Importance of essential amino acids and protein during fasting refeeding | Rhonda Patrick
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Fasting induces a vast array of processes that not only improve overall body composition but also trigger the activation of biochemical processes and signaling pathways that optimize human performance and physiological function. How one approaches the breaking of a fast may be as important as the fast itself. After a prolonged fast, in which IGF-1 is deactivated, it's important to consume some protein to promote IGF-1 release. Consuming some carbohydrate, as well, enhances IGF-1 bioavailability to provide optimal results. But each person will respond differently to the break, so paying attention to one's body and easing into it with small, easy-to-digest meals, are advisable. In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick provides advice on how to break a fast.
- [Mike]: Post fast feeding. So a lot of questions about this, what's the ideal way to break a fast. So you talked a little bit about this. You know, is there a method to the madness with macro timing? And this is from Brian [inaudible 00:42:15]. "Is there a method to that madness with macro timing and as it pertains to glycogen levels, or is it fine to eat anything in particular once you reach your...or once you break your fasting window, once you end your fasting window? So what should we be consuming ideally after this fast? "
- [Dr. Patrick]: Well, I think we kind of address that. You know, if we're talking about the prolonged fast or someone that's doing a fast greater than 48 hours, you know, you're basically at that point after your IGF-1 has gone lower and you've done some of the autophagy and clearing away of the damaged parts of the cell and also a apoptosis, the damaged cell itself. You want that IGF1- active and what activates IGF-1 are amino acids, and particularly, essential amino acids. So eating some protein actually to break a fast, seems like it would be a good idea because you want that IGF-1 higher.
The other thing that actually regulates IGF-1 bioavailability is carbohydrates. So carbohydrates allow IGF-1 to be more bioavailable. So most of the time you're wanting to have less IGF-1, but in the sense, you want to have that regrow signal. So eating, you know, eating a balanced diet. But you know, when people are breaking a prolonged fast, some people have sensitivity, you know, their guts, a little more sensitive if you haven't eaten for a few days, you know. So you really have to sort of listen to your body.
[Mike]: Have a soft landing out of it.
[Dr. Patrick]: Yeah, some people, you know, I've had people talk to me about taking like, you know, making a shake with some blueberries and they add a little bit of, you know, protein powder or they eat like a little small piece of salmon and some fruit. Other people like to kind of ease into it with soups or bone broths, and then eventually kind of make it a small piece of protein or something.
[Mike]: And if you're talking about more circadian or like 16/8, I mean, the thing I sort of want to emphasize here is that, you know, a lot of people use fasting as a license to kind of binge, which obviously is not a good idea. Like when you're breaking a fast, especially a longer fast, you know, giving your body a chance to adjust back to a feeding state is important in eating, you know, non-processed foods is super important. Would you agree?
[Dr. Patrick]: Yeah, absolutely. You know, I think that eating a healthy diet with lots of vegetables and, you know, healthy meats and fatty acids and things like that. It's important avoiding processed foods, avoiding refined sugar, all those things. I mean, if you're constantly eating refined sugars and all that, you're going to have a hard time. Your body's going to have a hard time switching over from metabolizing glucose to fatty acids. It's going to make that transition more difficult. So that's another thing to keep in mind as well.
Programmed cell death. Apoptosis is a type of cellular self-destruct mechanism that rids the body of damaged or aged cells. Unlike necrosis, a process in which cells that die as a result of acute injury swell and burst, spilling their contents over their neighbors and causing a potentially damaging inflammatory response, a cell that undergoes apoptosis dies in a neat and orderly fashion – shrinking and condensing, without damaging its neighbors. The process of apoptosis is often blocked or impaired in cancer cells. (May be pronounced “AY-pop-TOE-sis” OR “AP-oh-TOE-sis”.)
An intracellular degradation system involved in the disassembly and recycling of unnecessary or dysfunctional cellular components. Autophagy participates in cell death, a process known as autophagic dell death. Prolonged fasting is a robust initiator of autophagy and may help protect against cancer and even aging by reducing the burden of abnormal cells.
The relationship between autophagy and cancer is complex, however. Autophagy may prevent the survival of pre-malignant cells, but can also be hijacked as a malignant adaptation by cancer, providing a useful means to scavenge resources needed for further growth.
The extent and rate at which drugs or other substances, such as plant-based dietary compounds, enter the body’s circulation. Bioavailability is influenced by a variety of factors, including dose, the presence of other foods or substances, and interindividual differences in metabolism due to gut absorptive surface and commensal microbial populations.
The body’s 24-hour cycles of biological, hormonal, and behavioral patterns. Circadian rhythms modulate a wide array of physiological processes, including the body’s production of hormones that regulate sleep, hunger, metabolism, and others, ultimately influencing body weight, performance, and susceptibility to disease. As much as 80 percent of gene expression in mammals is under circadian control, including genes in the brain, liver, and muscle.[1] Consequently, circadian rhythmicity may have profound implications for human healthspan.
Amino acids that cannot be synthesized by the organism, but must be supplied via diet. The nine amino acids humans cannot synthesize are phenylalanine, valine, threonine, tryptophan, methionine, leucine, isoleucine, lysine, and histidine.
A molecule composed of carboxylic acid with a long hydrocarbon chain that is either saturated or unsaturated. Fatty acids are important components of cell membranes and are key sources of fuel because they yield large quantities of ATP when metabolized. Most cells can use either glucose or fatty acids for this purpose.
A highly branched chain of glucose molecules that serves as a reserve energy form in mammals. Glycogen is stored primarily in the liver and muscles, with smaller amounts stored in the kidneys, brain, and white blood cells. The amount stored is influenced by factors such as physical training, basal metabolic rate (BMR), and eating habits.
One of the most potent natural activators of the AKT signaling pathway. IGF-1 stimulates cell growth and proliferation, inhibits programmed cell death, mediates the effects of growth hormone, and may contribute to aging and enhancing the growth of cancer after it has been initiated. Similar in molecular structure to insulin, IGF-1 plays a role in growth during childhood and continues later in life to have anabolic, as well as neurotrophic effects. Protein intake increases IGF-1 levels in humans, independent of total caloric consumption.
A type of intermittent fasting that exceeds 48 hours. During prolonged periods of fasting, liver glycogen stores are fully depleted. To fuel the brain, the body relies on gluconeogenesis – a metabolic process that produces glucose from ketones, glycerol, and amino acids – to generate approximately 80 grams per day of glucose [1]. Depending on body weight and composition, humans can survive 30 or more days without any food. Prolonged fasting is commonly used in the clinical setting.
[1] Longo, Valter D., and Mark P. Mattson. "Fasting: molecular mechanisms and clinical applications." Cell metabolism 19.2 (2014): 181-192.
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