The FastDay Forum

Carorees, perhaps I'm being a bit thick tonight (I have a cold so I am a bit fuzzy headed!) I've seen the advice to reduce protein to improve IGF-1 before. However, I also keep seeing advice to reduce carbohydrates on fasting days and ideally also on non fasting days to lose weight. What am I left with to eat if I reduce protein and carbs? Fat?!

Correct. There's not a lot of calories in vegetables which is why cows spend all day grazing and pandas are verging on extinction, so fat it is.

In the programme Dr M reported that his IGF1 (free/active? or total?) was reduced by his 5:2 regime, but we haven't seen any other evidence that this applies generally, and PaulM here found his IGF1 total was not reduced by 5:2. So I suspect that Dr M's result had more to do with his cutting down on dairy and/or meat and/or protein than on the 5:2 regime he was following - this is a guess since he didn't provide details in the programme of exactly what was in his diet, and has said little about the value of 5:2 for reducing IGF1 since.

MM's IGF level was total, going by the numbers shown on-screen.

He also said he had taken regular latte out of his schedule due to its protein content.

An interesting report dated 2001 about connections between diet (especially dairy), IGF-I / IGFBP-3 levels and colorectal cancer is here: http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/93/17/1330.long

The report does mention en passant that 'it is well established that malnourishment or fasting in humans is associated with reduction in IGF-I levels', but the position regarding milk intake, IGF-I levels and colorectal cancer risk is nuanced:

'our findings suggest that milk is only a modest contributor to high IGF-I and that most of the men with a high IGF-I/IGFBP-3 may have this high ratio for reasons other than milk intake, such as genetics or other nutritional factors. These men predisposed to higher cancer risk might benefit from the high calcium intake to an extent that far outweighs any increase in IGF-I due to milk.'

Fishbaum - great post. I think I'll copy some of that. And PhilT, guess I'll fry my carrots in butter like my mother in law insists on doing!

Just re the other benefits, I have to report - anecdotally, sample size of one and all that, that I have definitely noticed a significant improvement in memory since starting 5:2. I find myself spontaneously remembering things from 10 years or more ago with absolute clarity (this never happened before) and I'm noticing short term memory improvements at work all the time.

I deal in a huge amount of paper based reporting and I maintain about 4 diaries/ to do lists across email, spreadsheets, bberry etc. Lately I find I can much more quickly recall content, specific details, when I first read something, who I spoke to, what was agreed etc and rely much less on checking lists and plans to remind me what I need to be doing. With no other life changes in the last couple of months, I'm confident it's 5:2.

I also remember that there was a link to a memory test in the Fast Diet book that Dr Mosley did before and after fasting for a few months. I should have done it, but I forgot all about it until recently. It's a bit like some of my brain has just been 'turned on'.

Question about excessive soya-based protein. Does that mean too much tofu is a bad idea?

I'm focusing on eating more beans and lentils. Is that a good protein? Or should I be going salads all the way?

What even is tofu?! I tend to try not to eat anything my grandmother wouldn't have recognised as food and I'm sure she wouldn't have eaten tofu! Maybe it's great and all that, but isn't it slimey?

Rufus, Dr Greger's comments about soya are directed really towards vegans some of whom consume a great deal of soya. So he is saying that soya is really too close a match to animal protein and that eating too much of it is like having too much animal protein - it promotes IGF-I and excess growth in the body. So this would probably apply to tofu too. He ends up suggesting that 3-5 portions of soya per day is optimal, which still sounds quite a lot, though I am not quite sure how big his 'portions' are.

Lentils and beans win lots of brownie points. Not sure about the Heinz variety which have quite a lot of sugar and salt I think? Brassiacs are good too - broccoli, kale, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts etc.

Redhead, I don't think tofu is slimey, when I last had it (a long time ago) it was more like nothing - sort of solidified air. Any there any tofu lovers here who can give a more sophisticated description?

Dominic/Redhead --

Tofu is made from soybeans. I love tofu. I don't eat loads of it, but I think it is really good. It takes on the flavor of other ingredient, so there are lots of ways to prepare it. You can use silken tofu in smoothies and deserts and firm tofu in stir fried dishes. I would choose a tofu dish over hamburger any day. It is not slimy at all.

I love lentils and beans, too. They are cheap and easy to cook. I usually by the bags of dried beans. I never buy canned. Beans freeze well, too, so I made a big batch and keep some in the freezer. I have a few bags of garbanzo beans in the freezer too. I take those out as needed for salad or adding to a dish or roast vegetables.

Redheads, are there no vegetarians in Ireland? How is it you have never had tofu? It is everywhere here where I live.

Tofu gets 50% of its calories from fats http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/leg ... cts/4393/2

It's quite high in omega-6 which is a bit inflammatory and some people suggest keeping a good ratio of omega-3 to omega-6

Redhead, thanks for the info!

Phil, thanks too. I have only recently learned about this Omega 3/6/9 fat stuff. But as you say it seems basically most of us need more Omega 3 and less Omega 6. And Omega 9 is irrelevant since our bodies can synthesize them anyway.

Flax (linseed) is high in Omega 3 but as ALA which the human body cannot easily turn into DHA or EPA. DHA as we discussed somewhere else here has anti-inflammatory properties, helped by low-dose aspirin. Off-topic I know, I will shut up now...

Redheads, are there no vegetarians in Ireland? How is it you have never had tofu? It is everywhere here where I live.

In fairness, and to counter the stereotype, we do have health food shops and supermarkets stocking tofu, but we do still eat a hell of a lot of 'meat and spuds'. I've never had tofu or couscous or anything new fangled like that. When I was at university in the 90s I made my parents spag bol to show off my new 'international' tastes. They boiled some spuds to have with it!!

When I was at university in the 90s I made my parents spag bol to show off my new 'international' tastes. They boiled some spuds to have with it!!

Wow. That is funny. I had no idea Ireland was like that still.