareness and action.  

He believes everything you do to your body; you do to your brain and other vital organs. That the body is an intricate designed and connective system:

“The epidemic of broken brains is not getting any better. Alzheimer’s disease will affect 30 percent (and some experts say 50 percent) of people over 85 years old. Psychiatric disorders affect 26 percent of our adult population or over 60 million Americans. These are just some of the statistics. It’s time we put a stop to this epidemic,” Dr Hyman states.

Below is an extract from the highlight reel of Broken Brain 2:

“How is it that over 26% of adults in America are suffering from a diagnosable mental disorder? Or that over the last decade depression rates rose 18% and now its estimated 322 million people around the WORLD suffer from depressive disorders? Almost 18% of Americans are affected by anxiety disorders and by all accounts – it’s on the rise especially in the younger generation. Something is very wrong here! With all the advancements in modern medicine, why are we still seeing a growing number of broken brains?

Every other part of the body affects the brain – our digestive health, hormonal health, they quality of our gut bacteria, the strength of our mitochondria, and our immune system all effects the brain. The brain and heart have always been connected and there’s constant messages being sent both ways, so as it turns out the heart is also a key player in how well the brain functions.

Depression is not necessarily a chemical imbalance, its caused by inflammation and any kind of systemic inflammation is going to affect every system in the body. There’s been numerous studies to show that when we’re eating a lot of refined carbohydrates and a lot of sugary foods, we’re at a much higher risk of depression and anxiety but were also able to see negative changes in the brain. We also know that we can ramp up the inflammatory process in our body by just eating one meal!

So often my patients ask me “how can I transform my health and wake up feeling good every single day?” I tell them it takes inspiration; it takes intention and practical tools that we can use every day. I’ve lead thousands of patients to a life of joy and vibrancy and I want this for you to. I want you to wake up every single morning and give your highest gifts to the world – we’re taking a hands-on approach to brain health and I know you’re going to love it!”

Register here for free viewing of this ground breaking 8-part documentary series: BrokenBrain.com.

One element missing from most people’s diets is a bit of roughage to help with removing waste. Fiber is essential to normalise our digestive health, as it feeds the good bacteria in you GI tract, which assists beyond adequate bowel movements.

What most people don’t know is the ketogenic diet (or keto diet) has been practiced for more than nine decades since the 1920s. It is known for being a low carb, high fat diet, based on a solid understanding of physiology and nutrition science.

When you eat food that is high in carbohydrates the body will produce both glucose and insulin in the following manner:

• Glucose is the easiest and first molecule for your body to convert and use as energy
• Insulin is also produced and is used to process the glucose in your bloodstream by taking it around the body.

Given glucose is the main source of energy, the body doesn’t tap into fats as an energy source and are therefore not stored. This means the higher your diet is in carbohydrates; the body will always go to glucose for its main source of energy rather than fat. When you lower the intake of carbs it forces the body into what is known as a state of ketosis.

Ketosis is there from when we’re born and are only able to feed from our mothers’ milk. It helps the body survive when food intake is minimal. When in ketosis, we produce what’s known as keytones, which assists in breaking down fat in the liver.

The main purpose of maintaining a keto diet is to force the body into a metabolic state through starvation of carbohydrates – NOT calories. When the body has a higher rate of fat than carbohydrates it will begin to burn ketones (fat) as opposed to glucose as the primary source of energy.

So by changing our “fuel source” (from sugar to keytones) the body remains energized. This assists greatly with our general health, weight loss and both physical and mental performance.

Image credit: Perfect Keto

The National Institute of Health (NIH) recommend 25-31 grams of fiber per day, which is also dependant on age and gender.

The keto diet has been successful for millions of people around the world as it specifically targets the, underlying causes of weight gain. Dr Axe explains how this includes “hormonal imbalances, especially insulin resistance coupled with high blood sugar levels, and the cycle of restricting and “binging” on empty calories due to hunger that so many dieters struggle with. In fact, these are some of the direct benefits of the keto diet.”

Dr Axe continues, “Making that switch will place your body in a state of “ketosis,” when your body becomes a fat burner rather than a sugar burner. Fortunately, if you’re new to this type of eating plan, a keto diet for beginners, or keto basics, is surprising simple to follow. Here’s how to do the keto diet:

1. Reduce one’s carb intake.
2. Increase your consumption of healthy fats, which help create satiety.
3. Without glucose coursing through your body, it’s now forced to burn fat and produce ketones instead.
4. Once the blood levels of ketones rise to a certain point, you officially reach ketosis.
5. This state results in consistent, fairly quick weight loss until your body reaches a healthy and stable weight.”

