Can I Rebuild my Immune System in Just 5 Days with the Fasting Mimicking Diet ?

Why Would I Fast? For a whole 5 Days?

People always asked me the same thing - WHY? Why would you fast? Why would I put myself through a whole 5 days of torture? What the was I doing?

We live in a society where we are conditioned to a familiar, comfortable way of thinking - 3 meals per day, food on tap and loads of premade, sugary foods whenever we want them - I could understand why people were asking.

I wanted to try something different

I wanted the EXPERIENCE

I wanted to push myself, both mentally and emotionally, to go beyond my comfort zone - I, like most people, was so used to eating what I wanted, when I wanted, I really wanted to push myself and see what I could achieve - Not having my morning cappuccino was going to be tough!

This was a TEST

I wanted to test the potential benefits of the renowned FMD program. This program utilises a diet period that mimics fasting and is said to help in Multi-System Regeneration, as well as Enhanced Cognitive Performance & Healthspan. This is a pretty amazing claim, and who wouldn't want these awesome benefits? I had to find out for myself.

I had been looking for a diet that I could use, one that isn’t about weight-loss or fighting a particular disease or disorder. I wanted something that would help me become healthy and stay that way.

I, like most people, always believed that eating a number of “well balanced” meals throughout the day was the answer, after all, it's what we're told, but is it right?

So I began researching, looking at different angles on the effects of aging & the concept of healthpan.

Healthspan is the length of time a person is HEALTHY, not just alive - There's a VERY big difference there.

Eventually, I felt my search was over. I found what could possibly be the answer.

The FMD program!

The FMD program was founded by Dr. Valter Longo and his research into fasting. He has recently been awarded one of the TOP 50 INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN HEALTH CARE OF 2018 by the Time magazine. I know, pretty impressive right? I knew he was the real deal.

In a study, he and his peers found that a periodic diet that mimics fasting promotes multi-system regeneration, enhanced cognitive performance, and healthspan.

 In others words, cutting daily calories in half for just five days can reduce biomarkers for aging, diabetes, heart disease and cancer! This was the start of the FMD program, backed by clinical evidence and patented for its anti-aging effects!

So what exactly is the FMD programme?

The program itself lasts for 5 days and consist of consuming a certain type of foods and supplements - Vegetable soups, Broths, Bars, Olives, Crackers, Herbal Teas, Supplements of Vitamins and Minerals.

On day 1 of the diet I would have a maximum of 1,100 calories, then on days 2 through to 5 will have a maximum of only 750 calories. After some consideration I decided not to count the calories myself, so I went ahead and ordered all the meals on the fast, pre-prepared. There were shipped from the US and were delivered straight to my door, so I was just about ready to get stuck in and really excited at this point.

Then the unexpected happened! I got a call from a REGISTERED NURSE regarding my order. She rang to walk me through the program, alleviated any doubts I had, answered my questions, and got me well and truly ready for the fast. The overall experience from ordering (including the call from a nurse), to the packaging, instructions to going through the fast was extremely professional and well done. I was pleasantly surprised.

SUGAR, I NEED SUGAR!

After multiples excuses, I finally decided to start my fast on Monday. I put my $90 Abbott Libre patch on, and started to track my Blood Glucose (BG) and Ketones.

I decided to push the more intense meetings I had booked, to the following week and didn’t exercise at all (unless you count taking my toddler out as a physically intense workout). I didn't know how I was going to feel on this fast so I really didn't want to push it.

My first day in - I felt a little hunger and had a very slight headache, but it was nothing dramatic or alarming. So far so good. I felt this was going to be easy.

My second day, and this is where I started to struggle. Sugar, I craved sugar, and it wasn't pleasant. My body wanted sugar, and it really let me know. My blood sugar levels felt way under the 4 mmol/L - But I knew I had to get through this initial part to really feel the benefits.

Day three was a transitional day for me, and amazingly, my energy levels were back to normal on day 4 and 5. I also felt this “Mental Clarity” expressed by others and had a fantastically productive day. I've got to admit, I really enjoyed how tasty the meals were on the FMD program, really tasty.

