By A single hormone can extend our lifespan and produce by reducing one type of macronutrient
I first read this in Dave Asprey’s book “Bullet Proof Diet” and couldn’t believe it! Dr Gungry also confirmed this through his vigorous studies over many years. For years I feel I’ve done the wrong thing at the expense of building muscle, getting leaner and attaining the perfect image of so-called ‘health!’ To an extent, we’ve all been led to believe certain foods help us get better health — but they may damage our markers for longevity. We may be overeating something that hinders our capacity to live a disease-free and ‘youthful’ life. Not everyone wants to live a long life — but I do. I’ve wasted a lot of time hiding under a shell; sometimes, that shell doesn’t break open until you are a little older. Although I’m almost 44, I feel that my life has begun entirely different, and I’m experiencing a new ‘awakening.’ Leading a long life doesn’t have to mean going well into your 90s — it means being as healthy as you can be for the blessed time you occupy the earth. We all know that reducing the amount of food we eat improves our health. Fortunately, so many people fast every day or for a week or two a couple of times a year. I fast every day and highly recommend this method for longevity and weight management. A few years ago, Pennington Biomedical’s Neurosignaling Laboratory discovered that a hormone called FGF21 was a key signal linking the body to the brain during protein reduction. Without this signal, young mice failed to change their feeding behaviour or metabolism when placed on low-protein diets. This essential hormone improves metabolic health in young mice fed low-protein diets. It also extends your lifespan. Data analysed shows that FGF21 is the first known hormone coordinating feeding behaviour and metabolic health to improve lifespan during protein restriction. So what does that mean for us humans? There is a possibility that decreasing your protein intake has beneficial effects on your health and longevity. The key is not to lower your protein intake too much, which can cause malnourishment. Overconsumption of protein is one thing we’ve all been encouraged to do to regulate our appetite, build muscle mass and stay lean. But this isn’t the case, and high protein consumption has been linked to increased mortality in certain age groups. As for the effectiveness of a low protein diet — the theory hasn’t been tested on humans — apart from on David Asprey himself. I also have adapted to a low-protein diet myself — but I probably won’t successfully see the fruits of my labour until I age a bit more. This one essential hormone can help people like myself who are middle-aged and want to extend their lifespan and health well into old age. So, when your trainer tells you to eat bucket loads of protein — hold that thought. Too much protein isn’t good for your health over the long term and is not too kind to your gut bacteria. I speak from experience here. So, why not adapt some ‘vegan’ type meals into your weekly schedule for their plant-based, lower threshold protein levels and start building your FGF21 hormone now so that it can work in your favour as you age?
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