4 Comments

Slowing the onset of dementia is certainly an incentive! I do a similar fast (no eating between breakfast and dinner) but not nearly so often as you. It's more for religious reasons for me (Mark 9:29) but has the added bonus of keeping off the eight or nine pounds I tend to gain if I'm eating whatever I want.

Expand full comment
author

Religious practices are based on systematically approaching extensive observations, and are therefore well worth learning. I'm not absolutely rigid in my daily fasting either, occasionally eating later for social reasons. When I eat late I'll try to skip breakfast, but some days are busy enough that I can't afford to lose the energy boost of a good breakfast. But our bodies are flexible enough to adapt to changing circumstances. Chronic diseases, like dementia, seem to arise from persistent dietary abuse rather than occasional excesses.

Halloween is always difficult for me. Passing out treats to the kids presents unavoidable temptation. And then there's the leftovers...

Expand full comment

Ho, ho, yeah I've completely folded on trying to overcome my sugar addiction. Yeah my fasts are pretty porous, but (from the way I understand religious fasting anyway) it still counts if you eat less of what you'd like to eat, or delay eating something for several hours. Science might not be as lenient, idk.

Expand full comment
author

I'll add some detail on the physiology of fasting. It's an interesting subject. Maybe a new article. But our biology is impressively flexible in handling most anything we eat if we provide the nutrients we need, and removing most of what we don't need. One of the books I follow has a chapter titled Moderation Kills, but he's targeting mostly people with advanced heart disease, whereupon we become less flexible.

Expand full comment