Richard recommended:

>fascinating reading:

http://www.fasebj.org/cgi/content/full/17/9/1133

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=156352


Grateful thanks, that was utterly inspiring :-) I had read about the
life-prolonging effects of caloric restriction some years ago, but decided
that it wasn't a route I wanted to follow as I have a horror of going below
my ideal body weight. Until I read the studies you recommended, I had no
idea that morbidity was reduced by such a significant amount (albeit in
rodents) by this method as well.

If IF can achieve the same results without caloric restriction, it seems to
be the ideal way of eating to maximise health, though it might be somewhat
harder to stick to one feast every two days instead of once a day!

In the rat study it was rather alarming to read:

"Blood pressure, heart rate and insulin levels similar to or greater than
those obtained with regular physical exercise programs can be achieved by IF
and by dietary supplementation with 2DG (a dietary supplement that inhibits
glycolysis)  by a mechanism involving stress responses."

"2DG also offered neuronal protection to rats and mice."

It conjures up yet another pharmaceutical shortcut in place of healthy
activities. But any future human trials might expose unacceptable side
effects. The researchers noted that:

"continuous feeding of O.4% 2DG supplemented food reduced life span and so
the rats were switched to an every-other-day  2DG feeding regimen"

The good news, of course, as you pointed out, was that:

"quite large and sustained reductions in BP, HR, insulin, and glucose levels
in animals maintained on an IF regimen improves insulin sensitivity."

In total; dramatic increases in life span, lowered BP, HR, insulin and
glucose levels, increased insulin sensitivity, neuronal protection against
epilepsy, strokes, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, and decreased serum IGF-1
leading to a reduced risk of cancer were all mentioned as effects of IF or
caloric restriction.

It was also interesting to note that the increased production of ketone
bodies also had neuroprotective effects.

Looking at the methods used to determine neuronal survival in the mice, it's
not going to be possible to do human experiments on the effects of IF diets
on neuronal degeneration etc. unless there is a less invasive way to measure
such losses. Maybe there are imaging techniques that can do that, but until
the studies are done, I imagine that people like us will be the pioneering
lab rats, as usual ;-)

Cheers,

Persephone

P.S. I noticed that the CB57BL/6 mice used in the Anson study are similar to
humans in some ways; having 'high alcohol preference' and 'low number of
stairs climbed' and a 'high preference for sweet tasting substances' as part
of their inbred genetic inheritance!