A growing body of scientific evidence indicates that extraordinary health benefits may be achieved through fasting, a practice long revered throughout the world for its spiritual benefits. Dr. Valter Longo, the director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, has been studying the fundamental mechanisms of aging for decades. In his recently published book, The Longevity Diet, Longo describes decades of research indicating that fasting triggers autophagy: a process in which the insides of the cells break down and regenerate, and damaged cells are killed off and replaced by new, healthy cells. By switching on the body’s ability to promote cellular protection, regeneration and rejuvenation, fasting is an effective antiaging strategy.

For many people, the thought of doing a water-only fast for five days or more is quite daunting. To make fasting safer and easier, Longo and his team developed a fasting mimicking diet; it produces the same health benefits as water fasting, but allows the intake of a certain amount of food per day.

Some of Longo’s most innovative research to date involves cancer patients. He and his research team found that in addition to fighting off cancers, fasting may also increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy and significantly reduce the side effects of the treatment. Longo explains that when the body has the experience of starvation, healthy cells put up a protective shield, which protects them from the damaging effects of chemotherapy. However, cancer cells do not do this; therefore, they remain vulnerable to chemotherapy. Patients that followed the fasting mimicking diet for several days, before and after treatment, reported experiencing almost no vomiting or diarrhea, and significant reductions in all the typical chemotherapy side effects, including hair loss, nausea, fatigue and weakness.

Driven by a mission to spread the word, Longo actively works with oncologists throughout the U.S. and Europe to recommend the fasting mimicking diet as part of their cancer treatments. Additionally, Longo and his team are continuing to research fasting’s effects on treating and reversing many other chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and autoimmune diseases. I am grateful and inspired by innovative physicians like Longo, and I look forward to learning more about this revolutionary approach to healing disease and living a long, healthy life. To learn more about Longo and his work, visit ValterLongo.com.  

In gratitude and health,      

Gabriella Buchnik, Publisher