Intermittent Fasting and Heart Disease Risks.

Is Intermittent Fasting Bad For Your Heart? What to Know
Medically Reviewed by Neha Pathak, MD, FACP, DipABLM on March 22, 2024
Written by Eliott C. McLaughlin
Overheated Media Headlines
Correlation Is Not Causation
Response From Study Authors
5 min read

Does intermittent fasting raise your risk of death from heart disease? That’s what you might think from headlines about early research presented at a recent American Heart Association conference – drawing skepticism from experts and cautions from the researchers themselves.
Here’s what you should know.
Overheated Media Headlines
The American Heart Association issued a news release headlined: “8-hour time-restricted eating linked to a 91% higher risk of cardiovascular death.”
Media outlets piled on with headlines saying some forms of intermittent fasting – a diet plan where food intake is limited on certain days or in certain hours of the day – “may pose risks to your heart” or “could lead to much higher risk” of death, contradicting research showing time-restricted eating can improve heart health factors such as insulin sensitivity, inflammation, obesity, and cholesterol levels.

Among other study findings, according to the AHA news release:
Those with heart disease or cancer also saw an increased risk of cardiovascular death
Among people with heart disease, eating in a window that’s no less than 8 but less than 10 hours a day was linked to a 66% higher risk of death from heart disease or stroke.
Fasting did not reduce the risk of death from any cause.
Those conclusions are premature and misleading, says Christopher Gardner, PhD, a professor of medicine at Stanford University and director of nutrition studies at the school’s Prevention Research Center, who commented on an abstract of the study for the AHA news release before study results were presented in Chicago.

Christopher Gardner, PhD
Gardner tells WebMD that people in the study group who consumed all their food in a daily window of 8 hours or fewer had a higher percentage of men, African Americans, and smokers, and they had a higher BMI than those who ate over longer time spans – any of which could’ve raised the group’s heart disease risk. Also, investigators lacked data on shift work, stress, and other variables, including the important element of the quality of nutrients in their diets, which alone might have provided another explanation, he says.
As with all experts in this story, including the study’s co-authors, Gardner pointed out this research provides no reason to stop intermittent fasting if you currently see benefits.
Gardner, who isn’t a proponent of intermittent fasting, summarized in an email his thoughts on what he feels is the overstatement of the research:
“This particular finding is PRELIMINARY and should be treated with HEALTHY SKEPTICISM, and should await PEER-REVIEW before it receives any additional media coverage.”
In response to questions about the study and the presentation of findings, the AHA said its intention is always “to promote ideas and supporting research – in context – that stimulate and provoke discovery.”
The abstract, news release, and news article were reviewed by scientific experts, the AHA says, and the release included context and background indicating a link, not causality, and it said readers should always consult their doctors before changing their diet.
“We understand and regret that some news stories did not properly include this important context and did not report on this study for what it is – a single study contributing to the larger body of evidence. We will continue our efforts to educate and counsel journalists in this regard,” the statement says.
Correlation Is Not Causation
Questions remain, says Jason Fung, MD, a nephrologist who has written articles and books on intermittent fasting, including The Obesity Code.
With their headlines, Fung feels, the AHA and media made correlation tantamount to causation, a mistake that would get any first-year medical student a failing grade, he says.
“The whole thing is just outrageous.”
Jason Fung, MD
Just because there’s a link between shorter eating windows and bad health outcomes in a particular population doesn’t mean the eating window caused the outcome, Fung says.
For example, he says, research shows you’re more likely to drown if you’ve recently eaten ice cream. It would be easy to conclude that eating ice cream leads to drowning. Yet a closer look shows people eat more ice cream in warmer weather, when they’re more likely to swim and drown. Thus, ice cream correlates with drowning but doesn’t cause drowning.uuu
Another issue, Fung says, is that the study data was taken from a health and nutrition survey done by the CDC between 2003 and 2018, when intermittent fasting was largely unknown as a way to manage health. Most people skipping meals before 2018 weren’t trying to improve their health. They were ignoring what was then standard dietary guidance, he says. It could be that people in this group were more likely to have poor eating habits and diet.
Krista Varady, PhD
In addition, study authors used just 2 days of self-reported eating activity to estimate 16 years of dietary habits, says Krista Varady, PhD, a kinesiology and nutrition professor at the University of Illinois, Chicago, and co-author of several fasting studies.
“I think the conclusions are extremely overstated,” she says. “Two days of diet record data is NOT at all reflective of an individual’s regular eating pattern – this is a major limitation to the study.”
“The science is very, very sloppy. You expect better,” Fung says.
Response From Study Authors
Study co-author JoAnn Manson, MD, MPH, DrPH, a Harvard University professor of medicine, said in a statement, “Correlation doesn’t prove causation, and we’ll need more research to understand whether the observed associations are cause and effect.”
Randomized clinical trials are necessary to test whether the timing of meals or duration of fasting changes health outcomes. Until those trials, she says, the links “shouldn’t lead to alarm or to changes in one’s preferred and long-term dietary habits.”
Another co-author, Victor Wenze Zhong, PhD, a professor and chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in China, acknowledged that despite controlling for many demographics and health factors, “This is only an observational study that is subject to many limitations.”
The findings do not mean a shorter eating window causes cardiovascular death, he says, but given the lack of long-term data on time-restricted eating, patients should be “extremely cautious” before following the diet for years. Zhong insists in the news release, “Our research clearly shows … a shorter eating duration was not associated with living longer.”

