What Is The Prolon Diet
The ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet is a low-calorie, five-day eating program meant to promote weight loss quickly. The diet provides the same benefits as more traditional fasting methods, but you get to eat. It is for individuals who want to lose between 10-12 pounds in about a week. Why not give it a try? Is it low-commitment, provides quick results, convenient and effective. Not only is it a good way to lose weight, but its also a great way to reset occasionally to get back on track.
You purchase the kit from VIVA Wellness Clinic in Milwaukee. Then you follow the instructionsits really as simple as that!
Who May Do The Fast Mimicking Diet
Healthy adults in the normal weight range between the ages of eighteen and seventy years may undertake the fast mimicking diet. A few genetic mutations, however, are incompatible with long-term fasting. If any side effects occur other than slight weakness, tiredness, or a headache, you should contact your doctor. Drink a small quantity of fruit juice for immediate relief.
What Is The Fasting Mimicking Diet And Is It Healthy
The fasting mimicking diet is meant to evoke the physiological effects of intermittent fasting, but unlike IF, it calls for following a specific meal plan.
Intermittent fasting has become increasingly popular in recent years. As a dietitian and health coach, it’s one of the topics I get asked about the most. Is it good or bad? Will it help me lose weight? My doctor said I should try IF does this count? etc.
The answer is more complex than a simple yes or no. And if you do decide it’s right for you, there are multiple variations of intermittent fasting to choose from including a specific, patented and research-backed plan called the ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet. This five-day pre-packaged meal kit claims to support your mind and body, “with delicious food for energy, to fight cravings, and protect critical lean body mass while rejuvenating you from the inside out.” But does it actually come with the same perks as intermittent fasting, is it worth the $$$, and should you try it?
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How Much Vegetable Glycerine To Use
I havent been able to find the exact measurements of glycerol used in the L-Drink. Instead what we can do is to calculate, based on the L-Drinks nutritional information, approximately how much glycerol we should take. Ive turned this calculation into a calculator, which you can use below:
Glycerine Calculator
Below are the calculations Ive used for glycerine quantities:According to the L-Drink label its formulated to provide 50Kcal per 45kg/100lbs of bodyweight, with almost all the calories in the drink coming via the glycerine. According to myfitnesspal, 1gram of glycerine = 4 Kcal. So we can calculate that its about 12.5 grams of glycerine per 45kg/100lbs of bodyweight.
To figure out how much glycerine youd need per day, to emulate the L-Drink, the formulas for kg & lbs are below:
Measuring your weight in KilogramsYou want to do /4Where x = your weightSo for example, 200Kg * 1.111 = 222.2, 222.2/4 = 55.55 grams
Measuring your weight in lbsYoud want to do Where x = your weightSo for example, 440lbs / 8 = 55 grams
Once you have calculated how much vegetable glycerine you would need per day, you can then:
- Measure this out each day on days 2, 3, 4 & 5
- Add it to a water flask, and shake to mix. If its not mixing due to the water being cold, using warmer water may help with initial mix
- Optionally add a calorie free flavouring. The L-Drink does this to improve palatability
Who Should Not Fast Before Chemotherapy
It is common in research to exclude certain participants due to potential risks. Because individuals with these conditions are not tested, it is not possible to say if it would be safe to use a fasting mimicking diet during chemotherapy. Here is an example from one study of the exclusion list and therefore, if you have one of these conditions, there is no safety data available for you
- Malnutrition or high risk for malnutrition
- Eating disorder
- Using parental nutrition
- Using steroids or IGF-1 receptor blockers
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Diy Fasting Mimicking Diet: Can You Do A Keto Fmd
Although the ProLon diet kit itself is technically not Keto-friendly, you can create your own DIY Keto FMD.
If you already follow a Ketogenic diet, the good news is that youll likely have a slight advantage heading into the FMD. You’ll already be fat adapted, so may find you have an easier time burning body fat as a fuel early on in the fasting cycle.
As with the traditional FMD, you should aim to keep protein intake low, but decrease carbs and up your fat consumption.
You could follow a similar format to the ProLon plan, only swapping out the nut bars + soups, and replacing them with Keto-friendly foods, such as:
- Bone broth soup
How Much Does Prolon Cost
The ProLon meal kit costs between $225 $249 depending upon how many meal kits you buy at one time. If you buy 1-2 boxes, you pay $249 per box. If you order 3 or more boxes, you pay $225 per box. There is also an option to get subscribe to an auto-ship for $225 per box.
If you break it down by day, your cost is about $50 per day.
That is a bit steep, but since this lasts only 5 days and is to be done only once every 6 months it could be a good option.
