Want to Feel Younger? Try This Weird Diet (But Maybe Don't Get Your Hopes Up)

Overview

Paper Summary › Explain Like I'm Five › Conflicts of Interest › Identified Limitations › Rating Explanation › Good to know › Topic Hierarchy › File Information ›

Paper Summary

Paperzilla title

This study found that three cycles of a fasting-mimicking diet (FMD) were associated with a decrease in median biological age of 2.5 years, independent of weight loss, in a group of generally healthy adults. The FMD also reduced hepatic fat, improved insulin resistance, and shifted the immune profile toward a younger phenotype, although some of these findings were based on small subsets of participants.

Explain Like I'm Five

Scientists found that a special diet, which makes your body think it's fasting, made people's bodies act about 2.5 years younger! It also made them healthier inside.

Possible Conflicts of Interest

The experimental FMD was provided by L-Nutra Inc. USC has licensed intellectual property to L-Nutra. V.D.L. and T.E.M. have equity interest in L-Nutra but did not participate in data collection and analysis. V.D.L.'s equity will be assigned to charitable organizations.

Identified Limitations

Small sample size for some analyses

The sample size for some of the key findings, such as the effects on hepatic fat and diabetes markers, is quite small (5-13 participants), limiting the generalizability of these results. Larger studies are needed to confirm these effects.

Lack of control for other lifestyle factors

Although the study adjusted for weight loss, other lifestyle factors that could influence biological age (such as exercise, sleep, or stress levels) were not measured or controlled for. This makes it difficult to isolate the specific contribution of the FMD.

Dependence on a specific commercial product

The study relies on a specific, commercially available FMD product. It's unclear whether similar results would be achieved with other fasting or calorie restriction approaches.

Extrapolation of short-term data for long-term predictions

The long-term projections of life expectancy and mortality risk are based on simulations extrapolated from short-term data. The actual long-term effects of repeated FMD cycles are unknown and require further investigation.

Rating Explanation

This study shows some interesting preliminary findings about the potential benefits of a fasting-mimicking diet (FMD) on biological age and metabolic markers. However, several limitations (small sample sizes, lack of control for other lifestyle factors, reliance on a commercial product, and extrapolated long-term projections) warrant caution in interpreting the results and necessitate further research to confirm the findings and understand the underlying mechanisms.

Good to know

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Topic Hierarchy

Domain: Health Sciences

Field: Medicine

Subfield: Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism

File Information

Original Title: Fasting-mimicking diet causes hepatic and blood markers changes indicating reduced biological age and disease risk

Uploaded: July 08, 2025 at 12:09 PM

Privacy: Public