It’s not clear why, Zhong tells WebMD, but those who restricted eating to 8 hours or fewer per day had less lean muscle mass than those with longer eating windows, which “has been linked to higher risk of cardiovascular mortality.”
He, too, calls for randomized clinical trials but notes that a study demanding people stick to eating schedules as investigators follow their progress for years “is challenging to conduct if not impossible.”
“This study unfortunately is not able to well answer the underlying mechanisms driving the observed association between 8-hour (time-restricted eating) and cardiovascular death.”
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The longest-living people in the world all abide by the ‘Power 9’ rule

Here’s how to structure your days, so that you’re setting yourself up for a long and healthy life.

By Emily Abbate

26 February 2024

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Every day we’re inundated with the “right” things to do to live a longer life. Drink eight glasses of water a day, they say. Go to the pharmacy for an off-label prescription, advise others. And others task us with the impossible—yet promising—task to just keep a positive mindset.

Today, the average life expectancy in Britain is 81, and in 2022 there were over 15,000 people over the age of 100 living in England in Wales. But in the Blue Zones, or regions of the world where people live exceptionally long lives, individuals are ten times more likely to live to 100. These places—specifically the Barbagia region of Sardinia, Italy, Okinawa, Japan, Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica; and Icaria, Greece—are packed with centenarians.

It was only a matter of time until medical researchers, demographers, epidemiologists, and anthropologists dug in to find out the common denominators among these places. Thus, emerges the Blue Zones “Power Nine”—or nine things that the five places who have the highest proportions of people who reach age 100—have in common. National Geographic’s Dan Buettner, published these findings in his book, The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest. We tapped our own longevity experts to weigh in on each of the nine pillars.

1. Move naturally

Studies show that sedentary behaviour like sitting for 13 hours a day or walking less than 4,000 steps per day can reduce the metabolic benefits of acute exercise, while occasional activity could help reduce post-meal insulin levels. Researchers even found that “soleus push-ups” (that’s calf raises for the majority of us) done in a sitting position have been shown to fuel metabolism for hours. In other words: You don’t need to set aside 90 minutes every day to exercise day after day. Exercise snacks, or small bouts of movement incorporated throughout the day, are proven to be just as effective as larger planned-ut workouts—and much more accessible to most.

So, where does someone begin? Dr. Kien Vuu, founder of Vuu MD Performance and Longevity, author of Thrive State, says it starts by thinking of your work day differently. Have a bike? Opt for walking or biking for short distances, including to the office if that’s an option for your commute. Once you’re at your desk, try leg lifts or seated stretches, take the stairs to grab coffee, or opt for walking meetings if you’re chatting with someone who’s also in-office. Just a few minutes of activity breaking up sedentary behaviour can reap many benefits.

2. Say yes to happy hour

By now, most everyone has indulged in a non-alcoholic beverage, whether or not you’re on Team Dry January/Sober October. Although there’s loads of research praising the benefits of ditching alcohol altogether, a glass of wine is praised in Blue Zones. Not because of the wine’s health benefits, per say, but more so because of the socialization that comes hand-in-hand with imbibing now and then. “In longevity cultures, moderate alcohol consumption often occurs in a social context, emphasizing the role of community and celebration,” says Dr. Vuu. “The key might lie more in the positive social interactions and less in the alcohol itself. Positive relationships contribute to mental and emotional well-being.”

3. Take time to downshift

We’ve all heard it before: Stress is no good for us. Still, it’s often unavoidable. “When you notice your body tensing or your emotions rising, take a deep breath, hold for a few seconds, and slowly breathe out through your nose,” says Dr. Michelle Loy, an integrative medicine specialist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and assistant professor of pediatrics in clinical medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine. “The more you practice this, the better it gets. It can be done anywhere, anytime, and doesn’t interact with any medications or supplements.”

Not sure where to start? Begin before bedtime, making a couple extra minutes before you fall asleep to practice. Then, bring it into other areas of your day.

4. Give your diet a plant slant

Rich Roll. Chris Paul. Justin Fields. Kevin Hart. We’ve covered loads of guys who stick to a mostly plant-based diet (and exhausted the benefits of a plant-based diet, too). Blue Zone researchers agree, recommending that individuals seek out plant-based sources of protein, like beans, including black, soy, fava, and lentils, over meat. And when you’re in the mood for an animal-based option, opt for 3- to 4-ounce serving of pork.

