Studies have found that hunger is so good for the body
"Don't let yourself go hungry" – this is a favorite saying of the elders. For starvation, most people's first reaction is: will it be bad for the body?!
Hunger, even synonymous with pain. Many people have only experienced it when losing weight.
But scientific research has found that for modern people who do not worry about food and clothing, hunger is not only an important secret to weight loss, but even a long life, and the benefits to the body are more than a little.
Only eat seven or eight points a day
After 2 years, they are in better health
Scientists have been studying hunger and human health for many years and have received good feedback in real life.
THE MOST FAMOUS STUDY IS A LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP PROJECT CALLED CALERIE:
The researchers subjected 218 participants to calorie dietary restriction and physical and psychological monitoring for 2 years. This group of people must eat only 75% of the body's energy needs of food every day for 2 years, which means that they continue to be seven or eight minutes full.
As a result they:
Lost weight
Blood sugar is good
Blood lipids improved
Blood pressure is reduced
Hormone levels stabilized
The mood is more stable, like "the monk is settled"
Image source: Literature
And a study published in the latest top journal Science even found that hunger can prolong life.
Moreover, you don't need to be really hungry, as long as you are mentally hungry, you can live a long life.
Scientists found this surprising discovery in fruit flies: the hungry flies lived much longer than the average group.
With the same survival rate (75%), the starvation group lived about 1.5 times longer than the normal group.
Image source: Literature
As for how much impact it can have on human lifespan, there is no clear study, but at least it is a good expectation.
As for hunger, why it has such a big impact on people and animals, there are still some new discoveries in the scientific community.
Hungry and hungry
Give the body time to remove the garbage from the body
too full of food, lethargy; Hungry, more spiritual, this feeling in life is not unreasonable.
An intermittent "hungry and hungry" study found that occasionally hungry led to less garbage in the body.
The researchers recruited 39 patients with metabolic syndrome and divided them into 2 groups:
One group adopts intermittent "starvation": strictly limit about 70% of energy intake 2 days a week, and eat freely for the other 5 days; Simply understood, there are 2 days in a week, and you eat according to 7 points per meal; The other group is normal eating habits.
After 8 weeks, the scientists found an interesting change in the intestinal environment in the "starvation" group: the level of endotoxins (lipopolysaccharides) in the body decreased.
Lipopolysaccharide is an endotoxin derived from bacteria that is common in the intestine, and elevated concentrations can cause a strong inflammatory response.
Image source: Literature
At the same time, it was also observed that there were significantly more beneficial bacteria in the intestines.
Scientists speculate that in the current environment, when we eat too much and overeat, our bodies are consistently in the process of excessive busyness.
Imagine your current life, from getting up to going to bed, you are constantly eating and eating: breakfast at 9 o'clock, lunch at 12 o'clock, afternoon tea at 3 o'clock, dinner at 6 o'clock, supper at 9 o'clock... The mouth is off work, and the body has to work overtime!
Proper hunger will allow the body not to bear too much energy metabolism, can have excess power to promote the growth of healthy flora, shape a healthier intestinal environment, and make our intestines more powerful to remove garbage.
Some mouse experiments have even found that starvation may also activate the "cleansing system" of cells called autophagy in the liver, fat, brain and muscles, accelerating the removal of harmful substances and damaged cells and other "dirt" from the body.
On the contrary, if you eat too much, it will be difficult for the "cleaning system" to fully awaken, and more harmful substances to the body will accumulate in the body.
In a sense, hunger is like a "pause" signal, telling the body "Hey, it's time to do a cleanup."
Hungry and hungry
Let the body's metabolism follow the rhythm of the biological clock
For many office workers, not only eat too full, but also eat later.
Our daily routine has never been dark, and the family sits neatly together for dinner; Until now, breakfast is eaten at 12 o'clock and dinner is eaten at 10 o'clock.
Such eating habits themselves have broken the "internal biorhythm" that we have formed for tens of thousands of years, making it more difficult for our bodies to process excess energy.
A study published in Nature Communications recruited volunteers to experience the effects of starving at different times.
The scientists recruited 82 volunteers, divided into 3 groups:
One group is hungry at night, that is, between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m., you can eat at will, and the rest of the time you starve;
One group is hungry in the morning, that is, between 11 noon and 8 pm, you can eat at will, and the rest of the time you starve;
The last group is the "eat as you want" control group, that is, you can eat at will all day long.