For those who like the idea but want to do this with food from the grocery store, Ill outline a do-it-yourself version.
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Fasting Mimicking Diet Side Effects
I find that the side effects on the proLon diet depends on your starting point. In other word, what was your diet before. The cleaner and healthier, the better.
ProLon diet is actually well tolerated by most people. Common complaints reported in the clinical trial were fatigue, headache, and difficulty with concentration. With that said, these were mild and most people could continue with the diet.
In my case, by day three, I certainly had a headache. Nothing major, though. Keep in mind, this may be a sign that your body is eliminating toxic compounds. People usually find that the headache is temporary and goes away by day four.
Getting Started With Diy Fasting Mimicking
The benefit of the ProLon FMD is that its clinically tested and proven, and its so convenient. No counting calories and no shopping.
Image courtesy of ProLon
It is an investment, though. Five days of food will cost you up to $250. But, as I pointed out on my ProLon FMD review, $250 every six months is a little over $40 per month. Which really isnt much for cellular rejuvenation. To get a special ProLon discount for Foodzie.com readers click here.
If you want to DIY a fasting mimicking diet, though, you can. The fasting mimicking menus here will get you through a fast for much less than the ProLon diet.
If you dont have any health concerns, start by checking your calendar and talking to a loved one about what youre planning!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
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May Reduce Inflammation & Help Treat Autoimmune Conditions
A 2016 study demonstrated that the FMD was able to reduce pro-inflammatory cytokines, increase corticosterone levels, and suppress autoimmunity.
Researchers concluded that:
Suggesting that an FMD or a chronic ketogenic diet are safe, feasible, and potentially effective in the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients.
In another study, a series of 4-day FMD cycles helped to modulate the gut microbiome and promote intestinal regeneration, reducing inflammatory bowel disease pathology. The FMD also helped to rejuvenate the immune system in an animal study.
Should I Do A Fasting Mimicking Diet During My Chemo
Like every decision in life, this one must be considered through a risk-benefit lens. What are the benefits or potential benefits of a fasting mimicking diet and what are the risks or potential risks?
While the research is extremely limited, the potential benefits so far are:
- Reduction in body weight, blood pressure, fasting, IGF-1, blood lipids and CRP if in the at-risk level
- Potential improved response to treatment
- Less reliance on dexamethasone
- Fewer mouth sores
- Less weakness and headaches following chemo
These need to be weighed with the potential risks of the fasting mimicking diet itself, including
- Headache
- Weakness
- Unwanted weight loss
Chemotherapy is powerful medicine designed to destroy cells in your body. For many people, surviviring cancer is about surviving the toxic side-effects of the treatment. To date, many of the toxic side-effects of treatment have required new drug development and/or hospitalization and aggressive treatment . Using fasting to protect your healthy cells from damage is an affordable and accessible approach .
Ultimately, this question should be answered in a discussion with your oncologist, when you weigh the benefits and risks for your individual situation. If I can be of help, then I am happy to schedule a virtual nutrition assessment with you.
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Does Fasting Stop Aging
Fasting can supercharge your metabolism, making your body more efficient at breaking down nutrients and burning calories. It can also slow down the degradation of DNA, which occurs when we age. Another thing fasting does is induce autophagy throughout our body, a process that greatly reduces the effects of aging.
Autophagy is the bodys process of replacing old, worn-down cells with newer, healthier cells. As we age, the process of autophagy slows down and it becomes more difficult for our bodies to induce autophagy naturally. Thats why focusing on a diet that induces autophagy, such as the FMD, and intermittent fasting times can go a long way in reducing the effects of aging.
The Dr Longo Fasting Diet
The study on the Fasting Mimicking Diet by Dr. Longo lasted about two decades and concentrated on nutrients sensing pathways in cells.
One area of interest was the diets positive effects on the process of aging and on age-related diseases. These diseases include diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases .
Neurodegenerative diseases fall under the range of conditions that affect the neurons in the brain. Here are some of the most common symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases:
- Mood swings.
- Apathy.
- Memory loss.
Dr. Longo put mice on a rodent-version of the Fasting Mimicking Diet. While on the experiment, Dr. Longo noted that the prolonged fasting benefits extended to the vital internal organs of the mice in question.
The effects of this diet were noted at the end of the study with the following observations:
- The mice lived longer than expected, had more positive vitality, had a lower number of blood sugar than they had before, and had fewer tumors.
- Most importantly, the study went on to include more subjects and to show that these benefits extend to humans.