5. Find your crew

If there’s one thing many learned during the last few years when it was at times stripped away from our day-to-day, there’s extreme power within connection and friendship. Those that live the longest identify close friends, and commit to those relationships for life. “Love and positive social interactions have been shown to release oxytocin, known as the ‘love hormone,’ which plays a role in bonding and reducing stress levels,” says Dr. Vuu. “So, loving, supportive relationships can lead to long-term improvements in emotional state and physical health.”

6. Abide by the 80 per cent rule

Researchers found that the people in Blue Zones eat their smallest meal in the late afternoon or early evening—then don’t eat any more the rest of the day. This falls into what’s called the “80 per cent Rule,” which recommends people stop eating when their stomachs are 80 per cent full. If you’re not good at exercising this type of restraint. Dr. Loy has a tip: “When you are starting to feel full, put away part of your meal in a Tupperware—or ask for the server to pack it to go,” she says.

7. Put your loved ones first

Investing time in your family is something that not only pays off emotionally, but in terms of longevity as well. Successful centenarians keep aging parents (or grandparents) nearby, commit to a life partner, and if they have children, they make an effort to spend time with them.

8. Find a place you belong

Research shows that attending a faith-based service four times per month could add four to 14 years to your life expectancy. If religion isn’t your cup of tea, there’s always the opportunity to dive deep into your own personal wellness. Seek out a squad that makes you feel accepted and seen, whether that’s your local CrossFit gym or a weekly trivia ritual at the restaurant down the block.

9. Know your “why”

When you know why you wake up in the morning and have a purpose in your day-to-day life, research shows that you can add up to seven years to your life expectancy. The Japanese concept of Ikigai encourages individuals to find their personal calling or purpose, adds Dr. Loy, who recommends asking yourself four questions and finding where these answers intersect:

What do I love? (Passion)
What am I good at? (Profession)
What does the world need? (Mission)
What can I be compensated for? (Vocation)

Unpacking Breathtaking’s bittersweet ending: “There’s stuff in our show that people won’t know happened”

The Blue Zones: Revisited

What the Longest-Lived People in the World are Doing Different than Most Americans

By Dan Buettner

Excerpt adapted from The Blue Zones Secrets for Living Longer: Lessons From the Healthiest Places on Earth by Dan Buettner, a beautifully illustrated and informative guide to the places on Earth where people live the longest—including lessons learned, top longevity foods, and the behaviors to help you live to 100—plus a surprising new blue zones longevity hotspot.

Most of what we think will help us live longer and healthier is misguided or just plain wrong. It’s common sense to get on a diet regimen, join a gym, and get our vitamins, right? Let’s take a closer look.Most of what we think will help us live longer and healthier is misguided or just plain wrong. — @thedanbuettner Click To Tweet

In 2021, Americans spent more than $151 billion on vitamins and supplements (vitamin C, omega-3s, multivitamins, and the like). But the biggest, most dependable studies show that people who take supplements actually live shorter lives than people who don’t. Americans spent another $21 billion or so on protein supplements. But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average American gets about twice as much protein as they need. In fact, no supplement, pill, hormone, or vitamin has ever proved to extend life expectancy in humans.

The concept of exercise—physical effort carried out to sustain or improve health and fitness—has been around in the United States since at least 1820. It’s a nice idea to stay fit. And indeed, people who stay physically active have about a 30 percent lower chance of dying in any given year than people who aren’t active. But despite the $160 billion per year Americans spend on trying to exercise, only about a fifth of all adults get the minimum recommended amount of vigorous activity (about 11 minutes a day). That means exercise is not working for more than 200 million Americans.

Similarly, diets are a well-intentioned but colossally ineffective approach to staying healthy and living longer. They fail for almost everyone almost all the time. Take 100 people who resolve to diet on New Year’s Eve and by January 19 most will have abandoned the effort. By August only, 10 percent will still be trying to eat better, and within two years the success rate will be under 5 percent. If your financial planner returned those yields, you’d fire him. Yet we spend $200 billion a year thinking that this time the diet will work.

So, if the most common approaches to better health and longevity don’t work, what does?

In the early 2000s, I set out to reverse engineer longevity. Under the mentorship of Dr. Ancel Keys and Dr. Robert Kane of the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health, I relied on two assumptions: First, genes have relatively little impact on how long we live. A Danish twin study in 1996 found that longevity is only mildly heritable, accounting for only about a fourth of the health differences among people. The rest is largely driven by our environment. Second, in those places around the world where people are living longer, they’re doing something right. If I could find demographically confirmed areas where people were living the longest and identify the lifestyle commonalities of those regions, I might discern some clues.

