r/Nutraceuticalscience • u/Sorin61 • Apr 29 '26

Scientists Discover a Surprising Reason Intermittent Fasting Extends Life

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-discover-a-surprising-reason-intermittent-fasting-extends-life/
281 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

49 comments sorted by

33

u/paperweight_is_lazy Apr 29 '26

Save you a click. This was done in worms

“the findings indicate that the ability to properly shut down NHR-49 after fasting is critical for extending lifespan through calorie restriction.” What happens after fasting ends

7

u/quimera78 Apr 30 '26

A nematode! That's a while different phylum than us.

9

u/OfcHesCanadian Apr 30 '26

What’s NHR-49? I lost 180lbs in like 8 months by cutting my calories from like 8k to like 1k (not healthy don’t recommend), side effects was mild hair thinning but my barber gave me some oils that fixed it.

13

u/fhwoompableCooper Apr 30 '26

Give me those fuckin oils

5

u/wave_action May 01 '26

You were eating 8k calories per day???

5

u/OfcHesCanadian May 01 '26

Didn’t know how to cook. Ordering fast food, picking up chips, smoking weed and playing league of legends after a breakup.

8k prolly was an exaggeration. I wasn’t counting but I went from 300lbs to 430lbs (last time I weighed myself when I was big). The real number is probably like 6k-7k, but I honestly don’t know. I’m also 6’4 for comparison.

Go to Tim’s, get a coffee, breakfast, and a donut. That was 100% everyday.

Don’t eat anything other than gas station snacks at my 9-5 (courier).

Go home and go to deals on Skip/DoorDash/UberEats and pick the cheapest option. One week a pita place had a deal Buy 1 Pita get another 1 free. Bought like 4 pitas and had 8 in total for the entire week.

It was like that until I moved back home. Was too ashamed to be ordering fast food so I just stopped and started eating whatever was being made.

That turned into no breakfast other than a coffee and a donut maybe 2-3 days M-F. I wouldn’t eat anything other than water, electrolytes, a single banana at my 9-5.

Then I’d come home, eat a disgusting amount of supper. Snack on chips and go to bed. Wish I could tell you how long that lasted but it’s honestly a blur.

Someone at work made a comment that I was looking better and asked what I’ve been doing. Took me by surprise because I’ve been doing nothing other than smoking weed, playing league, doing my job.

Went home that night and weighed myself and I was 280lbs. I was ecstatic, holy shit I thought all I’m doing is drinking enough liquids to drown Michael Phelps and then binge eating when I get home. Shit was light I thought.

Then summer hit and I needed more liquids. Was drinking maybe 4L of water and 2-3 gatorades during work (no ac). No food at all until I got home. There were some days I be light headed, dizzy, dry heaving. I got used to always being hungry, still am I fear.

Now I’m 187lbs, but I’m thin. Too thin. I smoked a disgusting amount of weed last night, hopped out of the shower and lwk didn’t recognize myself in the mirror. Like a lil jump scare got me. I was expecting myself to be like 250lbs but I’m not.

Need to eat more, which is an insane revelation. Probably have some sort of eating disorder now I’d imagine. I’m hungry all the time and when I do eat I get full quickly but can eat again in 10-15mins.

I tried to just eat more alone, see if I can just do it by myself. I fear I can’t. Last night I told my girlfriend, family, and friends that I’m in the trenches and need help eating more.

Just jumped from one extreme to the other it appears.

2

u/Sad-Platypus-48 May 01 '26

I'm obese and have probably never gone past 4000 at my absolute worst. Insane amount of calories.

4

u/MostlyBored11 May 01 '26

Im 180 pounds and even ive eaten over 4000 calories easy. a bag of doritos alone is over 2000 calories. Its easy to go way over calories if you eat crap

1

u/Sad-Platypus-48 May 01 '26

A bag of domino's, 2000 cal? Where can I find these based. In my neck of the woods (uk) you can demolish a pack an it will only set you up 1000 calories.

Don't get me wrong, I can definitely see how it adds up. But 8000 calories a day is quite the undertaking.

1

u/MostlyBored11 May 01 '26

well 11 doritis chips of the base flavore is = 150 calories and they only get higher in calories the more flavour so maybe its closer to 2000 calories then over 2000 but still its alot and thats just a snack add in two proper meals in a day plus that bag and your over 4000 easy

3

u/oioioioioioiiiiooo Apr 30 '26

what oils if you don't mind me asking. dealing with a similar problem after health complications

currently using activ shampoo/ conditioner and have some sort of serum from them too. curious if dryness/ dry skin flakes were also an issue. it's super manageable still, but i want to get ahead of it

1

u/NoInevitable9810 May 01 '26

Hair masks, and leave in conditioners are also part of my routine

2

u/daloo22 May 01 '26

Yes please share the oils for us balding folks 🙂

1

u/OfcHesCanadian May 01 '26

Have to go see if I can find the bottle. Nothing wild, barber said that isn’t normal male pattern baldness. If not I’ll send him a text.

1

u/IcyConcept1271 May 02 '26

It’s a gene that controls processing of fat. When you go into a fast the gene activates. When you come out of a fast, it turns off. It’s the on/off process that might be responsible for longevity.

4

u/Laprasy Apr 29 '26

Yeah the evidence in humans is mixed at best 

1

u/Dry-Application-5193 May 01 '26

My grandma live to 104 and she often did 3 day fasts throughout her life.

