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Path to Longevity (new book) by Luigi Fontana


KHashmi317

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This may have already been reported on the forum.

I rec'd an email today from Luigi (below):

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Dear Khurram,

how are you? Hope you are doing well in these difficult times.

I am writing to bring to your kind attention a new book, entitled the ‘Path to Longevity’, that summarizes more than 20 years of research, clinical practice and my accumulated knowledge on healthy longevity.

Here, a video interview with Sunrise TV that encapsulates some of the key topics:

 

 


My ultimate dream is that by reading this book people might start to examine their current level of physical and psychological health, and their subconscious expectations for the future.

I hope that by becoming more aware of their full potential they will unlock a profoundly felt need for transformation and possibly help the world become a better place.

Warmest regards,

Luigi

 

PROFESSOR LUIGI FONTANA, MD, PhD, FRACP

Professor of Medicine and Nutrition

Leonard P Ullmann Chair in Translational Metabolic Health

Director, Healthy Longevity Research and Clinical Program

Charles Perkins Centre | Sydney Medical School (Central Clinical School)

Faculty of Medicine and Health

 

The University of Sydney


Level 5 West | D17 – Education and Research Hub, The Charles Perkins Centre | The University of Sydney | NSW | 2006

 

Clinical Academic | Department of Endocrinology

Royal Prince Alfred Hospital | Camperdown | NSW | 2050

 

T  +61 2 8627 7499 | M +61 4 0879 0318

E    luigi.fontana@sydney.edu.au

W   http://sydney.edu.au/perkins

T    @LuigiFontana22
Ln https://linkedin.com/in/luigi-fontana-md-phd-fracp-6383b1b0/
F   https://www.facebook.com/prof.luigifontanaMD.PhD
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJd_Uuxlsvs9gky4dSCntXg

This email plus any attachments to it are confidential. Any unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.  If you receive this email in error, please delete it and any attachments. 

Please think of our environment and only print this email if necessary.  

 

SAVE PAPER - THINK BEFORE YOU PRINT

 

 