Rather than searching for answers in a test tube or a petri dish, I looked for them among populations that have achieved what we want—long, healthy lives and sharp brains until the end. The idea garnered a grant from the National Institutes on Aging and a National Geographic assignment.Rather than searching for answers in a test tube or a petri dish, I looked for them among populations that have achieved what we want—long, healthy lives and sharp brains until the end. — @thedanbuettner Click To Tweet

Armed with a plan, I began a worldwide search for longevity pockets. I knew that in Okinawa, Japan, Drs. Makato Suzuki, Bradley Willcox, and Craig Willcox had already identified a population that produced the longest-lived people in the history of the world. As I quickly discovered, Dr. Gianni Pes, a medical statistician from the University of Sassari, was also tracking down centenarians on the island of Sardinia in Italy. In the island’s mountainous interior, which he referred to as the “blue zones,” he found a cluster of villages that produced about 10 times more centenarians per capita than the United States. (I liked the term “blue zones” and evolved it to denote any confirmed longevity hot spot around the world.) Later, Dr. Michel Poulain confirmed Pes’s research, and together they published their findings in the journal Experimental Gerontology.

In the United States, Dr. Gary Fraser of Loma Linda University was publishing findings from the Adventist Health Study, research that followed more than 30,000 Seventh-day Adventists in Loma Linda, California, for some 20 years. He found that adherents of the church were living about seven years longer than their Californian counterparts.

Later, with grants from the National Geographic Society, I led projects to discover longevity hot spots on the Greek island of Ikaria and on the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica. In a 2005 cover story for National Geographic and in my 2008 book The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest, I profiled each blue zones region and distilled the common denominators: The residents of these hotspots were mostly eating a whole-food, plant-based diet, and instead of trotting off to the gym, they moved naturally every 20 minutes or so. Daily rituals like prayer, ancestor veneration, and napping also helped them downshift and lower stress-induced inflammation. And long before people were talking about the social determinants of health, I attributed Sardinians’ longevity to their propensity for keeping their aging parents nearby—extending life expectancy for both grandparents and grandchildren—and Okinawans’ to their social support groups (called moais) and their sense of purpose (ikigai).

The Blue Zones brand of longevity didn’t promise that it could help you outlive the biological limits of the human machine. Fact is, the current maximum life expectancy for people in the first world (i.e., those not beleaguered by infectious diseases such as malaria, dysentery, and cholera) is about 93 years—less for men and a little longer for women. But in the United States, life expectancy is only 77. We are leaving 16 years on the table. “Why?” I wondered.

The answer wasn’t that people in blue zones had better genes or superior bodies. Most of them didn’t. Rather, they avoided the chronic diseases that foreshorten our lives here in America, from diabetes to cardiovascular disease to dementia to certain types of cancers. They avoided these diseases not because they possessed more discipline or a greater sense of individual responsibility, but rather because they lived in environments that made it easier for them to do so. In other words, they didn’t pursue health and longevity as if it were a chore. Their health and longevity stemmed from their surroundings.The answer wasn’t that people in blue zones had better genes or superior bodies. Most of them didn’t. Rather, they avoided the chronic diseases that foreshorten our lives here in America… Click To Tweet

This insight changed everything. It meant that if we wanted to help improve the health and longevity of Americans, we needed to focus on the environments in which they lived—their communities, workplaces, and homes and the businesses they patronized—rather than trying to change their behaviors.

I started to think about applying what I’d learned in blue zones to make life better here in the United States—to “manufacture” a blue zones [hotspot] of our own. Decades ago, the National Institutes of Health funded a half dozen “heart healthy” projects in cities throughout the country, where communities tried to implement diets, exercise programs, and health education. In each case, the researchers saw small improvement in heart health indicators in the short run, but all the efforts failed to show improvement in the long run.

I decided to try a different approach. My goal wouldn’t be to change people’s behavior, but rather to shape their environments—to make healthy choices the easiest ones. In 2008, with a grant from AARP, I put together a team to give it a try. We chose Albert Lea, Minnesota, a community of 18,000 people. The mayor, city manager, school superintendent, local hospital, and business leaders all pledged their support for the project.

With some of the most talented experts in the country, we developed a policy bundle to improve the walkability and bikeability of Albert Lea and slowly transform the city’s street designs from car-friendly to people-friendly. We put together a school program that favored healthy foods over junk foods. We persuaded restaurants and grocery stores to make healthy foods easier to find and more enticing to eat. We introduced a Blue Zones Pledge for individuals that eventually enrolled 25 percent of the city’s adult population into volunteering and taking workshops on how to pursue their sense of purpose. Finally, we developed a process to help like-minded people get together in walking groups—not only to get them out moving but mostly to build new friendships. We knew that if we could organize friends around healthy behaviors, those behaviors were more likely to stick.

