Why When We Eat Is So Important (the science of intermittent fasting explained)

Did you know that when you eat is just as important as what you eat? Why? When is best to eat? Why does it matter? In this video i discuss intermittent fasting (IF), the different types of IF compare it to calorie restriction, look at the health benefits and human clinical trial studies, discuss some problems and practical considerations and discuss a future outlook.
There is still so much to talk about - let me know if you want more videos on this topic :)
Timings
Intro - 00:00
What is Intermittent Fasting 2:10
What happens when you fast 3:25
The benefits 8:32
Problems 15:00
Future Outlook 19:00

References;
N Engl J Med 2019; 381:2541-2551
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMra1905136
doi: 10.18632/aging.100114

[temujin]

I have been practicing intermittent fasting for a few years now. I eat once a day for five days and have two meals in a time restricted window two days a week. That's a total of 9 meals per week. I do not snack at all. Additionally at the start of every quarter a do a three day fast. I am also a strict vegan. I have never felt so good in my life. I also take ci-akg, NR and NMN.

[DAH-ssnu]

I know this is anecdotal, but I started 5:2 intermittent fasting 5 years ago when my routine labs came back with pre-diabetic glucose levels and the doc said I should start taking statins for a rather unhealthy hdl/ldl cholesterol ratio. In a year there was no sign of potential diabetes and my cholesterol ratio had changed to normal - albeit high normal. This in a 50 year old 40lb overweight mostly sedentary fatso. I adjusted to not eating for two days surprisingly fast within only a couple of weeks to where I just don't get very hungry, even on the second day. And any pangs I get aren't very sharp and they go away quickly. Point being its a lot easier to start IF than you'd think. And it's BY FAR the easiest diet I've ever been on. I havent lost much weight but I havent gotten any fatter - with no change in (horrible) dietary habits.

[MprivetM]

Did I missed the part about "when we eat"? There was a lot of why how long we eat may be important, but nothing about morning Vs evening window.

[nml]

Can you do anything to increase your sound level?

[Philopata]

what is the song at the end?. That piano, w hat is it? thanks

[AndrewHooper_MD]

Completely agree about the challenges around IF/CR gaining greater traction. Combined vested interests of both food and pharma industries will be a huge barrier. It'll be like tobacco and sugar but even worse.
The more that can be done to understand and promote such natural pathways to health, the better.
Curious about your comment regarding efficacy of supplements to mimic fasting - especially NAD+ precursors. They're expensive so if fasting is significantly more effective, it would be good to know. Is there any more on this anywhere?
Thanks for another excellent video 😊

[johnbassett]

I'm fascinated in the regenerative power of autophagy. It doesn't seem possible to know when autophagy kicks in, except maybe when you are on a longer fast perhaps. It begs the question; when autophagy does kick in are all the cells in the body subject to the same rejuvenation at the same time? Or is autophagy selective and rejuvenation only works on certain cells and not others? Would love to know your opinion.

[mbardfast]

Super job. Have been doing for a few years now. It really works.

[rond]

Very interesting very important, as usual but too quite this time (compared to the adverts). Thankyou sheekey

[FatherOfTheParty]

Concerning your Benjamin Franklin quote, also consider how meals were taken during his lifetime. They were a much more formal affair and the amount of *time* spent during a formal meal would have been aggravating to a man like Franklin as it would have been seen as a phenomenal waste of time.

The studies on IF so far have been very positive but, as you point out, there is no concentrated interest (like the pharma industry or the food industry) which is motivated to promote the practice. As you state, there's no (or little) money to be made convincing people to eat less frequently and get substantially more healthy.

[dannyiskandar]

I have been doing this IF like on-off, mostly skipped breakfast and let myself go hungry instead of just eating. Yup the effect towards microbiome would be interesting but not sure about it, since IF should not limit your caloric intake or what you eat, it is more when you eat it. I am more interested with the CGM (glucose meter), what if the food that recommended like salmon, beans, nuts when we eat it, it spikes on CGM - then what to make out of that? Should we eat it or not, or probably depends on the time of the day?

[PandaA-cvmm]

I absolutely love fasting. Both prolonged and intermittent. The only issue I end up having is a spike in cortisol which raises my heart rate. It’s definitely from the fight or flight response but it’s concerning as then I have sleep issues, etc etc.. My stressful life is not helpful. Lol . Any specific tips on how to negate this? Otherwise my inflammation and brian fog go away almost immediately, which is beautiful!

[josephantoun]

Thanks for the Video...wonder if you will do one on prolonged 5 day fasting with the Fasting Mimicking Diet?

[natesofamerica]

Your mic! Lol, is it a tin can with a string? I can barely hear you. Have you looked into the Blue Yeti mics? They're excellent for this sort of thing.

[susymay]

So it is better to cut out dinner rather than breakfast if we are eating our calories within eight hours?

Or visa versa?

[thomasraywood]

In America, where Congressional lobbying continues to play a major role in not only public policy but public perception, a very deep hole has been dug on behalf of promoting unhealthy dietary habits. As you carefully point out, yes, public policy and public perception-- both of which strongly influence hard-to-break personal habits-- are deeply connected to money[ed] interests. The primary aim of both grocers and restaurateurs is to sell food. This gives them high incentive to promote overeating and, I would say, [to] even forcefully discourage healthier lifestyles. Too there's the matter of enormous profits made by the pharmacological industry as well as the insurance and medical services complex, especially in America, which for obvious reasons would be negatively impacted were the general public to become more health conscious and informed. I do think it's happening anyway, and that the consumables market will gradually adjust. After all, a cauliflower crust demands a higher price than a wheat one. To me though, the truly concerted resistance will quite ironically come from the established therapeutics consortium where, traditionally, weak science or even science known to be flawed is held up as a counter to the kind of hard science you're elucidating here. Again, lobbyists. What they did with lead, and then tobacco, they'll as easily do in an effort to counter the notion that "three squares a day" isn't gospel.

[Lemonady]

I love your videos! One question: can fasting cause gallbladder issues? I'm curious about your opinion.

[cdlund]

Think about how we hunted in history. We did not hunt when satiated. We hunted when in a fasted state, just like all predators do. It makes sense why most people perform better mentally and physically in a fasted state. This is when we ancestrally needed to be at our peak. Early humans did not eat three meals a day let alone the 6 to 8 some used to recommend but, rather we ate heavily when food was available and fasted for long periods when it was not. Makes sense that is how our bodies adapted along the way.

[joelmccoy]

Audio level is too low for old folks to hear on this one!

[gordonscott]

Have to agree this video has audio problems, I can barely understand you. All other videos of yours are ok I think