Valter Longo
Professor, University of Southern California Longevity Institute
Fasting Mimicking Diets Longevity and Disease
Fasting mimicking diets (FMDs) are low calorie and protein and high fat compositions lasting 4-7 days emerging as periodic dietary interventions with the potential to improve healthspan and decrease the incidence of cancer and other age-related diseases.
FMDs increase protection in healthy cells while sensitizing cancer cells to a variety of therapies, in part by generating complex environments which result in protection of normal and sensitization of cancer cells. More recent data indicates that FMDs enhances the efficacy of many drugs targeting different cancer mouse models by stimulating anti-tumor immunity.
FMD cycles also reverse insulin resistance and promote multi-system regeneration by both increasing stem cells number and by inducing cellular reprogramming.
In humans, these effects contribute to reducing risk factors for age-related diseases, promote diabetes regression, and reduce biological age.
Valter Longo, PhD, is the Edna Jones Professor in Biological Sciences and Gerontology, the Director of the Longevity Institute at the USC School of Gerontology, one of the oldest and leading centers for aging research. His laboratory studies the fundamental mechanisms of aging in yeast, rodents and humans by using genetics and biochemistry techniques with focus on the nutrient-response signal transduction pathways that regulate disease and longevity. This work led to the identification of the role of the Tor-S6K pathway in longevity extension. His laboratory also has developed and tested the effect of periodic fasting and fasting mimicking diets on multi-system reprogramming and stem cell activation and regeneration in mice, later translated into clinical trials to prevent and treat a range of age-related diseases.