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Study No 2 Real Food Fasting Mimicking Diet And Breast And Ovarian Cancer
In a study from German researchers, 34 women with breast or ovarian cancer used a real food fasting mimicking diet or their normal diet to assess quality of life, fatigue and wellbeing. This real food fasting mimicking diet consisted of
Unrestricted amounts of
- Vegetable juice
- Light vegetable broth
for a total of 350 kcal for the day. The compliance to this protocol of fasting for 36 hours before and 24 hours after chemo was good. In fact, 5 of the women continued with the fasting mimicking diet when the study protocol dictated that they should switch to the normal diet, but they didnt want to .
For this study 18 women used a FMD for the first three of six chemotherapies, then a normal diet for the second three. Another 16 women ate a normal diet for their first three chemo cycles, then FMD for the final three. In this way, the women served as their own controls.
There were some side-effects of the FMD, including headache, hunger and nausea. Body weight did not change significantly, either up or down.
The conclusions from these researchers was that short term fasting with a real food fasting mimicking diet led to better tolerance to chemotherapy with less compromised quality of life and reduced fatigue. When questioned, 31 out of 34 women said they would fast again during chemotherapy .
May Reduce Cholesterol And Blood Sugar Levels
The same study that weve mentioned before related to weight loss, showed that the Fasting Mimicking Diet group experienced a significant drop in cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
Blood sugar levels dropped in the normal range in participants who had high blood sugar at the start of the study. The cholesterol was also reduced by 20 mg/dl in those with high cholesterol levels.
The results of this study are promising however, more human studies are needed to determine the effects of FAD on blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
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Fast Mimicking Vs Traditional Fasting
Just like with intermittent fasting, there are many myths about these modified fasts: Your muscles will waste away, youll kill your metabolism, and its downright unhealthy.
The above might be true for someone who is actually starving, restricting calories for weeks, months, or years at a time, or doing no-food water fasting.
These can lead to metabolic damage and are especially bad for people with underlying health conditions. But as mentioned, fast mimicking gives you all the benefits without these side effects.
Are There Any Drawbacks To The Fasting Mimicking Diet
Although the downside of the five day Fasting Mimicking Diet is minimal, there could be some side effects if you prolong this diet for more than 5 days each month.
- Prolonging this diet to over 5 days per month may bring on malnutrition, and this would be the LAST thing wed want for you.
- If you suffer from a chronic illness and are on medication, make sure to consult with your doctor before undergoing any such diet. This is absolutely a must, especially if you are taking medication, because the electrolyte consumption may interfere with the absorption of some medicines.
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The Bottom Line On The Fasting Mimicking Diet
The fasting Mimicking Diet is a great way to help you not only lose weight on the outside, but also visceral fat on the inside of the body, at the organ level.
The FMD will help reboot your immune system, while potentially reversing some adverse health conditions including lowering blood pressure and improving the bad effects of diabetes.
The Fasting Mimicking Diet should not last more than 5 days each month, or every other month.
What about you?
Have you ever been on the Fasting Mimicking Diet? Share your experience and let us know your opinion on the subject.
Be well.
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Fasting Was A Regular Part Of Life In The Original Blue Zones Regions Due To Religious Observances Fasting And Intermittent Fasting Has Been Quite A Trend Recently In The Health World In Your New Book You Recommend The Fasting
It is very different since it lasts for five days and it does not require to fast, since it allows foods that most people can handle. Intermittent fasting is a confusing word that we should stop using since it is similar to saying intermittent eating. Naturally we dont eat all of the time and we dont fast all of the time so it means nothing. We need to use words like time restricted feeding or alternate day fasting, which are very different from each other but let you know what they refer to. The five day Fasting-Mimicking Diet is not intermittent fasting since it is part of what I call periodic fasting.
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Fasting Mimicking Diet: What It Is And How To Do It Perfect Keto
Feb 11, 2021 Most research on fast mimicking shows youll get the best results after about five days or when your glucose ketone index falls below 1.0, but
Scientifically designed ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet gives you the benefits of a 5-Day fast with food. Enjoy weight loss, rejuvenation, energy, and more.
Potential Downsides Of Fmd
There could be some potential downsides of following a Fasting Mimicking Diet and it is recommended to check with your doctor before starting with this diet, whether you purchase a ProLon plan or attempt to do it yourself.
One of the areas of concern is dehydration. You will be limiting the amount of food you take in which is a good source of fluid. So, it is important to follow the recommended fluid intake and be sure youre drinking enough water.
Difficulty Some people report feeling fatigued during the 5-days, while others can go about their normal life without any trouble. You should take some time and make a good plan before starting.
You should consider how the diet will impact your routine, and if is possible to schedule the protocol during a quiet week if is possible.
Medications There is also a risk for possible adverse effects on individuals taking medications that may be affected by food and fluid or specific nutrient intakes.
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