{"id":51401,"date":"2025-07-09T12:39:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T12:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/51401\/"},"modified":"2025-07-09T12:39:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T12:39:10","slug":"is-this-extreme-intermittent-fasting-the-key-to-a-long-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/51401\/","title":{"rendered":"Is this extreme intermittent fasting the key to a long life?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Intermittent fasting<\/a> \u2014 which involves restricting when you eat, most commonly consuming food within an eight-hour window and fasting for the other 16 hours \u2014 is all the rage these days, with celeb fans including Jennifer Aniston, Chris Pratt and Kourtney Kardashian.<\/p>\n

But some emerging research points to benefits of fasting for an entire day or more \u2014 a method known as prolonged fasting<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Studies show this extreme form of fasting can boost immunity and brain health while reducing the risk of Type 2 diabetes and certain chronic diseases.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But how many hours of not eating should you shoot for? And, on the other hand, how long is too much?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Intermittent fasting, which involves restricting when you eat, is all the rage these days. Getty Images\/iStockphoto<\/p>\n

Meet the fasting fan<\/p>\n

Chris Rhodes<\/a>, who holds a Ph.D. in nutritional biochemistry and is the CEO of Mimio Health<\/a>, told The Post that, when it comes to health benefits, the \u201creal magic begins around the 36-hour mark\u201d between meals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAt around 36 hours, you\u2019re going to be totally depleted of your glycogen [a form of glucose] stores and entering the fasting state,\u201d Rhodes said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when your metabolism enters ketosis<\/a>, in which the body burns fat for energy instead of glucose \u2014 improving your insulin sensitivity, lowering your blood pressure and giving your brain a boost, he added.<\/p>\n

This also kicks off a biological chain reaction that scientists believe may slow aging and ward off chronic disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is going to trigger the process of autophagy<\/a>, which is that cellular cleanup and recycling mechanism,\u201d Rhodes said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The process will continue to ramp up in the hours that follow, when the immune system starts to undergo a dramatic reset. He says it can have \u201cprofound effects\u201d on inflammation and immunity.<\/p>\n

According to Rhodes, shorter fasts \u2014 like skipping breakfast or eating once a day<\/a> \u2014 show \u201cimprovement in some metabolic markers,\u201d but you\u2019re not getting a lot of additional benefits.<\/p>\n

\"Portrait<\/a>Chris Rhodes, who holds a Ph.D. in nutritional biochemistry, says the real magic begins around the 36-hour mark. Courtesy of Dr. Chris Rhodes<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes around 20 to 24 hours for your body to fully deplete those glycogen stores,\u201d he said. \u201cEven at that point, that\u2019s kind of when you\u2019re just starting to kick off a lot of these benefits.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

That being said, he cautions against fasting past the 72-hour mark \u2014 especially without medical supervision \u2014 since this is when the body is in danger of shifting into starvation mode<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the point during long term fasting where the body can start to damage itself and become less functional over time,\u201d Rhodes said.<\/p>\n

Once your \u201cfeeding day\u201d \u2014 a k a the day you get to eat again \u2014 arrives, he recommends making sure you\u2019re getting enough protein, fiber and nutrients<\/a> in to make up for the days you were running on empty.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cProlonged fasting is not as well studied but it does seem to have similar benefits as ADF. However, it is more dangerous and should not be done without physician supervision.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Christopher Choi<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cEat the rainbow,\u201d Rhodes said.\u00a0\u201cFocus a lot on vegetables that are going to be high in fiber that are going to really fill you up without adding too much of a big calorie load.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also suggested avoiding processed meat<\/a> and processed foods that \u201care going to be taxing on your liver and not going to support your detoxification.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rhodes describes it as the body getting \u201crid of all the things that are not working for us and replacing them with new functional things that are more metabolically efficient.\u201d KMPZZZ \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

So how do you suppress your appetite for that long?<\/p>\n

Of course, for beginners of prolonged fasting, the hardest part might be fighting hunger pangs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Rhodes launched Mimeo Health, which offers supplements that \u2014 in addition to boosting mood, performance and longevity \u2014 can help suppress appetite.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They recently completed a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that showed taking the supplements for eight weeks helped people control their appetite, reduced their cravings and enhanced their satisfaction from meals when they did eat.<\/p>\n

