The imitation game

How about a diet wherein you only have to almost fast for five consecutive days and for the remainder days of the month, you can eat normally? Sounds doable and fair enough rather than toiling for the entire month, right? We asked experts what they think of the Fasting Mimicking Diet and if they would recommend to others...

The diet
Fasting for short periods i.e. only consuming water can promote health, as per some studies. Professor Valter Longo, from the USC Davis School of Gerontology, Los Angeles, said: “Strict fasting is hard for people to stick to, and it can also be dangerous, so we developed a complex diet that triggers the same effects in the body.”

The researchers came up with the Fasting Mimicking Diet wherein for five consecutive days a month, one has to cut down their calorie to 34 to 54 per cent of their normal intake, and for the remaining days of the month, one can resume to their normal food intake. During this five days, one has ensure to consume suitable amounts of carbohydrates, proteins and fats in their diet.

The study found that subjects had reduced levels of the hormone IFG-I that has been linked to ageing and cancer susceptibility. Three months into the diet, which involved just a total of 15 days of diet had the subjects showing reduction in the biomarkers linked to diabetes, heart diseases ageing and cancer. Also, their overall body fat was reduced. Professor Longo said the test conducted on mice showed that the diet managed to ‘trick’ the body into slowing down the ageing process as well as rejuvenating stem cells. Though the study conducted in humans was on a small-scale, involving 19 subjects, it mirrored research by the same team on mice.

Health consultant Dr Parul R Sheth says, “The diet regime is almost like a crash diet for five days. It may benefit some and may even harm others. The five-day fasting can help you lose weight but you have to follow the diet for five days every month. To maintain your weight and good health, how long do you continue with this sort of regimen is a valid question.”

She adds that besides cutting down on calories, the study claims to reduce the insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) and this is a protection against cancer. The study suggests that three monthly cycles of five-day diet reduces multiple factors of ageing. Perhaps one may require adopting this diet often for a longer period of time in order to reduce one’s risk of both heart disease and cancer.

“I have no doubt that this is a hopeless diet! It’s just another fad diet. In our country, irrespective of cast or status, many middle-aged women fast about once or twice a week for religious purposes where they have only one meal a day, and consume milk and fruits. This is similar to cutting down their daily calorie intake to 34 to 54 per cent or sometimes lesser than that. But ask any of these women has it caused weight loss or slowed down their ageing? The answer is no. The concept of diet where fasting for five days and eating whatever one likes for 25 days is hilarious,” reasons out nutritionist Pooja Makhija.

Can it work?
The good thing about the diet is that it includes a lot of vegetables packed with phytonutrients rather than grain-filled carbohydrates and sugar and it reduces your calorie intake. Yet, eating whatever the dieter likes following those five days seems like a bad idea, opines Dr Sheth adding that instead, small frequent meals through the day would help maintain the reduced calorie intake. And there is a possibility of eating on the rebound putting you at a higher health risk. But it all depends upon your palate and your will power to resist from foods and restrict yourself to this strict five-day regimen. “I would absolutely not recommend this diet to anyone. My motto is: If I wouldn’t do it myself, I’ll never recommend it to others,” warns Makhija.