Image credit: My Know Brainer

THE BENEFITS OF THE KETOGENIC DIET

In today’s video, Dr Axe (Doctor of Functional Medicine) has shared the benefits of a ketogenic diet. Ketogenic diets can actually help weight loss, cancer (as cancer feeds off sugar), and even Alzheimer’s disease. When you are on a ketogenic diet, you are putting your body into a state of ketosis, which means your body is burning fat for energy rather than carbohydrates. The ketogenic diet could be the best diet for fat loss, however he doesn't believe anyone should be on this diet for more than 3-6 months. The reason why this diet works so effectively is your body stops feeding on sugar and starts burning fat. The diet consists of about 80% fats, 10% carbohydrates, and 10% protein.

The question is: what’s more important - counting calories or the effect food has on your hormone levels when consumed?  And it seems the modern-day educated health and wellness consumer has already made that decision.

Weight Watchers International Inc (now known as WW), have suffered their worst week since going public more than 18 years ago after trading analysts have turned on the companies’ earnings and sustainable long-term vision.

On September 25, Weight Watchers (now 57-years-old) slimmed down its name to just “WW,” with the tagline “Wellness that works,” in the hope it cold fatten its customer base, however the company WTW, + 2.47% reported fourth-quarter results that vastly missed expectations and profit that was less than half of what was projected.

CEO of WW, Mindy Grossman stood firm on her stance regarding Keto saying “crazes” and diet fads come and go, so the company was not going to change its DNA based on calorie counting. The keto (or ketogenic diet) is approximately 70% high quality fat, 20% adequate protein and 10% low carbohydrate intake, which forces the body to burn fat rather than carbohydrates.

“We’ve lived through this [competition from trend diets] for 57 years and we’re not going to play a game and we never have,” Grossman said on the post-earnings call, according to a transcript provided by FacSet.

“We’re going to be science informed and we’re sustainable for the long term,” she said.

Current investors in WW are undecided if the brand has a strong future in keeping up with the wellness marketplace, or it’s just a case of the world’s greatest brand influencer (Oprah Winfrey, major shareholder), using her celebrity status to save this old-school weight-loss company that no longer connects with its core demographic being middle-aged female customers.

Dr Jospeh Mercola talks us through how ketones mimic and support benefits of fasting:

‘’It is more than arguable that the ketogenic diet as another “craze” destined to eventually fade away, as there is now plenty of evidence in functional medicine to suggest nutritional ketosis is a most natural way of eating for health and weight management. However, this cannot be said the reverse for the WW program.

As noted in a 2014 article on ketotic.org, “Newborn infants are in ketosis. This is their normal state.”3 The article makes a compelling argument for ketogenic metabolism being “normal and desirable” because babies are in ketosis when born, and breast milk is ketogenic, so they remain in ketosis for as long as they’re breastfeeding.

Ketones — water-soluble fats your liver produces when converting fats into energy — appear to be particularly crucial during brain development.4 The article also presents the hypothesis that:

“… [E]xtending the period of ketosis after breastfeeding, by weaning onto ketogenic foods such as homemade broth and fatty meat, rather than cereal, fruit and starchy vegetables, would further promote brain development and reduce risk of disease.”

Moreover, research has confirmed that many biological repair and rejuvenation processes take place in the absence of food, and this is another reason why all-day grazing trigger biological dysfunction. In a nutshell, your body was designed to:

1. Run on fat as its primary fuel, which you do on a ketogenic diet, and
2. Cycle through periods of feast and famine, which you do when intermittently fasting

Indeed, we know that ketones mimic the life span-extending properties of calorie restriction (fasting), which includes improved glucose metabolism, reduced inflammation, clearing out malfunctioning immune cells, and reduced IGF-1, which is one of the factors that regulate growth pathways and growth genes and is a major player in accelerated aging and cellular/intracellular regeneration and rejuvenation (autophagy and mitophagy in the mitochondria).’’

How Fasting can Improve your Health, Reverse Disease & Improve Mental Clarity

Fasting can trigger stem cell regeneration, as well as weight loss. It is also one of the oldest known dietary interventions and is still practiced is some of the world’s most ancient religions. Modern science also confirms it can have a profoundly beneficial influence on your health.

Dr. Jason Fung is a nephrologist (kidney specialist) with a thriving practice located in Canada, who has written a comprehensive, well researched and studied book on this topic.