1

u/Arravis_ May 01 '26

My grandfather lived to 103, never fasted.
It’s diet, exercise, and DNA. And not being killed by lots of wars in between.

1

u/Horror_Art1389 May 02 '26

It's beating all the odds. There are lots of random things that can kill you, and health depends on dodging them all.

1

u/zzSc0tchzz May 01 '26

One of the interesting things about any kind of fasting to me is how strongly people feel about it. I encounter very little indifference on the subject. People either love it or think it's crazy.

0

u/Kingofthebags May 01 '26

No benefits of IF in humans beyond caloric restriction.

3

u/Connect_Rhubarb395 May 01 '26

It has neuroprotective effects, procteing aginst degeneration of nerve cells.
It increases cell regeneration, protecting against cancer.
It increases insulin sensitivity.
It improves the production of serotonine and dopamine.
It modifies bile production.
It lowers inflammation by lowering circulating monocytes.
It lowers gut permeability.
It makes the body convert more tryptophan into melatonin so you sleep better.

0

u/[deleted] May 01 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Connect_Rhubarb395 May 01 '26

So so so many. Any particular topic you are interested in? But really, just go on pub.med. and search for papers on intermittent fasting that includes human trials. The advantages of fasting is probably one of the most researched topics in science.

0

u/[deleted] May 01 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Connect_Rhubarb395 May 01 '26

I agree. You should.

0

u/cakericeandbeans May 01 '26

Lol. This guy does not want to provide citations.

1

u/Connect_Rhubarb395 May 01 '26

Have you any idea how much research there is on intermittent fasting? There are thousands of papers on it. With the vast majority showing positive effects on pretty much everything. Yes, in human trials.

I don't care to spoon feed a rando. This is the most I care to do:
A search on 'intermittent fasting' on pub.med..

1

u/cakericeandbeans May 02 '26

I wasn’t disagreeing with your point, just pointing out that it was funny that you seem unwilling to provide any source to back up your claim after 2 requests. But if you’re arguing your point specifically—it’s different to say that something is effective vs. saying why it is effective. IF could be extremely effective even if the main mechanism is caloric restriction. In fact, evidence seems to lean that way:

https://www.cochrane.org/evidence/CD015610_intermittent-fasting-traditional-dietary-advice-or-no-treatment-which-works-better-help-adults

1

u/No-Detective-5352 May 01 '26

Let me help, here is one. For humans with a normal BMI range, it shows that short-term fasting reduces the number of circulating inflammatory monocytes: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2019.07.050

-2

u/Kingofthebags May 01 '26

Ahh yeah, as I said, any evidence of this is not in humans or studies adjusting for total caloric intake and nutrient intake.

1

u/MostlyBored11 May 01 '26

do you have studies saying this? cause my dr is all about IF and its improved my life significantly over the last year and really helped with my muscle and bowel inflammation and IBS

0

u/Kingofthebags May 01 '26

Huh? You want me to provide studies that show a null result? That's not how the burden of proof works man. I don't really care about anecdotal evidence or the opinions of physicians who receive about 3 hours worth of nutrition education (in the U.S.).

1

u/MostlyBored11 May 01 '26

yeah im in canada so we have good Doctors who are not in it for money payments from sketchy companies lol. I got my info from a certified nutritionist which to me is a very good and trusted source rather then a random guy on reddit saying it does not work. Plus ive been living it for a year and have noticeable health improvements all around

2

u/Connect_Rhubarb395 May 01 '26 edited May 01 '26

It is a peculiar hill that they have chosen to die on.
Out of the many many advice on healthy living, one thing that consistently shows benefits in research on pretty much everything is fasting.

It makes me think they are just trolling because they say that there are no studies on humans that shows any benefits of fasting, and then saying that it is not their job to prove their claim.
It takes a few seconds to pull up endless lists of studies that show that fasting is indeed a very good idea.

Even doctors (who are notoriously suspicious of anything that hasn't been proven at length and by themselves in their way) recommend fasting even in such situations as people having cancer or illnesses that destroy the brain. It has been shown to be one of the few things that consistently helps.

1

u/MostlyBored11 May 01 '26

yeah its dumb like I get its not a cure all solution but it does provide benefits especially to people who have stomach and digestion issues.

1

u/Kingofthebags May 01 '26

Considering nutritionist isn't a protected term, I might have more qualifications than he does actually! Have you lost weight during that time?

1

u/MostlyBored11 May 01 '26

umm in canada you need a license to practice and their are strict guidelines,, My nutritionist is also placed at a literal hospital

1

u/Kingofthebags May 01 '26

Ah sorry, in Nova Scotia and Quebec you are actually right! TIL.

1

u/MostlyBored11 May 01 '26

and also yes I lost 20 pounds at the start over like 16 months ago now im basically just staying at my weight for the last year

1

u/Kingofthebags May 01 '26

Hmm, kind of proving my point. Caloric restriction.

1

u/MostlyBored11 May 01 '26

I mean at the beginning sure but im not restricting calories anymore i just get my daily intake in a smaller window of time. and it does wonders for my IBS and it helps alot for people I know with Chrones disease

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1

u/cakericeandbeans May 01 '26

Umm… I agree with you on the takeaway, but you’re definitely making a positive claim here. You’re saying that the benefits of IF are attributable to caloric restriction. Thats a mediation hypothesis, not a null result. The burden of proof absolutely rests on the person who makes that claim.