Optimal Being

New findings reveal that the body undergoes significant, systematic changes across multiple organs during prolonged periods of fasting. The results demonstrate evidence of health benefits beyond weight loss, but also show that any potentially health-altering changes appear to occur only after three days without food. New findings reveal that the body undergoes significant, systematic changes across multiple organs during prolonged periods of fasting. The results demonstrate evidence of health benefits beyond weight loss, but also show that any potentially health-altering changes appear to occur only after three days without food. The study, published today in  Nature Metabolism,  advances our understanding of what's happening across the body after prolonged periods without food. By identifying the potential health benefits from fasting and their underlying molecular basis, researchers from Queen Mary University of London's Precision Healthcare University Research Institute (PH...

  Sometimes, a well-timed email can make a real difference. For Michael Collins, age 53, that life-changing message arrived from his employer’s wellness initiative in October 2020. It was the Monday after his doctor had told him that he was “in trouble” and needed to get his weight and diabetes under control.  Michael, a resident of Boaz, Alabama, and a mental health advocate for his state government, explained the extent of his health crisis: “The doctor told me that he couldn’t promise me [I would live] two weeks or six months. I mean, I was having heart palpitations… my heart was messing up. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t sleep. I was in bad shape.” The fateful email included an invitation to apply to a diabetes reversal program offered by a company called Virta Health. Michael filled out the forms and enrolled, initiating a remarkable health journey. He was one of more than 1,100 government employees who signed up (a mix from both state and local governmen...

Metformin is widely prescribed for type 2 diabetes; it improves glucose metabolism and thereby reduces diabetic complications. How it works is not well-understood, but we know that metformin mostly interacts with signaling molecules in the liver, gut, and kidney. Results vary according to the dosage and duration of metformin treatment. Metformin has multiple mechanisms of action, which likely account for its anticystic, antitumor, cardioprotective, neuroprotective, and longevity effects. Metformin and glucose metabolism Diabetes is an age accelerator. Compared to non-diabetic individuals, the phenotypic age (PhAge) of individuals with type 1 and type 2 diabetes is 12.02 and 16.32 years higher, respectively [1]. Metformin helps normalize glucose levels and therefore may slow changes in PhAge. Metformin’s journey in the body begins with gut cells called enterocytes. Metformin carries a positive charge, which makes it relatively easy to cross the negatively charged cell membrane. Further,...