The FastDay Forum

Just trying to jog some memories with this thread title.

Does anyone remember a Giles Coren programme on TV, it might have been four or five years ago.

He was in the US exploring the lives of some people who were following what I remember was a fairly extreme diet.

I'm talking piece of fish and three garden peas, for example!

I wish I could remember more about it, but maybe someone here knows what I'm talking about.

It wasn't just that this group of people (very select, btw) were following a low calorie diet - it was as much about their attitude to life. Not following anything particularly religious or anything like that, they were just extremely Spartan-like folk, who, as I remember, ate very little.

Anyone remember this?

[carorees]

Not sure...I do remember a programme about the CRONies a while back (CRON =calorie restricted optimal nutrition) but I don't remember who presented it.

Y'know? I think that's it. Well remembered, and thank you for that.

So really, it's no different to the 5:2 diet from what I can tell.

[carorees]

No it is different. The CRONies eat low calorie every day so they get very thin, but they don't eat any empty calories so, like the chap that Dr M visited, for example, cut off the peel off an apple and eat that but throw the apple flesh away. As far as I know, fasting is not part of the plan.

The science has shown that in animal studies in rodents and lower animals, the benefits of permanent calorie restriction can be gained by intermittent fasting instead. The studies in monkeys have found mixed results with permanent calorie restriction ... one study got increased longevity, the other didn't, whereas in rodents calorie restriction has given increased longevity. No studies of fasting in primates yet so we can't tell if we'll live longer but the short term effects of improving markers of diabetes and heart disease risk by fasting seen in humans suggest that it can be used instead of every day calorie restriction.

Dr M decided he couldn't be a CRONies so investigated fasting instead!

[Betsysgr8]

Courious that the rodents that breed rapidly have increased longevity with fasting and/or calorie restriction. Is this perhaps natures way of making sure that in times of famine that there are still breeding pairs and survivors when the famine ends and then in times of plenty it is not necessary for longevity or they would over-populate and consume everything until it is once again famine?

[carorees]

Courious that the rodents that breed rapidly have increased longevity with fasting and/or calorie restriction. Is this perhaps natures way of making sure that in times of famine that there are still breeding pairs and survivors when the famine ends and then in times of plenty it is not necessary for longevity or they would over-populate and consume everything until it is once again famine?

Yes...that's the theory.