The first Blue Zones Project ran for about 18 months. “The results were remarkable,” Harvard’s Dr. Walter Willett told Newsweek magazine. As data gathered by Gallup showed, we raised the life expectancy of the average citizen by three years and shaved about 30 percent off the city’s year-over-year healthcare bill. The project worked not because we tried to change 18,000 people’s minds. We changed their surroundings.

Since then, we’ve brought the Blue Zones Project model to 72 cities across
the country, from Fort Worth, Texas, to Naples, Florida, as well as to the entire states of Iowa and Hawaii. We’re changing things for the better—one community at a time.

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/DAtimaU6AK0?feature=oembed&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&rel=0&autohide=1&playsinline=0&autoplay=0

Nearly 20 years after I first landed in Sardinia with a backpack and a National Geographic assignment, I returned to all the blue zones to produce a four-part series for Netflix. Like everywhere else in the world, the blue zones have changed—mostly because of modernization and the devastating impact of American food culture. But a bevy of scientists continue to study them. Dr. Luis Rosero-Bixby has been tracking the health in the Nicoya Peninsula. Fraser continues to mine the decades-long Adventist Health Studies for new dietary guidelines. Suzuki and the Willcoxes continue to monitor Okinawa’s centenarians. Pes, who I believe is the world’s greatest longevity expert, is still at work in the mountain villages of Sardinia, where strong traditions and remote locations continue to preserve the factors that make them extraordinary. And in Ikaria, Romain Legrand, a researcher from Dijon University Hospital, published a survey of people over age 85 that confirms the importance of socializing, taking naps, swimming, gardening, and more.

Despite traveling with a production crew of some 20 people for the Netflix series, I occasionally had time during my journeys to reflect on my many experiences in the blue zones. I recalled nostalgically the 30-some trips I’ve taken over the years, the experts who’ve helped me along the way, and the many centenarians I’ve met—almost all of whom are gone now. I wrote almost 100 pages of notes during the four months of filming and in the process realized that I had gleaned more insights about the blue zones. Those notes have inspired The Blue Zones Secrets for Living Longer.

Late one night [during Netflix filming], jet-lagged and wired-tired, I wrote the
following in my journal: Though we in the United States live in the most prosperous
country in the history of the world, we’re more overweight, divided, and unhealthy than ever. Life expectancy has dropped every year for the past four years, as has overall happiness. So, if more prosperity doesn’t seem to be working for us, what else could?

My thoughts returned to the blue zones, where I’d learned the priceless value of slowing down, of engaging in long conversations with a neighbor, of unrushed family dinners, of eating low off the food chain, and of cooking at home. I recalled the counterintuitive joy of getting out from behind my steering wheel and back onto my feet. Of walking to the places I need to go—and if they were too far away, of moving closer to them. Of gardening instead of weight training. Of getting closer to family, to beauty, to nature, and to the rhythms of life that have set the tempo for the human species for the past 25,000 generations.I’d learned the priceless value of slowing down…of cooking at home…getting closer to family, to beauty, to nature & to the rhythms of life that have set the tempo for the human species for the past 25,000 generations. Click To Tweet

tags • Blue zones Longevity Blue zones secrets

Source “Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones Solution, Eating and Living Like the World’s Healthiest People

Published by the National Geographic Society, 2015

Does Diet affect the immune system?

An excerpt from an article on diets and the human immune system – Both most recently becoming important in our medical culture since the onset of /or prevention of Covid- 19.

Benefits of a vegan versus ketogenic diet

Investigators recruited 20 individuals for the study, which included both men and women, individuals of different ethnicity and body size based on BMI calculationTrusted Source. During the first two weeks, the participants would eat only one type of diet, either vegan or ketogenic, and then switch to the other diet for an additional two weeks.

Both diets included non-starchy vegetables and minimum amounts of highly processed food.

However, that is about where the similarities ended.

A vegan diet is entirely plant-based, excluding all animal products, including meat, fish, milk, and eggs. It includes staples like legumes, rice, root vegetables, whole grains, soy products, fruits, and vegetables On the other hand, the ketogenic or “keto” diet, as it is popularly known, embraces meat and fat, generally derived from animal products.

The difference in the diets also extended to more than the makeup of specific foods.

Those on the vegan diet got the majority of their calories from carbohydrates and almost none from fat — 75% carbs and 10% fat. While the ketogenic was the complete opposite, deriving 75% of calories from fat and 10% from carbohydrates.

Although in both diets participants were able to eat freely, those on the vegan diet tended to eat fewer calories overall.

During the study, researchers collected and analyzed samples, including urine, blood, and stool, to look for biological changes caused by the diets. The samples were investigated using advanced fields of study, including:

Proteomics: the study of proteins and their cellular activities
Metabolomics: the study of metabolites and molecules resulting from metabolic functioning
Transcriptomics: The study of all RNA molecules

https://8cb85b29c191a05b35813853887fffb6.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html

How does diet affect immunity?