"The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting," details how to implement and fast safely.

The book provides easy-to-follow guidelines for fasting and addresses some of the most common myths and fears that the general public may have from implementing a fasting regimen.

One common myth with men is that fasting will lead to loss of muscle mass, and of course nobody wants that outcome. However, the book clearly describes the process of protein catabolism (metabolic pathways that break down molecules that are oxidized and released as energy or for other anabolic reactions), and details how your body actually decrease protein catabolism and increases growth hormones in response to fasting.

Most people associate fasting with decreased levels of energy, however it’s scientifically proven to be the opposite. If you're overweight and/or continually lethargic, fasting helps unlock all that energy trapped in your body that you previously had no access to. Fasting forces your body to start accessing those stores of energy, and once that happens, your body suddenly has a near unlimited supply of energy.

Understanding the Role of Insulin

Insulin is the primary hormone (followed by cortisol to a lesser degree) that tells your body whether to store energy or burn it. When you eat, you're taking calories in and insulin goes up and the body stores some as energy. When insulin falls (like when you sleep or fasting), it tells your body to release that insulin as energy.

We’ve been sold this idea where we think we need to eat small, more consistent meals a day it will help us lose weight and it doesn’t actually make sense. When you eat or assuming you eat a mix of macro nutrients, your sugar levels go up and tells our body to store some of that food energy.

When you don’t eat insulin falls (like sleeping), the body then pulls it back out what you’ve stored so you can burn it – so there’s a balance. When you eat you store food energy, when you don’t eat you burn food energy – balance the food and you won’t gain weight.  Keep eating and it’s going to make you continue to put on weight.

From 1977 – 2004 we went from eating our basic mix of three main meals a day (protein, carbs and fats) to six smaller, but more frequent meals a day, which means we’re eating for longer periods during the day (about 14-15 hours of the day) and causes regular spikes in our insulin, fat storing levels.  

Where as in 1977 we only ate breakfast, lunch and dinner, no snacks, that’s it – eating between a 10-hour period and fasting (sleeping) for 14 hours a day. Eating for longer periods is not giving our bodies the time it needs to burn the energy, which turns to fat. So if we want to lose weight, don’t eat high insulin foods and give your body the chance to not eat so your insulin levels can fall and you can burn it.

Below is an extract from one of Dr Fung’s Interviews on “The Complete Guide to Fasting”

“For people who are into athletics, for example, you might do some different fast. There’s something called training in the fasted state, which is becoming very popular, which is again about a 20-, 24-hour fast. Then you exercise, then you eat.

That sounds very strange, but physiologically, there’s a huge number of benefits because what happens is when your adrenaline goes up, your growth hormone goes up.

Those two hormones are considered part of the counter regulatory hormones. That is, they run counter to insulin, so insulin tends to lower blood glucose, noradrenaline or adrenaline, and growth hormone tend to raise blood glucose, so as your insulin falls, you have higher levels noradrenaline and growth hormone.

Now you exercise, and you can exercise harder than you’ve done before because you’re pumped up from all the adrenaline. Then as you eat, your growth hormone levels are high, so you recover faster. So train harder, recover faster. That’s a huge advantage if you’re talking about any athletics. It’s an advantage you can’t ignore. That’s merely from adjusting your timing.

Another advantage of fasting, for example, some people find they have much higher mental clarity. Again, people think, oh I don’t eat, I’m going to not be able to concentrate. It’s actually the exact opposite.

If you think about a time you’re eating a huge meal, like at Thanksgiving or something, you had that huge meal, you’re not really sharp, right? All you can do is kind of sit on the couch and watch football. That’s about it.

Whereas on the other hand, when you think about somebody and you say, “Oh that guy’s really hungry,” you know, he’s hungry for success, he’s hungry for power. Does that mean he’s just sitting on the couch watching TV? No, it means he’s energized and out there getting stuff. That’s what it means when you’re hungry. You don’t have all that blood kind of digesting food, so your brain is sharp. Some people really feel that.

There’s a whole group of people out in Silicon Valley who do this as a sort of a biohack, that is, they’re trying to hack themselves into a higher level of mental performance, not just athletic performance, but mental performance. What they do is they fast and guess what? You’re saving time because you don’t have to eat, you don’t have to shop, you don’t have to clean up, so you get more work done, but the work that you do is on a higher level than you used to do. That’s fantastic because that’s free. It’s like, okay, if you’re in a competition in Silicon Valley, a higher level of mental performance means a lot of money.