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Table of Contents

 About the author xi

Preface xiii

Where this all began xiv

Information is power xvi

Part I The Beginning of Wisdom 1

Chapter 1 Are You Ready to Enjoy Your Life? 2

Are you ready to embark on the miraculous voyage that is your life? 3

What do you really know about your health? 4

Who is in charge? 5

Who are you? 5

Listen and learn 5

Be your own light: self-awareness is key 6

Chapter 2 Healthy Centenarians: The Quest for Healthy Longevity 7

Secrets shares by world's most long-living populations 8

Okinawa: 'land of the immortals' 8

Sardinia and South Italy: Kingdom of Methuselahs 12

Is vegetarianism the main secret to a long healthy life? 13

Facts, not myths on vegetarian diets: the results of the scientific studies 14

The Seventh-day Adventist vegetarians 15

Is the hunter-gatherer lifestyle the answer for a long and healthy life? 17

Do elite athletes hold the key to longevity? 17

Chapter 3 Healthspan and the Mechanisms of Ageing 20

Why do we age? 20

Death is unavoidable, but a life of prolonged ill-health is not 21

Can we prevent ageing? 22

Is ageing inextricably linked with disease? 22

Why do people develop chronic diseases not linked to ageing itself? 24

Chronic illnesses have common causes 24

Why we need to focus first on a better lifestyle? 25

The Framingham Heart Study 26

How cancer develops? 26

Excess body fat and cancer risk 28

Part II Nourishing Your Body 29

Chapter 4 The Science of Healthy Nutrition 30

Belly fat: the enemy within 31

Why is it important to have a normal BMI? 33

Is BMI the best index to measure body fatness? 35

The importance of monitoring our body weight 35

Watch your waist, not just your weight 36

Simple ways to assess whether you have abdominal obesity 37

What is a healthy waist circumference? 37

Let's take action to reduce our waist circumference 38

What will happen with a reduction in waist circumference? 39

How fast should you lose weight? 40

How can you stop putting the weight back on? 40

Beyond weight loss: successful ageing 41

Chapter 5 Longevity Effects of Restricting Calories and Fasting 42

Calorie restriction in rodents: the fountain of youth 42

Calorie restriction in monkeys: age record-breakers 43

Does calorie restriction work in humans? 45

Too much calorie restriction can be dangerous 47

Ways to control calories, without counting 47

The importance of replacing 'junk' with healthy plant-based foods 48

Leave the table when you are 80 per cent full 49

Intermittent fasting 50

Our studies on the effects of fasting 50

Different to the 5:2 diet 51

Benefits of 'healthy' fasting 51

Time-restricted fasting: the 16:8 diet 52

Dangers of frequent eating. Don't snack. Feast! 53

Eat your food slowly 53

Chapter 6 Healthy Children 55

Epigenetics and future generations: life takes notes on our genes 55

Before creation: preconception health for strong kids 57

Why health and lifestyle in pregnancy matter 57

Healthy birth: how delivery mode and early nutrition can shape the newborn's health 59

Healthy eating for breastfeeding 60

If possible, breastfeed your baby, it will improve your health as well 62

Balancing nutrition in our growing children through puberty 63

Chapter 7 Diet Quality Matters 65

How much protein should we eat? 66

Does eating more protein increase muscle mass? 67

High-protein diets promote disease and ageing 69

The quality of protein is more important than quantity 70

Animal protein 70

Plant protein 71

Fat: is dietary fat our real enemy? 72

Not all fat is created equal 73

Carbs: healthy versus unhealthy carbohydrates 74

Fibre 76

Part III From the Mediterranean to the Healthy Longevity Diet 81

Chapter 8 The Mediterranean Diet: Where Taste Meets Health 82

The 'discovery' of the Mediterranean diet 84

Health effects of the Mediterranean diet: how solid is the scientific evidence? 85

Mechanisms behind the benefits of the Mediterranean diet 87

Reduced oxidative and inflammatory damage 88

Gut health 89

Chapter 9 Move to the Modern Healthy Longevity Diet 91

The importance of healthy food diversity 93

The modern healthy longevity food pyramid explained 93

Vegetables: the staple food of the modern diet 94

Wild edible weeds: a well of nutrients 100

Herbs and spices: maximising flavour 101

Whole grains and legumes: combining energy, fibre and proteins 106

The wonders of nuts and seeds 119

Fruit is the best dessert to nourish the skin 125

Fish: substitute meat with fish for the good of your heart 127

Extra-virgin olive oil: the healthiest condiment 129

What should be drink? 130

How much should we drink? 132

Chapter 10 Foods to Eliminate or Drastically Reduce 133

Why are ultra-processed foods bad for you? 134

Sugars: not so sweet results 135

Soft drinks and sodas 135

Salt: sneaky sodium 136

Meat: is it good or bad for your health? 139

Eat whole foods, not supplements 143

Part IV Physical Exercise as a Daily Medicine 145

Chapter 11 Maximising Health Through Physical Exercise 146

Physical inactivity: the biggest public health problem of the 21st century 147

The 2,500-year history of sports medicine 148

Chapter 12 Beneficial Effects of Aerobic Exercise 150

Burning calories with endurance exercise 151

Aerobic exercise and type 2 diabetes 154

Endurance-exercise training improves cardiovascular health 154

Aerobic exercise helps to reduce cancer risk 155

Exercise training protects memory and prevents brain fog 156

Chapter 13 Starting of Improving Aerobic-Exercise Training 157

Training intensity 157

Training duration and volume 160

Training frequency 160

High-intensity interval training: how and when? 161

Use it, lose it 163

How much exercise is too much? 164

Chapter 14 Fourtifying Muscles and Bones: The Science of Strength Training 166

Intensity, frequency repetitions and rest periods 168

Make a start with 15 minutes of a body strength training program at home 169

Chapter 15 Posture, Balance and Flexibility: The Essential Exercises 173

Pain and joint degeneration 173

Why good posture is vital 174

What is the correct posture? 175

Chapter 16 Hatha Yoga, Tai Chi and Martial Arts: East Meets West 178

Tai chi 178

Yoga 179

Slow, deep breathing: a powerful tool to fight stress and anxiety 184

Part V Prevention 189

Chapter 17 Take Preventative Action to Stay Healthy 190

Smoking kills you and harms your loved ones 190

Sun exposure and vitamin 😧 how, when, where and why? 192

Alcohol: the good, the bad, and the ugly 195

Brush your teeth regularly: gum disease causes systemic inflammation 197

Chapter 18 The Importance of Health Screening 199

What tests do we need and when? 200

Screening for cancer 201

Beyond active surveillance and watchful waiting 204

Part VI Our Minds 207

Chapter 19 Nourish Your Mind and Train Your Brain 208

Improving our brain function: cognitive training 209

Brain plasticity can improve into old age 210

Fasting and endurance exercise boost effects of cognitive training 212

Preventing cognitive decline 212

A healthy diet helps to prevent cognitive decline 213

Physical exercise can help prevent dementia 214

Quality sleep lowers the risk for dementia 215

The importance of strong social relationships 215

Chapter 20 Rest and Sleep Quality 216

What science tells us happens when we fall asleep 217

Benefits of sleep 218

Slow-wave sleep disruption promotes dementia 219

How many hours should we sleep? 220

How to improve your sleep quality 221

Chapter 21 Mindfulness Meditation: Learning to Live in the Present 223

Mindfulness exercises: the art of now 224

Mindfulness combats 'constantly thinking disorder' 224

Inner serenity time: how to begin 225

Ten benefits of mindfulness meditation 226

How negative emotions affect our wellbeing 228

What is your level of mindfulness? 231

Mindfulness exercises 232

Mindfulness is a precious instrument to boost creativity 233

Chapter 22 Family, Happiness and a Future Without Fear 235

The importance of family, friends and community 235

Knowing ourselves: the way to do is being 236

The stream of life 237

Maximising our potential: living according to our own nature 237

Beyond the sensory: freedom from cultural illusions 238

Intuition: the highest form of intelligence 239

Happiness: a plant to nurture? 242

Six interventions to develop and increase your happiness 244

Of life and death 246

Transforming yourself one step at a time 247

Part VII Our World 251

Chapter 23 A Healthy Sustainable Environment to Live in 252

Chapter 24 Pollution is Making us Sick 255

No 'normal' concentrations of particulate matter exist 255

Where do these fine particles come from? 256

Livestock and environmental pollution 257

Global heating 259

Chapter 25 Securing the Future 260

Chapter 26 My Message to the Reader 263

Appendix What Gets Measured, Gets Done: Track Your Progress 265

Measuring markers of systemic health 266

Measuring markers of cardiovascular health 267

'Bad' cholesterol 268

'Good' cholesterol 270

Blood glucose and other markers of optimal glucose metabolism 271

Blood pressure 273

Maximal oxygen consumption and fitness 274

Monitoring progress - other tests 275

References/bibliography 276

Acknowledgements 318

Edited by Sibiriak
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Barnes and Noble gives the title of the book as "The Path to Longevity: The Secrets to Living a Long, Happy, Healthy Life".

At Amazon and elsewhere,  the subordinate title phrase is: "The Path to Longevity:  How to reach 100 with the Health and Stamina of a 40 Year Old"

In this day and age "living a long, happy,healthy life" is really blah,  goal-wise.

Edited by Sibiriak
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On 6/24/2020 at 12:59 AM, Sibiriak said:

Barnes and Noble gives the title of the book as "The Path to Longevity: The Secrets to Living a Long, Happy, Healthy Life".

At Amazon and elsewhere,  the subordinate title phrase is: "The Path to Longevity:  How to reach 100 with the Health and Stamina of a 40 Year Old"

In this day and age "living a long, happy,healthy life" is really blah,  goal-wise.