Diet is known to affect the microbiome, which results in downstream effects on the immune system and disease risk. The significance of the NIH’s finding is that it helps to shine some light on the complex relationship between diet, microbiome, and immunity.

Despite knowing that diet affects the microbiome and that the microbiome affects immunity, the direct mechanisms between diet and immunity still aren’t clear.

“Microbiomes are organisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites) present throughout our body, with the largest composition in the GI tract (small and large intestines)…The co-existence of these microorganisms in the body helps produce immunity by exposing, conditioning, and training the body to numerous organisms since birth,” said Dr. Roopa NaikTrusted Source, MD, who spoke with Healthline about the study and has previously published on the impactTrusted Source of vegan diets on health.

Dr. Akiko Iwasaki, PhD, a Professor of Immunobiology at Yale School of Medicine, told Healthline that the NIH research indicates, “We’re coming full circle in terms of trying to understand how diet can impact immunity. It seems that both types of diets are able to help the host cope with viral infection.”

Healthline. Eating Vegan, Keto Diets May Help Improve Your Immune System in 2 weeks. Feb.2, 2024

Written by: Gigan Mammoser

Edited by: Jase Peeples

Fact Checked By: Amanda Ward.

Is There a Longevity Diet?

‘Longevity diet’ may help people live longer by fasting for half the day, banning red meat
April 28, 2022
by StudyFinds

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Fad diets are a dime a dozen these days, but researchers at USC say they’ve finally put one together that has everything you need to live a long and healthy life. Their “longevity diet” favors fish and plant-based proteins, and even welcomes a good amount of carbs, while avoiding red and processed meats.
This diet also requires people to eat their meals within a certain time frame and allow time for periods of fasting. Dieters looking to follow a healthy diet have no shortage of options these days, with most of these plans focusing on cutting carbs and calories. However, it’s been unclear if these diets help people actually stay healthy and live longer.
Now, the USC team has found that it’s not only about what people eat, but also when they eat it.

“We explored the link between nutrients, fasting, genes and longevity in short-lived species, and connected these links to clinical and epidemiological studies in primates and humans – including centenarians,” says Professor Valter Longo in a university release.
“By adopting an approach based on over a century of research, we can begin to define a longevity diet that represents a solid foundation for nutritional recommendations and for future research.”

Taking the best parts of popular diets
The researchers reviewed hundreds of studies on nutrition, diseases, and long life, involving both animals and humans, and combined them with their own research. Their analysis included a wide range of calorie-cutting diets such as the popular keto diet, as well as vegetarian, vegan, and Mediterranean diets. It also looked at various forms of fasting, including cutting out food intermittently or over longer periods of time — sometimes for two or more days several times a month.
The team found several factors linked to living longer and certain illnesses, such as insulin, cholesterol, and certain protein levels. Overall, study authors believe the secret to living longer is eating a moderate to high amount of carbohydrates from unrefined sources.
Also, getting the right amount of protein and enough fats from plant-based sources can provide about 30 percent of a person’s energy needs. Ideally, a person’s meals would take place within an 11 or 12-hour window, allowing for a daily period of fasting. A five-day cycle of fasting or fasting-mimicking diet every three to four months could also maintain healthy insulin levels and blood pressure, the study finds.
So, what’s in the longevity diet?
“Lots of legumes, whole grains, and vegetables; some fish; no red meat or processed meat and very low white meat; low sugar and refined grains; good levels of nuts and olive oil, and some dark chocolate,” Prof. Longo says while describing the longevity diet.
Their new menu resembles Mediterranean diets, found in so-called “Blue Zones” like Sardinia in Italy, Okinawa in Japan, and Loma Linda in California. These diets are usually plant-based with some seafood and relatively low in protein.
The researchers’ diet adds to this by also providing time frames for meals and fasting periods which people can adapt to fit their sex, age, health status, and genetics. For example, people over age 65 benefited from more protein to counter the loss of lean body mass and frailty. Next, the researchers are planning on carrying out a 500-person study using the longevity diet in southern Italy.

Study authors suggest anyone looking to follow the longevity diet should work with a healthcare provider to come up with a plan which focuses on making small changes. This is because making drastic changes can be harmful, causing major loss of body fat and lean mass. Moreover, people often put the weight back on once they abandon a highly restrictive diet.
The findings are published in the journal Cell.

South West News Service writer Tom Campbell contributed to this report.
Tags: healthy eating, intermittent fasting, longevity, meat, Mediterranean diet, red meat

Edited for Food, Facts, and Fads by Sally J Feltner, MS, Ph.D

How is Your Vitamin D Status?

Are you feeling the effects of aging? If so you may at some time be told to check your vitamin D level. Vitamin D has recently become a very popular vitamin as a cure-all supplement (until another takes it place.) I think of vitamin D as a nutrient looking for a disease. So, the two have yet to meet ( in my opinion). Vitamin D is associated with strength and bone health primarily for children. However, more research is needed.

