Info Prolon E-mail delivered information (Fasting and weight loss related)

[igor_kavinski]

Prolon sends some pretty informational emails. I will reproduce some of them here as someone might find them useful.

Intermittent Fasting (IF) is a way of eating that incorporates regular periods of not eating, between periods of scheduled food intake. It’s a more structured way of eating than many other dietary approaches, but also comes with more freedoms than traditional diet programs.



While other popular ways of eating, like a ketogenic diet, a vegan diet, or a low-carb diet, focus on the type of food you’re eating, IF focuses on the periods of time you will and will not be eating. IF doesn’t require calorie counting, measuring ketones or blood sugar, or tracking your macros. Instead, IF gives you just the right amount of structure while still allowing freedom to make your everyday food choices. Regardless of which pattern you choose, the underlying reason IF works for weight loss is because you are restricting your eating period and typically your caloric intake as well. You will of course also feel better – and reap far more health benefits – if the foods you choose during eating periods are of high nutritional quality.



The prolonged fasting diet ''FMD' 'is basically fasting for an extended period; usually somewhere from 4 to 7 consecutive days. The main goal of this type of fasting diet is to initiate the stress of fasting onto the body over the course of several days which stimulates innate changes at the cellular level to help promote health. An example of a prolonged fast would be either a water fast for a series of 3-7 consecutive days (which should always be done under the care of a physician) or the potentially safer and easier to complete, Fasting Mimicking Diet (FMD), where specific foods can be eaten while still allowing the body to remain in a fasting state and experience many of the same benefits.

 

[igor_kavinski]

You don't need Prolon to enjoy the benefits of Ketosis. Just avocado shakes (no sugar and no milk. just water) and fatty nuts like Macadamia nuts are enough to do your own ketosis inducing fasts.

 

[igor_kavinski]

Top 5 Intermittent Fasting Hacks

When planning your intermittent fast, eat your meals during the daylight hours and fast for the remaining hours to be in sync with your natural “circadian rhythm,” a.k.a. internal body clock.

Drink plenty of water throughout the day to stay hydrated and to ensure you're not mistaking hunger for thirst.

Eat healthy, balanced meals during your eating period.

Try drinking herbal teas during your fasting period as it can help suppress hunger.

If you’re not on ProLon®, fast with a Fast Bar®! It's the first nutrition bar that was specifically made for intermittent fasting. More importantly, because of the proprietary, scientific formulation of the ingredients, it’s the first and only bar that you can eat during your fasting period without breaking your fast!*

 

[igor_kavinski]

 

[igor_kavinski]

Women are more sensitive to reduced calories

Procreation requires an enormous amount of nutrition in women compared to men. So if a woman’s body senses scarcity, i.e. low calories for a long time, then her evolutionary hardwiring will prevent conception to ensure survival. But thing is, fasting doesn’t have to involve zero calories.

Women’s cycles affect their nutritional needs and fasting ability

Dr. Jolene Brighten, an expert on women’s health, says women should listen to their bodies and “honor their cycles.” As such, the best times for women to fast are near ovulation and the worst times are the middle or end of the luteal phase, which is usually within a week of a woman starting her period.

Women may be more susceptible to disordered eating

Historically women are more susceptible to disordered eating, but does this mean that fasting will lead to eating disorders for women? Not at all. But we want you to make sure your reasons for fasting remain positive and health-promoting.

If any of these reasons or others concern you, we always recommend you talk to your healthcare professional before starting to ensure fasting is suitable for you.​

 

[igor_kavinski]

Debunking Fasting Myths and Facts
​

It’s important to make sure your health practices are based on facts and not fads. Since there are many myths, misconceptions, and facts when it comes to fasting, we decided to break them down today.

“You’re going to feel hungry all the time”

This is a myth. Will you feel hungry at times while fasting? Yes! But, it won’t last forever. One of the benefits of plant based keto diet is being able to fast with food, so your hunger pangs will not be as bad as a water-only fast. And a little hunger is good. Research has found that following a fasting-style diet can improve your appetite.

“You can improve your immune system by fasting”

The good news is that there is some evidence that this may in fact be true. Research has shown fasting may improve good gut bacteria, as well as help the body get rid of the old, worn-out intracellular components as part of the autophagy process. Fasting also appears to impact cells’ metabolic pathways and may affect immune function – it has even been shown to decrease inflammatory markers.​

 

[igor_kavinski]

Benefits of Prolonged Fasting

Longevity

During the break from food, your body’s cells shut down growth operations and refocus their energy on repairing and rejuvenating. This process, known as autophagy, reaches its highest levels after the second day of a prolonged fast. Autophagy has been shown to repair DNA and increase the length of telomeres, which is associated with a longer lifespan.

