The Fasting Mimicking Diet is essentially, as the name implies, a diet that mimics fasting without actually having to fast. The diet is becoming a novel way for detoxing.
Our bodies need to cleanse themselves from free radicals, harmful bacteria, and accumulated chemicals that cause cells to behave abnormally. Fortunately, the human body is designed to perform this naturally, without the help of technology or medication.
The mechanism of natural cleansing is called autophagy, and it has been proven that fasting is one of the many ways the body can stimulate this process, in what is being called the “ultimate detox.”
The Fasting Mimicking Diet for natural detoxing is becoming a popular diet that stimulates the body to perform autophagy, with founder Dr. Longo calling it the “Longevity Diet.” Aside from natural detox, the diet is said to improve overall health and slow down the signs of aging.
Also referred to as FMD, it stands out from other fasting diets because it doesn’t eliminate food, but rather, comprises a strict low-calorie diet that helps the body rejuvenate and repair itself.
In this article, we’ll discover what The Fasting Mimicking Diet is and how it causes autophagy, the ultimate detox.
What is The Fasting Mimicking Diet?
The FMD is a diet that provides the benefits of fasting but without depriving the body of food. Unlike other forms of fasting, The Fasting Mimicking Diet is what is considered a “partial fast,” and was developed by Valter Longo, Ph.D., who is a professor of Gerontology and Biological Sciences and head of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California. In 2018, his company, L-Nutra, Inc., was granted a patent for the FMD protocol.
What makes it different from actual fasting is that you are merely restricting calories for 5 days out of a month, but not eliminating food from your diet. It is a low protein and low carb diet that involves minimal or no animal products. The diet has been proven to alleviate inflammation, reduce the signs of aging, and improve overall health.
The FMD protocol involves only 5 days of calorie restriction, where you consume only about 800 to 1100 calories per day. You can still eat and drink, but not as much compared to regular days. You can do the diet once a month, once every other month, or even twice a month to promote long-term health benefits.
Benefits of The Fasting Mimicking Diet
One of the oldest and most effective ways to improve your health is through fasting. The FDM protocol, which involves eating as your ancestors did, is said to bring about a host of health benefits in just 5 days. The protocol involves eating mostly vegan or plant-based food, eliminating animal products, getting protein from fish, seafood, or beans and nuts, restricting caffeine, and drinking plenty of clean water.
The benefits of the diet include:
- Reduced inflammation
- Rejuvenates the immune system
- Improves brain function
- Improves lean body mass
- Lowers blood sugar levels
- Improves cholesterol and blood pressure levels
- Improves insulin sensitivity
- Enhances cellular function
- Anti-aging benefits
Autophagy, which is the natural process of cellular repair and cleaning, starts to occur on the second day of the diet and continues even after the 5th day of the diet protocol.
How The Fasting Mimicking Diet Causes Autophagy for Detoxing
Fasting is the easiest way the body stimulates itself to undergo autophagy. Autophagy is like your cells are taking out the garbage from your body. It gives your body a reboot, allowing your organs to function more efficiently.
Think of your body like an oven. Over the years, it can accumulate food residue, dirt, and gunk. If the oven isn’t cleaned regularly, it can become less effective, and eventually, it won’t work anymore. Your body is like an oven that needs to be cleaned regularly. If not, your cells will accumulate pathogens, and abnormal contents like chemicals, free radicals, and toxic substances that can cause diseases.
When your body goes through regular autophagy, your body removes all these abnormal cells before they even begin to cause problems. And that is why fasting is such an important method to help improve your overall health.
Autophagy is one of the many ways your body responds to stress. When you are constantly feeding it food, your cells do not work as efficiently because it is bombarded with constant nutrients and calories. But when your body is not being fed, your cells will need to compensate by turning to fat cells, proteins, and free radicals to convert into energy.
When you deprive your body of food, it instantly works to find ways to fuel itself with energy from your body’s stored fat, helping you lose weight, release toxins, and stimulate cells to reboot and renew themselves.
Final Thoughts
The Fasting Mimicking Diet is a great way to improve your overall health by stimulating the ultimate detox, which is autophagy. What makes it special and different from every other fasting diet is that you can still eat food, but your caloric intake is restricted.
It also only takes 5 days in a month to apply, but the frequency of the diet is up to you. However, too much of anything is never good. Too much detox through autophagy can be harmful to your body, so if you want to enjoy the healthy benefits of The Fasting Mimicking Diet, the maximum times you can do the protocol is twice a month.
Let your body repair itself with the FMD protocol, and watch as your health improves, your weight is managed, and you eventually live a longer life.