This pattern of starvation lasted for 5 weeks, and after 5 weeks it was found -
Compared with people who "eat as they want", fasting blood sugar has improved significantly throughout the day, whether they are hungry in the morning or at night.
At the same time, the weight and body fat rate of the starving group also decreased, which may be related to a decrease in energy intake, after all, eating less time, total energy is unconsciously reduced.
But only the starving group at night had a significant decrease in insulin resistance.
Changes before and after 5 weeks of intervention between different "starvation-starving" and control groups
Scientists analyzed that because of long-term biological evolution, the demand for food during the day is greater and the body's metabolism is faster.
At night, the body gradually returns to the metabolic state during sleep, the need for energy is smaller, and the rate of metabolism slows down.
Some studies have found that eating the same calories during the day and eating at night has much worse fat metabolism at night and is easier to be stored by the body.
Think about it, when you are full and fall asleep, our bodies also need to work hard to process the food instead of being in a better rest and repair mode.
"Enough to eat"
Remember to give your body some rest
In modern society, food is really too rich, there are too many temptations, and human beings have long been more than satisfied with "eating".
Too much energy intake, not enough consumption, many health problems of modern people are really "fed up", obesity is only a signal given by the body - it has been overwhelmed.
In addition to food, our lives are not a state of oversaturation:
Endless short videos, picture messages,
As long as there is no shortage of "instant happiness" online;
Phone, chat software, social relationships that must be achieved in milliseconds,
Make people too close to each other;
The pace of life at the speed of light, children, houses, cars, tickets,
There are always invisible hands pushing us forward.
They are all like food that can't be digested and quickly enter our bodies.
"Hungry" is a new problem-solving idea given by scientists. Give your "dazzling soul" a stake occasionally, when your body really needs some emptiness.
Our lives too, can't be too full.
It's good to be hungry, stop, stop.
Friendly reminder: hunger is not a diet, seven or eight points is full. It is also not suitable for children, people who are prone to hypoglycemia, gastrointestinal diseases and other special diseases. It is also recommended to do it under the guidance of a professional.
For most people: don't eat too full, don't eat too late, it's good for the body.
This article is a reviewer
bibliography
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[2] Xie Z, Sun Y, Ye Y, Hu D, Zhang H, He Z, Zhao H, Yang H, Mao Y. Randomized controlled trial for time-restricted eating in healthy volunteers without obesity. Nat Commun. 2022 Feb 22;13(1):1003. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-28662-5. PMID: 35194047.
[3] Guo Y, Luo S, Ye Y, Yin S, Fan J, Xia M. Intermittent Fasting Improves Cardiometabolic Risk Factors and Alters Gut Microbiota in Metabolic Syndrome Patients. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2021 Jan 1;106(1):64-79. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgaa644. PMID: 33017844.
[4] Tang D, Tang Q, Huang W, Zhang Y, Tian Y, Fu X. Fasting: From Physiology to Pathology. Adv Sci (Weinh). 2023 Mar;10(9):e2204487. doi: 10.1002/advs.202204487. Epub 2023 Feb 3. PMID: 36737846; PMCID: PMC10037992.
[5] WHO Expert Consultation. Appropriate body-mass index for Asian populations and its implications for policy and intervention strategies. Lancet. 2004 Jan 10;363(9403):157-63. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(03)15268-3. Erratum in: Lancet. 2004 Mar 13;363(9412):902. PMID: 14726171.
[6] Dorling JL, van Vliet S, Huffman KM, Kraus WE, Bhapkar M, Pieper CF, Stewart T, Das SK, Racette SB, Roberts SB, Ravussin E, Redman LM, Martin CK; CALERIE Study Group. Effects of caloric restriction on human physiological, psychological, and behavioral outcomes: highlights from CALERIE phase 2. Nutr Rev. 2021 Jan 1;79(1):98-113. doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nuaa085. PMID: 32940695; PMCID: PMC7727025.
[7] Martinez-Lopez N, Tarabra E, Toledo M, Garcia-Macia M, Sahu S, Coletto L, Batista-Gonzalez A, Barzilai N, Pessin JE, Schwartz GJ, Kersten S, Singh R. System-wide Benefits of Intermeal Fasting by Autophagy. Cell Metab. 2017 Dec 5;26(6):856-871.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2017.09.020. Epub 2017 Oct 26. PMID: 29107505; PMCID: PMC5718973.
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Co-expert: Leah, PhD candidate in nutrition
Curated by Murphy | Executive Producer: Feidi
Cover image source: Station Cool Helo