Mental Health

Once you pass Day 1 of fasting, you start running out of a fuel reserve in your liver called glycogen. That’s when the body is forced to find an alternative fuel source for your organs and brain. It does this by converting fat into sugar through the process of gluconeogenesis, and also through the production of ketones (ketogenesis), which are especially useful to the brain.

Weight Loss

Studies show that prolonged fasting is an effective way to lose weight. Fasting differs from other forms of calorie restriction or dieting, though, because it substantially lowers insulin levels. Experts say that this changes the body’s ‘set point’, which prevents rebound weight gain.​

 

[igor_kavinski]

Biohacks to Prepare Your Body for Fasting

Sleep

The biggest pre-fast biohack is sleep. It reduces stress, increases your willpower, and even curbs hunger. Research shows that a slight sleep shortage can make you insatiably hungry. So before your fast, allow for 7-8 hours rest. Set a sleep alarm so that you’re in bed and ready to sleep at the right time. Make sure to limit blue-light and heavy exercise in the hours before bed.

Fish Oil

Fish oils are known anti-inflammatories that promote fat burning. Enjoy a nice salmon dish or appetizer before starting your fast!

MCT Oil

Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs) are a special kind of fat that bypass normal digestion and are converted into energy by the liver. MCTs increase ketone production, so they’re often used before fasts to prime the body for fat burning. You should make sure to take a tablespoon of MCTs in your last meal before your fast. This will help you wake up with a fat-burning metabolism.​

Sunlight
Studies show that when your body senses bright light, especially sunlight, genes for mitochondrial efficiency are upregulated, which leads to more fat burning. Try to get sun exposure (especially in the morning) in the days before your fast!

Heat Exposure

You might ordinarily think of heat exposure as a stressful activity – sort of the opposite of what you’d want to do to prepare for a fast. But research shows that heat exposure is a hormetic stressor, which means that it protects against future stress. For this reason, it’s smart to take a sauna in the days before a fast so that you can better tolerate the physical and psychological stresses. (Just make sure to rehydrate!)​

 

[igor_kavinski]

How Long Till You Reach Autophagy?

Autophagy is considered the golden ticket to aging well and living longer better. It is a natural process that occurs when the body does not receive food and enters a cycle considered nutrient starvation, during which cells proceed to break down proteins and other cell components and use them for energy, destroy bacteria, and repair damaged cellular structures.

Japanese cell biologist, Yoshinori Ohsumi, won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2016 for his research on how cells recycle and renew their content - a process called autophagy. According to Ohsumi, fasting activates autophagy, and can positively impact cell renewal and slow down the aging process.

Research suggests that a fast between 12-24+ hours could trigger autophagy and that sporadic short-term fasting was sufficient to reduce inflammation, improve sugar control, support weight loss, and did not negatively impact brain function. This window, however, may vary by individual.​

 

[Heartbreaker]

Nice infomercial. But no thanks.

Prolon is just trying to cash in on multiple diet fads (Keto, IF) with their VERY expensive prepacked diet foods.

A 5 day boxed supply is something like $200 USD.

Marketing genius if you can sell about 2 days worth of calories spread over 5 days, for $200.

 

[igor_kavinski]

I'm not promoting Prolon. I've tried to keep their advertising out of these posts, other than Fast Bar which some might find useful (especially body builders). These posts are mainly about the benefits of plant based Keto diet, which anyone can formulate with Avocado and nuts.

 

[hardhat]

Nevermind.

 

[igor_kavinski]

Here is a breakdown of what happens to your body during each phase of the fast:

The First 24 hours

Within about 8-12 hours of not eating, the majority of the glucose in your bloodstream will have been used up. Glucose, which comes from foods high in carbohydrates, circulates freely in the blood and is stored in the muscles and liver in the form of glycogen for fast access. But, there are limited storage sites for glucose in the body, and it is used up fairly quickly.

Since glucose is the body’s primary source of energy, once the glucose is gone, the body has two options as it quickly burns through its glycogen reserves. It can either make its own glucose via a process called gluconeogenesis or rely on fat stores.

The body does not like to rely heavily on gluconeogenesis. It is extremely costly calorie-wise and uses up protein that the body would prefer to use elsewhere.

When there is inadequate glucose available, the body will begin to produce ketone bodies. Once the body relies primarily on ketones for energy, this is a metabolic state called ketosis.

Within this first 24-hour period, hunger hormones, like ghrelin, may spike and make you feel quite “hangry.” Ghrelin levels cycle throughout the day – they have their own circadian rhythm. Most people find they are hungrier in the early to late afternoon. If you can get through this period of the first day or two, you might find that your sensation of hunger really starts to decrease the following day.