This is what we think we know: In the field of nutrition, this may change overnight.

The precursors for vitamin D are reduced as we age. By age 70, our ability to produce vitamin D is about half of what it was at age 20. D is in scarce supply in our regular diets. Most milk and some juices, milk alternatives and cereals are fortified with D, but other dietary sources — fatty fish like mackerel and sardines, and some mushrooms — aren’t exactly a staple in most American diets. As a result, nearly 1 in 4 people in the U.S. have inadequate blood levels of vitamin D3, the most active form.

In one study of adults 50 and older, all of whom had recently fractured bones, 43 percent were deficient in both calcium and vitamin D. Presently the world has turned to taking supplements in “megadoses” to meet the recent claims that vitamin D can be the cure-all for all the recent diseases like Parkinson’s disease, cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease – in other words, maybe vitamin D has found its disease. Not so fast!!

It is not necessary to take most vitamins at megadose levels (unless ordered by your doctor).
But… How much do you really need?
Before you pick up a vitamin D supplement, it makes sense to have a conversation with your doctor. Vitamin D can interact with heart medications, including statins and diuretics. Dietary guidelines call for 600 international units (IUs) daily of vitamin D3 (and at least 800 after age 70). So that’s a solid place to start. Look for vitamin D3, which is more efficiently utilized by the body than D2. The Tolerable Upper Intake is 4000 IU per day for adults. Many people are prescribed higher levels depending on a latest study they read from a headline in a supermarket magazine; however, please check with your doctor, health coach or registered dietitian.
Since we also manufacture vitamin D from cholesterol and from the sun, we can count on that source somewhat depending on your exposure.

Ways to Improve Vitamin D Status – Source:
Judith E Brown.Nutrition Now, 7th Edition
Eat salmon once a week
Choose a vitamin D-fortified orange juice when I buy juice
Take a vitamin supplement (400-600 IU/day )
Exercise or walk in sunshine for 10 minutes three times a day with some direct skin exposure to the sun.

What’s Cooking?

Canola Oil

Is canola oil a healthy fat? Rightfully so since it had a bad reputation for awhile due to its association with a toxic acid called eurucic acid. More currently due to newer breeding processes reulted in its removal of this acid, making canola on the list of what is now called “healthy fats.” It is primarily an unsaturated fat and very low in omega-6 (fat and contain the same type of oil found in olive oil. However, Americans are awash in omega-6 fats and should be attempting to increase their intake of omega-3 fats instead.

But to its credit, it has a very mild flavor (unlike olive oil) and has been called a “neutral” oil so its very versatile for cooking and stands up fairly well to heat.
Bittman, Mark and Katz, David L., M.D. How to Eat” All your Food and Diet Questioned Answered.

Roasting Vegetables

Roasting has become a cooking favorite lately, but questions do arise due to the higher temperatures (400 degrees) needed for best results. Many people wonder if this type of cooking can destroy some nutrients, especially in some originally healthy vegetables? This may help.

All forms of cooking can destroy some nutrients. It’s impossible to avoid. However, there is some good news since cooking actually helps by releasing the nutrients from plant cell walls. These include lycopene (iin tomatoes), red peppers and beta-carotene in carrots, spinach, and kale. Therefore, eating cooked tomatoes as a sauce or juice should be the preferred way for optimum health and help the cell use its benefiial properties. Mushrooms, asparagus, and cabbage all supply more antioxidants when cooked, also.

On the other hand, Vitamin B6 and folate in broccoli and the polyphenols in onions that help protect against cancer and heart disease are better preserved in raw vegetables.
Sharon Palmer, RDN, author of Plant-Powered for Life, Duate, California. SharonPalmer.com

American Plate: 1930’s

Merry Christmas and a HAPPY NEW YEAR from Food, Facts, and Fads

Hard Times, Good Times

Here’s Another Story from Another Era

The 1930’s were a dichotomy of despair and progress. Two grim events dominated the 30’s: the global depression and the rise of Hitler and nationalism in Europe. In the midst of all the upheaval another dramatic change – In 1933, Prohibition was finally repealed. Oh and throw in a disastrous Dust Storm that lasted far too long.

The nation goes gaga over vitamins in the 30s. The only over-the-counter products that outsell them are laxatives. Where is the fiber?

Cooking at home became a necessity and a pastime among middle-aged women who had been forced to let their cooks and servants go. Women’s clubs lunches, afternoon teas, Sunday suppers, potluck dinners, church socials and county fairs were all popular ways to socialize.

Hollywood provided a steady stream of fantasy with Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Clark Gable and Jean Harlow, and Shirley Temple. Cole Porter’s musicals ruled Broadway and Benny Goodman’s dance tunes played on Victrolas everywhere.

