title: Fasting-mimicking diet and markers/risk factors for aging, diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.
abstract: Calorie restriction or changes in dietary composition can enhance healthy aging, but the inability of most subjects to adhere to chronic and extreme diets, as well as potentially adverse effects, limits their application. We randomized 100 generally healthy participants from the United States into two study arms and tested the effects of a fasting-mimicking diet (FMD)-low in calories, sugars, and protein but high in unsaturated fats-on markers/risk factors associated with aging and age-related diseases. We compared subjects who followed 3 months of an unrestricted diet to subjects who consumed the FMD for 5 consecutive days per month for 3 months. Three FMD cycles reduced body weight, trunk, and total body fat; lowered blood pressure; and decreased insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). No serious adverse effects were reported. After 3 months, control diet subjects were crossed over to the FMD program, resulting in a total of 71 subjects completing three FMD cycles. A post hoc analysis of subjects from both FMD arms showed that body mass index, blood pressure, fasting glucose, IGF-1, triglycerides, total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and C-reactive protein were more beneficially affected in participants at risk for disease than in subjects who were not at risk. Thus, cycles of a 5-day FMD are safe, feasible, and effective in reducing markers/risk factors for aging and age-related diseases. Larger studies in patients with diagnosed diseases or selected on the basis of risk factors are warranted to confirm the effect of the FMD on disease prevention and treatment.
authors.affiliation: Longevity Institute, School of Gerontology, and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
authors.forename: Min
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2649-9271
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Longevity Institute, School of Gerontology, and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4131-0876
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brandhorst
authors.affiliation: Longevity Institute, School of Gerontology, and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
authors.forename: Mahshid
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1250-3081
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shelehchi
authors.affiliation: Longevity Institute, School of Gerontology, and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
authors.forename: Hamed
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mirzaei
authors.affiliation: Longevity Institute, School of Gerontology, and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
authors.forename: Chia Wei
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Longevity Institute, School of Gerontology, and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3550-9806
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Budniak
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Groshen
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
authors.forename: Wendy J
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2474-7921
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Mack
authors.affiliation: Longevity Institute, School of Gerontology, and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
authors.forename: Esra
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Guen
authors.affiliation: Longevity Institute, School of Gerontology, and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Di Biase
authors.affiliation: Longevity Institute, School of Gerontology, and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
authors.forename: Pinchas
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0035-8366
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.affiliation: Longevity Institute, School of Gerontology, and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
authors.forename: Todd E
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9874-5080
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.affiliation: Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
authors.forename: Tanya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dorff
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
authors.forename: Kurt
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-7716-683X
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal and Complementary Medicine, Charité University Medical Center, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Michalsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine, Sapienza University, 00185 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9809-3553
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Laviano
authors.affiliation: Longevity Institute, School of Gerontology, and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA. vlongo@usc.edu.|FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology, Italian Foundation for Cancer Research Institute of Molecular Oncology, 20139 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Valter D
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0946-7534
authors.initials: VD
authors.lastname: Longo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000473:pathology*; D004032:Diet; D005215:Fasting / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers