I have gained so much weight over the past two years from stress and meds, and for the first time in my life face the dreaded "d" word "diet". Ugh. This requires way more discipline than I have. The minute I tell myself I cannot have something, I crave it.

I then remembered an article on an intermittent fasting as an anti-aging practice and revisited. Not only do you lose weight, but check out the neurological benefits:

In this review article we describe evidence suggesting that two dietary interventions, caloric restriction (CR) and intermittent fasting (IF), can prolong the health-span of the nervous system by impinging upon fundamental metabolic and cellular signaling pathways that regulate life-span. CR and IF affect energy and oxygen radical metabolism, and cellular stress response systems, in ways that protect neurons against genetic and environmental factors to which they would otherwise succumb during aging. There are multiple interactive pathways and molecular mechanisms by which CR and IF benefit neurons including those involving insulin-like signaling, FoxO transcription factors, sirtuins and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors. These pathways stimulate the production of protein chaperones, neurotrophic factors and antioxidant enzymes, all of which help cells cope with stress and resist disease. A better understanding of the impact of CR and IF on the aging nervous system will likely lead to novel approaches for preventing and treating neurodegenerative disorders.


There are also disease factors called MicroRNA's and fasting seems to mitigate those as well.

Has anyone out there tried this? I am not expecting or even suggesting this is any sort of cure but wondered if there was a symptom benefit. There is one site claiming a man "healed" himself by intermittent fasting for over a year, and I am skeptical. At the very least, I don't think it would hurt...

Here is main article:

Caloric restriction and intermittent fasting: two potential diets for successful brain aging.

Eating less suppresses microRNA assassins in the brain.