The diet that could actually prolong your life

A feast-or-famine diet can mimic some of the benefits of fasting and help to extend lifespan and reduce the impact of age-related diseases, according to a new study.

Researchers, who published their work in the Rejuvenation Research journal, measured changes in weight, blood pressure, heart rate, glucose levels, cholesterol, markers of inflammation and genes involved in protective cell responses in a group of participants as they intermittently fasted over a period of 10 weeks.

The group of 24 alternated between one day of eating 25 per cent of their daily calorific intake and one day of eating 175 per cent.

We found that intermittent fasting caused a slight increase to SIRT 3, a well-known gene that promotes longevity and is involved in protective cell responses.

• Michael Guo, Harvard Medical School

The SIRT 3 gene and the protein of the same name appear to be activated by oxidative stress, which happens during fasting. In studies involving mice, SIRT 3 has been found to extend their lives.

The hypothesis is that if the body is intermittently exposed to low levels of oxidative stress, it can build a better response to it.

• Martin Wegman, University of Florida

Guo also added that most of the participant actually found the feasting day harder than the fasting day, explaining: "On the feasting days, we had some trouble giving them enough calories."

Part of the study was examining the impacts of using antioxidant supplements while dieting. While the researchers found that the use of antioxidants actually counteracted the benefits of fasting, they acknowledge that more thorough testing needs to be done.

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