THE VISIBLE PART OF THE ICEBERG: Weight, BG and Ketones

Before starting the program, I lost 3kg in an "Office Weight Management Challenge" with my colleagues at LumenLab. So I didn’t have much more to lose…My weight however slightly but nicely declined everyday to about 1kg over the 5 days, which is -1.5% weight loss compared to the 3.5% loss for the participants to the FMD clinical trials.

I was very pleased with the effect FMD had on my blood glucose and ketones.

My fasting glucose levels steadily declined from ~4.3 mmol/L pre-FMD to the ~3.5 mmol/L on Day 4 and 5, while ketones steadily rose.

As my dietary carbohydrates were significantly reduced, I was in “nutritional ketosis” (0.5 – 1.5 mmol/L) after Day 3. You can see a clear inverse relationship between glucose and ketone values.

I never got into what is called “optimal ketosis” (1.5 – 3 mmol/L) which is recommended for maximum weight loss, but as you know, I wasn't doing this solely for weight loss - This test was to gain a HEALTHIER mind and body.

WHAT IS THE BLOOD TEST TELLING US?

In the table below, I am comparing my blood tests with the results of the participants to the FMD trial (taking the post hoc analysis of risk factors for age-related diseases and conditions in at risk subjects based on my Day 1 baseline). I did a blood test about a month before starting (Day 1), 1 week before for the Lipoprotein (a) and at 5 days at the end of the program (Day 30).

So my trial was over - Am I happy I took the trial? ABSOLUTELY!

I felt healthier, lost weight, my body was optimising itself and I could think a lot clearer and more focused. Plus I was feeling great, fasting can really help with your overall mood. Not that I was moody to start with...hopefully!

I was really happy with these positive results and these great outcomes of the FMD trial.

When I shared these overly positive results with one of my friend, an endocrinologist, she immediately mentioned the impact of potential confounders….If it’s true that I changed my breakfast regime between the initial blood test (switching from eggs to avocado) to the actual fast (a month later) I doubt it could be explained alone with these results.

Here are some remarks about these results:

• Superior reduction in the Bad Cholesterol (-18.4%) compared to the Good Cholesterol (-12.7%), with a Total Cholesterol coming below the ref. range <200 mg/dL;
• Triglycerides (TG) went up, which is unexpected and abnormal, though TGs are highly variable;
• Insulin Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) is a marker associated with increased mortality and DNA damage in human cells. "In animals studies we and others have shown this to be a growth factor that is very much associated with ageing and a variety of diseases, including cancer," says Dr. Longo. To prolong our lifespan, the goal is to maintain a relatively low IGF-1 throughout most of our adult life, so I was quite pleased with a 29.5% reduction. As Dr. Fuhrman reported on his blog, few studies, primarily in European populations, have attempted to define average IGF-1 levels for healthy people in different age ranges. For 31-40 yrs old, it’s average serum IGF-1 level of 135-220 ng/ml.

SO, NOW WHAT’S NEXT? (My Conclusion)

I really enjoyed the experience of testing out the FMD programme. It was more demanding than I first expected, and day 2 was the hardest struggle. That being said, It wasn't too much of a struggle that it became unbearable, and once things leveled out, I felt much better.

Can the FMD program rebuild the immune system? I would tend to say YES, the FMD shows high potential to rebuild the immune system and enhance cognitive performance. But don’t quote me on this, I am not a physician!

I am really hoping that this will be worth the effort and that the benefits will not wear away too soon, and that I will continue to see benefits in my overall healthspan longevity.

I will now wait for my next yearly health check-up, but an annual FMD cycle seems to be reasonable moving forward. This will become part of my annual routine.

I also need to mention that if you are thinking about trying it, you should probably talk to your provider about whether this program is right for you…

Any questions, recommendations or wants to also share your experience, feel free to reach out or contact me! Thanks for following me on this experience.