Once your \u201cfeeding day\u201d \u2014 AKA the day you get to eat again \u2014 arrives, Rhodes recommends making sure you\u2019re getting enough nutrients in to make up for the days you were running on empty. nerudol \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

His other suggestions include drinking lots of tea and water, chewing gum, smelling cinnamon sticks and just generally keeping your mind occupied.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A little bone broth<\/a> is OK too. As long as you\u2019re not exceeding roughly 200 calories a day, you\u2019re in the clear, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rhodes also recommends beginners take it slow.\u00a0\u201cStart by skipping breakfast, then get yourself up to a 16-hour fast,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you want to go further than that, work your way up to one meal a day, then every other day and so on.<\/p>\n

\u201cMake sure that it\u2019s something that you can do safely and that it\u2019s something that you want to do as a lifestyle and incorporate it from there,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\"Mimio<\/a>The discipline that it takes to commit to a fasting regime is why Rhodes launched Mimio Health, which offers supplements that can help suppress appetite. Mimio<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not easy. Rhodes admitted that when he first started fasting as a lifestyle, he had to quit when he got into a relationship and his girlfriend found it weird.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The downsides \u2014\u00a0and possible dangers \u2014 of prolonged fasting<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also not for everyone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Obesity expert Dr. Christopher Choi<\/a> told The Post that \u201cboth alternate day fasting (ADF) and prolonged fasting over 36 hours are generally considered healthy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

ADF, in particular, \u201chas a lot of evidence supporting its benefits<\/a>, including weight loss, lower blood pressure, improvement in insulin sensitivity, cholesterol improvement and metabolic parameters,\u201d as well as increased lifespan, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rhodes\u2019 other suggestions for reducing food cravings include drinking lots of tea and water, chewing gum, smelling cinnamon sticks and keeping your mind occupied. Drobot Dean \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

\u201cProlonged fasting is not as well studied but it does seem to have similar benefits as ADF,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cHowever, it is more dangerous and should not be done without physician supervision.\u201d<\/p>\n

As far as downsides go, he noted that it can be difficult to maintain on a long-term basis, and it can cause irritability, weakness and fatigue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cProlonged fasting may even cause hypoglycemia and hypotension,\u201d Choi said. \u201cProlonged fasting is not generally practiced. People who have diabetes, hypertension or are pregnant may not be able to participate in fasting.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Who shouldn\u2019t do prolonged fasting?<\/p>\n

Then there are psychological factors to take into consideration.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople who have a history of eating disorders<\/a> are not a good fit,\u201d for any type of fasting regimen, clinical psychologist Renee Solomon<\/a> told The Post.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth alternate day fasting (ADF) and prolonged fasting over 36 hours are generally considered healthy,\u201d obesity expert Dr. Christopher Choi told The Post. milanmarkovic78 \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

\u201cThis makes them become even more obsessive and disturbed by their eating disorder. It is too regimented for them and focuses on losing weight in a way that is not balanced for them,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Solomon noted that women with hormonal issues<\/a> are also not good candidates for fasting, as it \u201ccan impact periods, ovulation, and possibly lead to infertility.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finally, she cautioned that \u201cpeople with thyroid conditions should also not do any type of fasting, as it can negatively impact their thyroid condition, and neither should children or teenagers, as it can delay their growth, puberty and brain development.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rhodes believes most people can benefit from fasting at least once, even if it\u2019s a short one. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think that it really helps break you out of this mindset that we have been fed in American society since we were kids: You need to eat all the time, you should not ever feel any kind of hunger, hunger is bad,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201c<\/strong>If you want to break that societal cycle, if you want to just try something new, it can be really helpful and really powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Intermittent fasting \u2014 which involves restricting when you eat, most commonly consuming food within an eight-hour window and…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":51402,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[1081,3655,6922,6335,210,4270,1182,67,132,68,428,3149],"class_list":{"0":"post-51401","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-aging","9":"tag-diabetes","10":"tag-diets","11":"tag-exclusive","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-longevity","14":"tag-nutrition","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-us","18":"tag-weight-loss","19":"tag-wellness"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114823323228986039","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51401"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51401\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}