It's a sad day when you think that living a long, happy, healthy life is "blah." What is a worthy or exciting goal for you?

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7 hours ago, Annik said:

It's a sad day when you think that living a long, happy, healthy life is "blah." What is a worthy or exciting goal for you?

I read it as sardonic commentary.  Sibiriak didn't say that is what he thinks, rather it is what he believes society thinks.  The Amazon subtitle sounds less credible to me, a bit like snake oil, but I imagine they chose it with careful consideration of what will likely sell the most books.

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Table of contents looks good.  

Quote

It's a sad day when you think that living a long, happy, healthy life is "blah." What is a worthy or exciting goal for you?

Maybe add "meaningful life" to the mix, but that would be a different book 😉

 

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Funny. Being familiar with a lot of the research this book seems to be based on - once I read the table of contents, I feel like I read the book! Joking aside, I might pick it up at some point, although I don't expect many surprises. I guess that's the downside of too much reading in the subject area, hard to come across genuinely novel stuff :)

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14 hours ago, Todd Allen said:

I read it as sardonic commentary. 

Maybe if he didn't add, "...goal wise."

Sometimes I think many CR practitioners are into masochism. I'm definitely interested in extending my life, but first I want a life worth living. 

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🙂
3
On 6/23/2020 at 9:59 PM, Sibiriak said:

Barnes and Noble gives the title of the book as "The Path to Longevity: The Secrets to Living a Long, Happy, Healthy Life".

At Amazon and elsewhere,  the subordinate title phrase is: "The Path to Longevity:  How to reach 100 with the Health and Stamina of a 40 Year Old"

In this day and age "living a long, happy,healthy life" is really blah,  goal-wise.

I read this to indicate that "The Path to Longevity: The Secrets to Living a Long, Happy, Healthy Life" was not enough of a hard sell for the Amazon editors and they felt that they had to spell out "reach 100" and "health and stamina of a 40-year-old" in order to entice the crowds to buy the book.

More to do with the madness of crowds, than with Sibiriak's personal opinion or masochism....

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55 minutes ago, Mike41 said:

I’m reading it and one surprise was protein consumption and muscle mass. He cites studies showing not much if anything for weightlifting above rda amounts.

Mike, weightlifting is different from bodybuilding, in the former you prioritize strength, in the latter you prioritize size, hence muscle protein synthesis must be by necessity pursued. 

The required protein amount for resistance training is still very controversial. Bodybuilders tend to exaggerate since their main goal is muscle size and not longevity, whereas many vegan authors probably err on the opposite side. I would like to know what's the optimum but I myself don't know. Sure it seems not to be the 2.2 g/kg/d the main authors suggest, but I can tell you by experience that with a very strenuous activity you won't grow in size by mere RDA amounts.

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McCoy said:

Mike, weightlifting is different from bodybuilding, in the former you prioritize strength, in the latter you prioritize size, hence muscle protein synthesis must be by necessity pursued

McCoy,

I misquoted Longo sorry for that it’s a bit confusing. What he actually said was anything beyond 30 gms of protein in a given meal was useless to increase muscle mass and is in fact harmful. 
 my personal experience is different then yours. I ate tons of protein several times in my life and didn’t notice any effect beyond what I get eating normal, but that’s me.