It’s the difference between success and failure. For these guys, they’re like, okay, they’re going to hack themselves into a higher level of performance, and that’s terrific.

Then there’s the story of Pythagoras, the ancient Greek mathematician, required his students to fast before they could come to class. All these ancient Greek thinkers actually did a lot of fasting. Socrates, Plato and all those famous scholars. They did it not because they were fat, they did it because they knew that it gave them more mental clarity. We still talk about the classic Greek philosophers, right, the great Greek mathematicians.

Then you can talk about things like cancer prevention, I know we touched on that briefly, but there’s people who feel, and the research is more shady here, that you can actually prevent cancers from developing because cancers need glucose, and what happens when you fast is that you kind of lock down all that glucose and you kind of starve them out. There are people who suggest that you can actually do this in combination with say ketogenic diets and actually help prevent cancers.”

Why you Shouldn’t Fear Fasting with Dave Asprey & Dr. Jason Fung

What do Jesus, The Prophet Mohammed, and Buddha have in common? They all practiced fasting. Dr. Jason Fung and author Jimmy Moore reveal the numerous benefits of fasting. A process that can help people lose weight, improve brain function, promote longevity, speed up the metabolism, strengthen the immune system, and contribute to self-enlightenment. Plus, they'll also address one of the main reasons most people have never attempted to fast. Fear.

The Basic Principles of Eating
by Dr. Mark Hyman

We are all genetically unique and need to find a way of eating that matches our personal needs, but also considers the worlds ever-increasing toxic environment. Rather than waiting for disease to set in (reactionary), we should focus on preventive health care (proactive), and there are some basic guidelines we can follow to achieve and maintain optimal health. The goal is not to be perfect, but rather to have simple guiding principles to keep us healthy for years to come.

Dr. Mark Hyman is a popular American physician dedicated to tackling the cause of all chronic disease and Director of the Cleveland Clinic Centre for functional medicine. He is a ten-time #1 New Your Times best-selling author; “Eat Fat, Get Thin”, medical contributor on Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, Today Show, CNN and The Dr. Oz show. An internationally recognised leader, speaker, author and advocate in his field, he is also the founder of The Ultra Wellness Centre, medical editor of The Huffington Post and chairman of the board of the Institute for Functional Medicine. In short, he’s got all the right credentials.

Below are Dr Hyman’s top 12 principles for eating well:

1) Stay away from sugar.
This means a diet low in anything that causes a spike in our insulin production--sugar, flour, & refined carbs.

Can sugar impact cancer risk?
In a study completed at the University of Texas published in 2016, it found high amounts of sugar influenced enzymatic signalling pathways otherwise known as 12-LOX (12-lipoxygenase) that increases the risk of breast cancer.

2) Eat mostly plants.
70-80% of your diet should be from veggies, nuts & seeds. Stick with mostly non-starchy veggies; go easy on the potatoes.

3) Go easy on fruits.
Eat 8-10 servings of fruit and veggies a day; only 2-3 should be fruit. It is easy to overindulge on grapes, pineapple & sugary fruits & forget about your veggies.

4) Stay away from toxins and inflammatory additives.
Including foods that are non-organic and contain pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, hormones, GMO foods, chemicals, food additives, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, dyes.

5) Eat healthy fats.
Eat omega-3 fats from small wild fish, extra virgin olive oil, nuts & seeds, avocados, whole eggs, grass-fed meats, grass-fed butter or ghee, virgin coconut oil & MCT oil.



6) Stay away from refined oils processed with heat, solvents and deodorizers.
This means almost all vegetable oils including canola, safflower, corn & especially soybean oil.

7) Avoid or limit dairy.
Especially from modern dairy cows. If you want to eat some, stick with goat or sheep milk & cheese. Always go organic and grass-fed.


8) Meat should be a side dish.
Think of meat and animal products as a condiment or “condi-meat.” Eat grass-fed & sustainably raised to avoid the health & environmental consequences of factory-farmed meat. Broth should be consumed if you have digestive issues, an inflammatory disease or leaky gut syndrome.

9) Eat sustainably farmed or harvested seafood that is low in mercury.
Stick with what Dr Hyman refers to as wild SMASH fish (salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, herring).

10) Avoid gluten.
Modern wheat is not healthy. It has more starch, more gluten, is addictive and contains harmful preservatives.



11) Eat small amounts of gluten free grains.
Especially less if you are overweight, have digestive problems or have an autoimmune disease.

12) Eat beans as a side dish, not a staple.

Are you confused about what to eat? 
Dr. Mark Hyman explains why...