My starting point for this article is this: there are no correct models, but some models are useful. In other words, nothing is hard and fast in science. Our understanding is evolving all the time, and with that the world around us is also evolving. And I’m not necessarily saying that evolving our understanding means that we understand more. Sometimes we just get to a point where we realize we don’t understand anything. And those can be fundamental points, since they make us go back to the basics and start again.

So getting older, prolonging life, and improving health (and appearance!) in old age… It seems like science is back to basics on this one. And there’s a simple principle that comes up again and again with every longevity study: eat less.

Now, there are two main ways to eat less. Suppose you decide to reduce your caloric intake to X calories per day. (Note: I don’t know how much X should be for you; that will depend on body weight, physical exertion, etc.) One way to eat those X calories a day would be to spread them out throughout the day in frequent meals but portion of food. Instead, you can eat the same number of calories over an 8-hour period (ie eat fewer but larger meals) and fast for 16 hours. The latest strategy is called intermittent fasting, and the scientific literature right now says that’s the way to go, if you want to live longer, look better, and feel healthier.

Thus, researchers at the University of Alabama conducted a study with a small group of obese men with prediabetes. They compared a form of intermittent fasting called “time-restricted early eating,” in which all meals were either fitted into an early eight-hour period of the day (7 a.m. to 3 p.m.) or spread over 12 hours (between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m.). 19:00). After five weeks, the eight-hour group had dramatically lower insulin levels and significantly improved insulin sensitivity, as well as significantly lower blood pressure. And the best part: The eight-hour group also had a significant decrease in appetite.

Another study compared the effect of consuming one evening meal per day for 8 weeks and reported a 4.1% weight loss compared to an isocaloric diet consumed in three meals per day. One meal a day was also associated with reductions in fasting glucose and improvements in LDL and HDL cholesterol.

I can go on citing other studies. Many of them are in rats, where intermittent fasting conclusively extends life and health by at least 10 percent (which, by the way, in the rat world means many years). But I want to take this discussion back to basics, which was my initial premise. Remember that in all religions some form of fasting is an important practice. Do you think that’s for religious purposes per se? And do you think it’s a coincidence that all religions recommend incorporating some fasting regiment? I don’t think so. I guess people have always intuitively known what’s best for them. And this intuitive knowledge is reflected in religious texts that act as manuals for healthy living. In fact, if you follow spiritual teachings (e.g., love unconditionally, forgive, be compassionate, let go and surrender, don’t overeat, etc.), you could live longer and healthier (of course, as long as you get rid of of institutional “religious” garbage). that was imposed in excess to serve the purposes of the ego of the upper classes). Now science comes along and says the same thing religions have preached for centuries: Intermittent fasting appears to trigger repair processes in the body that, in turn, increase health, improve appearance, and prolong life. Isn’t that interesting?