“20. World Health Organization. Protein and Amino Acid Requirements in Human Nutrition. WHO Press, Report Series 935, 1–265 (2007). 21. Mittendorfer, B., Klein, S. & Fontana L. A word of caution against excessive protein intake. Nature Reviews: Endocrinology, 16, 59-66 (2019). 22. Finger, D., et al. Effects of protein supplementation in older adults undergoing resistance training: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 45, 245-255 (2015). 23. Morton, R.W., et al. A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 52, 376-384 (2018). 24. Reidy, P.T. & Rasmussen, B.B. Role of ingested amino acids and protein in the promotion of resistance exercise-induced muscle protein anabolism. The Journal of Nutrition, 146, 155-183 (2016). 25. Holm, L. & Nordsborg, N.B. Supplementing a normal diet with protein yields a moderate improvement in the robust gains in muscle mass and strength induced by resistance training in older individuals. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 106, 971-972 (2017). 26. Liao, C.D., et al. Effects of protein supplementation combined with resistance exercise on body composition and physical function in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 106, 1078-1091 (2017). 27. Moore, D.R., et al. Protein ingestion to stimulate myofibrillar protein synthesis requires greater relative protein intakes in healthy older versus younger men. The Journals of Gerontology. Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 70, 57-62 (2015). 28. Murphy, C.H., Oikawa, S.Y. & Phillips, S.M. Dietary protein to maintain muscle mass in aging: a case for per-meal protein recommendations. The Journal of Frailty & Aging, 5, 49-58 (2016). 29. Moore, D.R., et al. Ingested protein dose response of muscle and albumin protein synthesis after resistance exercise in young men. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 89, 161-168 (2009).”

— Path to Longevity by Luigi Fontana
https://a.co/fuUKBCM

Edited by Mike41
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55 minutes ago, Mike41 said:

I misquoted Longo sorry for that it’s a bit confusing. What he actually said was anything beyond 30 gms of protein in a given meal was useless to increase muscle mass and is in fact harmful.

That would be considered an extreme fringe opinion within the large community of body builders.  I expect the majority of people eating one or two meals a day would also disagree.  And there is a rapidly growing community of people eating meat based diets that disagree.

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1 hour ago, Todd Allen said:

That would be considered an extreme fringe opinion within the large community of body builders.

Hm, this seems a rather extreme statement in itself, IMO.  You may be right that single meal protein intake above 30g does increase the net balance of plasma amino acids, as I've seen a couple of small studies agree with this:

The Anabolic Response to a Meal Containing Different Amounts of Protein Is Not Limited by the Maximal Stimulation of Protein Synthesis in Healthy Young Adults

"...whole body net protein balance improves with greater protein intake above that previously suggested to maximally stimulating muscle protein synthesis because of a simultaneous reduction in protein breakdown."

But this does not mean that eating tons of protein is beneficial to overall health or longevity and the preponderance of the evidence suggests otherwise.  Similarly with diets high in animal protein.  After all, we know that you can dramatically increase lean muscle mass by using steroids such as testosterone or trenbolone, but it will be at the expense of your long-term health.

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6 hours ago, Ron Put said:

Hm, this seems a rather extreme statement in itself, IMO.  You may be right that single meal protein intake above 30g does increase the net balance of plasma amino acids, as I've seen a couple of small studies agree with this:

The Anabolic Response to a Meal Containing Different Amounts of Protein Is Not Limited by the Maximal Stimulation of Protein Synthesis in Healthy Young Adults

"...whole body net protein balance improves with greater protein intake above that previously suggested to maximally stimulating muscle protein synthesis because of a simultaneous reduction in protein breakdown."

But this does not mean that eating tons of protein is beneficial to overall health or longevity and the preponderance of the evidence suggests otherwise.  Similarly with diets high in animal protein.  After all, we know that you can dramatically increase lean muscle mass by using steroids such as testosterone or trenbolone, but it will be at the expense of your long-term health.

Well in fact Longo definitely quotes research suggesting high intake of protein is a significant promoter of chronic illness including cancer!