24 Hours and Beyond

Between 18 and 24 hours without food, cortisol starts to rise due to increased stress from not eating. At this time, some people experience an increased feeling of alertness and mental clarity due to this hormonal shift. When cortisol is high, ghrelin is decreased. You may start to not feel quite as hungry during this time.

Many report a feeling of euphoria or extreme mental clarity during extended fasts. This may be related to ketosis and a mood-boosting chemical called a brain-derived neurotrophic factor. The presence of ketones increases this factor in the brain, which has anti-inflammatory effects on the neurons. This improves memory and mood.

 

[igor_kavinski]

Fasting Encourages White Blood Cell Production

Keeping your white blood cells in tip-top shape can help strengthen your immune system making it easier for your body to fight foreign invaders. Your white blood cells, also known as leukocytes, are the cells that fight against viruses and bacteria.

Fasting Produces Ketones that Suppress Inflammation

Another way in which fasting may boost your immunity is through the production of a specific ketone known as beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB). BHB is a ketone that may benefit the immune system by decreasing inflammation.

Fasting Activates Autophagy

Autophagy is your body’s system of cleaning out old, damaged cells and replacing them with newer, healthier ones. Autophagy plays an important role in your body’s immune system by clearing out toxins and dangerous bacteria. Additionally, autophagy may play a role in encouraging immune-mediated cells to release antibodies and cytokines (proteins that help regulate the immune system), further enhancing the efficacy of the immune system.​

 

[Heartbreaker]

This is feeling like you are doing infomercials for Prolon, and you need to keep popping this to the top of the forum.

 

[igor_kavinski]

Please let me re-iterate. They share good information about plant based keto diet's health effects. I'm just reproducing that here. There is nothing here that would tempt anyone to try Prolon, unless they have a lot of money to burn. I have tried Prolon three times, always when it was on sale at half price. It wasn't too much fun. Eating bars and drinking soups for five days straight takes a toll on your mental well-being. However, the diet may have had some positive effects on my health. But I didn't do any before and after blood tests to quantify any improvements in my blood parameters. I don't have money to burn.

I have done Avocado and nut fasts many times. Those can be even harder than Prolon and you lose weight really quickly doing that. I think last time I tried one of those, my weight dropped to around 118 lbs. I felt so weak that I didn't feel like going below that. Maybe when I'm on vacation. It's the only way I can think of to get rid of dangerous visceral fat. But next time, I will add a little plant based protein powder (less than 20g to avoid getting kicked out of ketosis).

 

[Heartbreaker]

Please let me re-iterate. They share good information about plant based keto diet's health effects. I'm just reproducing that here. There is nothing here that would tempt anyone to try Prolon, unless they have a lot of money to burn. I have tried Prolon three times, always when it was on sale at half price. It wasn't too much fun. Eating bars and drinking soups for five days straight takes a toll on your mental well-being. However, the diet may have had some positive effects on my health. But I didn't do any before and after blood tests to quantify any improvements in my blood parameters. I don't have money to burn.

Not helping the impression but saying you tried it three times and it may have had positive effects on your health. Just seems like adding a personal testimonial to your infomercial.

 

[igor_kavinski]

To really understand how your body responds to fasting, let’s zoom in on each of the body’s individual survival response phases and discuss the biological changes that occur.

FASTING PHASE 1 (DAY 1-2)
Approximately 24-30 hours after your last meal your body will enter the first phase of survival mode. This means it will begin consuming fat and tapping into the glycogen reserves in your muscles while generating new liver glucose.

FASTING PHASE 2 (DAY 3-4)
After 2 days without food, your body enters the next phase of survival mode. Things are starting to get serious. Beginning on days 2 - 3, autophagy is triggered.

Autophagy, which means “self-eating”, is the process in which cells eat intra-cellular debris, eliminate waste, and optimize function in order to survive in the low-nutrient environment created by fasting.

FASTING PHASE 3 (DAY 5)
After 4 days without food, your body is understandably freaking out a little. It has already consumed readily available fat reserves and optimized cell function but the continued fast is subjecting it to some major stress. It’s time for serious action.

At this point, the body begins deleting old, inefficient, and damaged cells, while at the same time increasing the number of circulating stem cells available to create new tissue that is young, efficient, and strong. This late-stage survival mode phenomenon has been shown to optimize the biological aging of the body. Studies in mice have shown that this process has the potential to prevent or even reverse some chronic diseases!

When fasting places your body through all three phases of its survival mode protocols, it comes out the other side is leaner, biologically more efficient, and better equipped to handle the stress of age and daily life thanks to autophagy and stem cell-based regeneration.

After 5 days of fasting, optimization has slowed and the body begins to look for alternate sources of energy, including important tissue such as muscle. After 20 years of fasting and longevity research, The Longevity Institute of the University of Southern California has identified 5 days as the optimal duration for a fast.

 

[igor_kavinski]

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