Soup Kitchens

For more than a decade known as the Great Depression, reliance on businesses had failed that they could not solve the problems of poverty including hunger. Local governments tried to help the needy, but expenditures, which averaged $8.20 per month per person did nothing to help the thousands more who required federal aid. Thus, organizations like the Red Cross and the Salvation army provided help through soup kitchens and breadlines: 13 million people –25 percent of the population—were unemployed and hungry.

Route 66

Despite the odds, America forged ahead and with the opening of Route 66, food establishments like Stuckeys flourished. In the supermarkets, scores of new products were introduced and many still exist today.

When U.S. highway 66 was completed in 1938, it became a vital 2450- mile artery between Chicago and Los Angeles, snaking its way through 8 states. It veered north then south to pass through small towns to link them with more metropolitan cities. With the route, farmers had a pipeline for shipping their food to the big cities and offer help to those trapped by the tragic Dust Bowl that filled the lives of those farmers in that area. Stukeys gets its start when William and Ethyl Stuckey open a roadside stand in Georgia to sell pecans to motorists en route to and from Florida.

Shopping carts

I suppose no one is terribly interested in the history of the shopping cart; however, it is an appliance of sorts we could not do without. So here goes: Slyvan Goldman, owner of the Standard Food Markets and Humpty Dumpty in Oklahoma City, devised a shopping cart by fabricating lawn chairs into a frame that held two hand baskets. He figured if the shoppers could carry more, they’ll buy more. But the first shopping cart is a hard sell. Men found the carts less than masculine and women don’t see the point – they’re accustomed to shopping often. Finally Goldman pays ‘shoppers to cruise stores using the carts.

Kraft Dinner

In 1937, Spam is introduced – yes it’s still here. Kraft rolls out Kraft Dinner – a boxed meal that sells for 19 cents with an advertising slogan of “A Meal for Four in Nine Minutes”. At the end of the century, 1 million boxes a day of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese are sold in the U.S. Talk about processed food?? Apparently this has pleased the palates of our younger citizens for decades.

Fritos

San Antonio candy-maker C. Elmer Doolin stops in a café for a sandwich and is served a side dish of corn chips. He pays the café owner for $100 for his converted potato ricer and the recipe for “tortillas fritas”. Fritos are born, as Doolin and his family begin producing 10 pounds per day. They eventually move their operation to Dallas. Fritos Corn Chips are introduced nationally in 1949.

At the end of the decade, WW2 was boiling in Europe with America waiting in the wings. The “Bad Times” were just beginning.

Your Gut and Immune System

YOUR GUT Supports Immune Defenses

Eighty percent of your immune system is in your gut, so it makes sense that a well functioning gut is critical for a clean bill of health. An essential job of the gut is to arm the digestive tract against inflammatory and other harmful disease causing substances, for example in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). When there is a breakdown in the microbial lining that in banding together kept the lining strong, a loss of that strength is said to create a “leaky” gut that starts a whole inflammatory response to create chronic disease such as diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver, obesity, cognitive disorders and depression.

Your Gut Influences your weight and weight maintenance.

A 2021 study published in Scientific Reports tested the effects of a probiotic (“good” bacteria”) on weight loss in 70 subjects who were all overweight. 35 adults took probiotics and the remaining 35 took a placebo. After nine months with no exercise or diet interventions, 40% of the probiotic group had lost a clinically significant amount of weight compared with 3 percent in the placebo.

Dietary fiber is associated with promoting weight loss. In the body, fiber is fermented in the intestine creating short-chain fatty acids thatt help promote healthy metaboilisms. A healthy blood sugar balance and fat storage is also reported that affects weight maintenance that is so important in weight loss. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFA’s) also help alleviate or lessen inflammation by acting on hormonal and satiety receptors.

“Whole person health starts in the gut, says Supriya Rao, M.D., managing partner at integrative Gastroenterolgy Consultants, Rao explains the importance of getting enough exercise to improve gut health. Being sedentary or sitting is the new smoking” he says. Your gut health will thank you.”

Is eating fast food a Dementia Risk?

The health risks of eating ultra-processed foods _________ including sausages and burgers as well as pizza and ice cream ____________ are well documented. They have been shown to raise the risk of obesity, diabetes, and cancer among other ailments. (CNN.com )

In a new study, researchers followed more than 10,000 Brazilians with an average age of 51 for more than 10 years. They found that people who consumed more than 20% of their daily calories from ultra-processed foods had a 28% faster cognitive decline compared to those with less than 20%. Unfortunately, that 20% is not a high threshold; just 400 calories out of the 2000 calorie diet. And most Americans are well over that, getting on average a whopping 58% of their calories from ultra-processed foods.

“The sample size is substantial and the follow-up extensive, Dr. David Katz, a nutrition specialist who was not involved in the study. While short of proof, this is robust enough that we should conclude ultra-processed foods are probably bad for our brains.”

Source: The Week. December 23, 2022, Volume 22, Issue 110.