Washington. Five days of normal eating, followed by two days of calorie reduction, may help a person lose weight, renew cells, and slow the process of aging. Dr. Fontana is a professor of Medicine and Nutrition at the University of Brescia, and works with Washington University in the American city of Saint Louis. He is a leading expert on nutrition and longevity. Dr. Fontana was interviewed recently by Time Magazine, together with neuroscientist and researcher Mark Mattson of the National Institute on Aging, as well as Valter Longo, Professor of Biology at the University of Southern California. In the interview, Dr. Fontana extolled the benefits of intermittent fasting. “When we go long periods of time without consuming food,” he explained, “the ensuing metabolic changes appear to stimulate ‘autophagy,’ a natural purging of damaged cells. The cells begin to eat dysfunctional proteins, and this can be beneficial.” Added Mattson: “We discovered that the brains of mice subjected to intermittent fasting better resist Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, and stroke.” (9 colonne)
