“. . . The little bit of stress that occurs when genes are activated prompts the rest of the system to hunker down, to conserve, to survive a little longer. That’s the start of longevity.” David Sinclair

 

Hi and welcome to Day #3 with me and Prolon!

(If you missed days 1 and 2, go here, and here)

 

Day 3 can be challenging. It all starts to feel like the real deal and the thought of a juicy steak and full-course meal may creep into your consciousness. This is the halfway point and your body is hard at work now, cleaning up the mess you made eating all that sugar!  

On the other hand, by Day 3 the body starts to settle. Ghrelin, your hunger hormone, is quiet after about 24 hours, so hunger subsides and often the desire for food is more out of habit than of hunger.

Some even begin to feel more calm, relaxed, and peaceful. 

 

What’s happening inside today?

 

Today cellular clean-up and autophagy are in full swing, flushing out old, worn-out intracellular components and cellular debris. This is all good as it sets the stage for the development of new, clean, healthy cells.

Ketosis is also generally in the works by day 3, going after some of that excess fat for fuel. All good!

 

Tweaking your longevity genes

 

Here’s another interesting thing that’s going on inside . . . 

Did you know you have specific genes that affect your longevity? 

Yep. You do. We all do – an unknown fact until very recently when scientists decided to dig into our genetics and learn more about how it all works.

What they learned contradicted the previously held belief that we’re born with a certain genetic code that wires us for such things as lifespan, weight, intelligence, diseases, and such, and there’s little we can do about it.

While some of this is correct, surprisingly they found that our genes are constantly shifting and changing. This is called “genetic expression” and it’s largely determined by this . . .

Environment and lifestyle.

What you eat, how (and if) you sleep, how you stress, how much you worry,  movement  (or not), nature, sunlight, etc – all of these things influence how your genes express. And when it comes to longevity and aging, Dr. Sara Gottfried, in her book, Younger, writes that as much as 90% of the signs of aging and disease are caused by our lifestyle – not our genes. 

 

Fasting for a longer healthier life

 

So what’s actually happening here? 

Fasting activates the genes that regulate aging and countless research studies now correlate it with healthy longevity. 

As David Sinclair (a recognized guru on longevity) writes in his book, Lifespan, “fasting engages our bodies’ survival mechanisms” to strengthen the body.

Dr. Longo in his quest to “reprogram” the youth period of the body, came to a similar conclusion when he starved yeast (organisms whose molecular structure is much like ours) and discovered they lived twice as long. 

Always learning

Research on fasting and its benefits continues full force today as scientists search to fully understand the mechanisms that influence our health as we age. The consensus: fasting is good for us. It clears up inflammation, strengthens us, and cleans out the trash that causes our bodies to malfunction. 

That’s it for Day #3. 

 

See you tomorrow – it even gets better! ♥

 

Questions, concerns, just wanna talk? Email me at elaine@elainepauly.com.