“44. Simpson, S.J., et al. Dietary protein, aging and nutritional geometry. Ageing Research Reviews, 39, 78-86 (2017). 45. Solon-Biet, S.M., et al. The ratio of macronutrients, not caloric intake. Cell Metabolism, (2014). 46. Mensink, R. Effects of saturated fatty acids on serum lipids and lipoproteins: a systematic review and regression analysis. World Health Organization, (2016). 47. Tang, W.H., et al. Intestinal microbial metabolism of phosphatidylcholine and cardiovascular risk. The New England Journal of Medicine, 368, 1575-1584 (2013). 48. Bastide, N.M., Pierre, F.H. & Corpet, D.E. Heme iron from meat and risk of colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis and a review of the mechanisms involved. Cancer Prevention Research, 4, 177-184 (2011). 49. Efeyan, A., Zoncu, R. & Sabatini, D.M. Amino acids and mTORC1: from lysosomes to disease. Trends in Molecular Medicine, 18, 524-533 (2012). 50. Weickert, M.O., et al. Effects of supplemented isoenergetic diets differing in cereal fiber and protein content on insulin sensitivity in overweight humans. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 94, 459-471 (2011). 51. Hattersley, J.G., et al. Modulation of amino acid metabolic signatures by supplemented isoenergetic diets differing in protein and cereal fiber content. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 99, E25992609 (2014). 52. Sargrad, K.R., et al. Effect of high protein vs high carbohydrate intake on insulin sensitivity, body weight, hemoglobin A1c, and blood pressure in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 105, 573-580 (2005). 53. Malik, V.S., et al. Dietary protein intake. American Journal of Epidemiology, (2016). 54. Sluijs, I., et al. Dietary intake of total, animal, and vegetable protein and risk of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care, (2010). 55. Fontana, L., et al. Decreased consumption of branched-chain amino acids. Cell Reports, (2016). 56. Smith, G.I., et al. Protein ingestion induces muscle insulin resistance independent of leucine-mediated mTOR activation. Diabetes, 64, 1555-1563 (2015). 57. Ericksen, R.E., et al. Loss of BCAA catabolism during carcinogenesis enhances mTORC1 activity”

— Path to Longevity by Luigi Fontana
https://a.co/3XvubPr

Edited by Mike41
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9 hours ago, Ron Put said:

But this does not mean that eating tons of protein is beneficial to overall health or longevity

The body builders example I believe negates the first half of the statement that more than 30 grams of protein in a meal is useless.  I don't think we have sufficient data regarding body builders to evaluate how detrimental to health or longevity very high protein intake might be but it clearly isn't a death sentence as there are quite a few that have made it into their 80s and 90s.

As for the 2nd half of the statement, if I eat one meal a day and limit myself to 30 grams of protein or less for fear that more than 30 grams in one meal is harmful I won't even get the low RDA of protein.

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If you missed it previously, Fontana posted a good lecture about 18 months ago that seems to cover many of the topics of this new book:

13:44 CR in primates

25:30 talks about CALERIE study

29:02 he specifically mentions the CR Society and shows a before/after pic and biomarkers of one member

36:55 talks about the importance of increasing adiponectin and especially the importance of reduced core body temperature as a biomarker for longevity

38:00 skeletal muscle profile on CR, importance of downregulation of IGF-1

43:40 Side effects of chronic severe CR - how to know if you are overdoing CR

44:30 It is NOT TRUE that the more CR the better. Talks about study showing how 40% CR did not result in increased longevity for 2/3rds of the subtypes of mice tested. 20% CR is optimal for many strains of mice.  Biomarkers are key for determining what the optimal CR level is.   You must have sufficient energy to promote longevity.

46:15 Used to think it was just about the calories, but now we know that is NOT true.  Composition of diet is important, meal timing is important - CR with eating all day does not result in longevity in mice (50:00)

51:10 Discusses ongoing human intermittent fasting clinical trial

53:40 Importance of low protein / methionine restriction for longevity independent of CR (blocks tumor development)

59:25 You should eat around 10% protein ("a calorie is not a calorie", "stay away from low carb or ketogenic diets")

1:04:20 Talks about the gut microbiome.  Diet reliably and rapidly changes the gut microbiome, protein intake and fiber are key, the more diversity of vegetables you eat the better your gut microbiome, which results in reduced inflamation (related to short chain fatty acids). Eat legumes, whole grains, and lots of vegetables.

1:10:50 Your gut microbiome impacts your physiologic response to CR

1:13:00 Describes other pieces of the health/longevity puzzle he will talk about in a future lecture: exercise, breathing and rate of respiration, sleep, meditation, phytochemicals, cognitive training

1:18:00 Future of medicine is prevention.  Reducing mental stress, sedentary lifestyle, excessive calorie intake, and poor diets are key.

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17 hours ago, Todd Allen said:

The body builders example I believe negates the first half of the statement that more than 30 grams of protein in a meal is useless.  I don't think we have sufficient data regarding body builders to evaluate how detrimental to health or longevity very high protein intake might be but it clearly isn't a death sentence as there are quite a few that have made it into their 80s and 90s.

As for the 2nd half of the statement, if I eat one meal a day and limit myself to 30 grams of protein or less for fear that more than 30 grams in one meal is harmful I won't even get the low RDA of protein.

https://www.renalandurologynews.com/home/conference-highlights/american-urological-association-annual-meeting/aua-2016-annual-meeting/aua-2016-misc-urinary-problems/mortality-rate-higher-among-bodybuilders/
 

Doesn’t look too good for bodybuilders in this study. There is little research and even this one has the hormonal confounder so it’s probably these supplements that are screwing their bodies up. I suspect “natural bodybuilders” might just live longer on average, but that’s a comparison with average people. Fontana’s talking about the longest lived people with the best health in old age up to death. These folks are not eating loads of protein.

Edited by Mike41
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Just wanted to say I purchased the book and am enjoying the sample so far. I appreciate that Fontana includes chapters on meditation, community, and diet's impact on Mother Earth. This book will be a good roundup of what I first learned from The CR Society in 2016. I'll be passing the book onto family & friends. Thanks for sharing it's existence!

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RE. Protein: again, the literature is confusing and it risks to become a degree-of-belief approach, like in many other topics in nutrition science.

In my considered opinion, you guys are all correct in one way ore another.

  • There is a protein maximum threshold for muscle protein synthesis (MPS), that's indisputable. Otherwise, we might eat 400 grams of protein per day and get bigger than Ronnie Coleman
  • What is that max threshold is a function of many variables, like individual metabolism, type and intensity and volume of exercise, type of protein, and so on. Here the literature becomes controversial. 
  • When Mike Colella says he didn't grow in muscle eating tons of protein, I really believe him and I'm not very much different from him. but stating bluntly that the RDA is enough to promote considerable MPS is a long shot, contrary to the laws of biology, even in young people, although it may be true for the limited amount of people who are strong absorbers of nutrients and who naturally have a low requirement for protein. For these people, the RDA may be twice their minimum requirement. But  probably that's about the 10th percentile of the population.
  • The energy input, especially from carbs, seems to have a protein-sparing effect, that is an abundance of energy requires less protein for MPS.
  • In the end, I believe that the fair thing to say is that, providing we are interested in promoting some MPS, and we should be over a certain age, we should strive to optimize the amount of protein in such a way that we get the maximum results in terms of MPS with the minimum amount of protein.
  • The above would entail ingesting many carbs, but this may have detrimental effects on glycemia.
  •  As far as I'm concerned, I'm still trying to understand which is my optimum amount. I believe, approximately it may be in between 1.2 and 1.6 g/kg/d, with my present volume and intensity of exercise, which is not much. I might require more but only if I  increase the loadings and the volume.
  • One way to optimize may be to eat more protein in exercise days and less in normal days, taking advantage of the anabolic window of opportunity which also decreases the requirement of protein for MPS.
  • Some bodybuilders seem to require less protein than we might think, for example I studied the case of the natural vegan bodybuilder Torre Washington, who in his forties used to eat 100-150 grams of vegan protein per day, which is not much, in my estimate it was on average 1.5 g/kg/d of plant-based protein, far less than the 2.2 advised to bodybuilders of just animal protein! But he may be in that 10th percentile which I cited above.

image.png.d2f933d80bc8e8a88f0bd440ae91245d.png

 

 

Edited by mccoy
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