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Periodic Fasting: Repair your DNA, Grow Younger, and Learn to Appreciate your Food
In a modern world where it's considered normal to consume 3 meals and additional snacks everyday (otherwise you will get sick), fasting can be considered an outrageous and even dangerous practice. One of the biggest fears of fasting is the fear hunger, the false hunger that most people are afraid of while depleting their glycogen stores (the body sugar storage). Fasting has often been associated with religious customs. It is time to define a line between the two. In Periodic Fasting, I embark on a timeless journey from the very beginning of life on Earth, through early human societies, through the middle Ages and into modern days to explore the concepts and practices of prolonged fasting and intermittent fasting (IF). Periodic Fasting is 1. My early life encounters with fasting in the small village of my grandparents (using a high-carb diet). 2. How primitive life-forms on Earth and fasting co-evolved; fasting in the animal kingdom. 3. Early hominid species, food restriction, and meal frequency. The first organized human societies and the switch between irregular feeding to regular dietary patterns. Circadian rhythmicity and meal timing. 4. The personal story of a man from the middle Ages who started consuming less food in his mid-thirties because of poor health and lived to 102 years (narrated by himself). 5. The dozens of prolonged fasting experiments in the beginning of the 20th century; fasting as a cure to many ailments. 6. How people can live without food for 139, 236 and even 382 days (medically supervised experiments). Details of 7-40 days fasts done by lean people for rejuvenation, detoxification and increased life span. 7. The emerging science and the studies of fasting from the mid-20th century (pathological implications - diabetes, obesity, CVD, cancer, and others). 8. How fasting and semi-starvation can be totally disturbing stories from the Second World War. 9. The molecular mechanisms of what happens when your body focuses on cell repair and tissue rejuvenation, instead of digesting food. 10. How the secretion of some hormones may be widely especially thyroid hormones and insulin. On muscle-loss phobia, mainstream media, and bro-science. 11. The modern-day science of prolonged fasting and intermittent fasting (AMPk, SIRT, FOXO, etc). 12. My personal prolonged water-only fasting experiment; insights into refeeding and realimentation after long-term fasting. 13. My 1 year and 3 months daily intermittent fasting protocol (still on-going). My ever-adapting exercising protocol (lifting), what I eat everyday, what supplements I use and what other cool strategies help me stay consistent and compliant with the protocol. 14. How I combine intermittent fasting (IF), a well formulated ketogenic diet, and calorie restriction to immensely increase the quality of my life, and paradoxically, never feel hungry; how energy levels and mood can increase if you correctly adopt a fasting protocol. Once armed with this knowledge, you will drastically alter your perspective about your body's limits.
213 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 31, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 4, 2015
Terrific read!
Mr. Zot has really done his homework. If you'd like to know the science behind intermmident fasting this book will have the answers. Beginning with some historical references to fasting and ending with his own experiences Mr. Zot completely covers the issues. Well referenced also. He doesn't give you your personal menu because it should be more personalised than an author telling you what's right for yourself. Mr Zot comes across as a very honest writer not trying to impose his views on you.
Mr. Zot has really done his homework. If you'd like to know the science behind intermmident fasting this book will have the answers. Beginning with some historical references to fasting and ending with his own experiences Mr. Zot completely covers the issues. Well referenced also. He doesn't give you your personal menu because it should be more personalised than an author telling you what's right for yourself. Mr Zot comes across as a very honest writer not trying to impose his views on you.
September 2, 2018
Lots of great info, synthesizing the latest (and historical) research from some of the brightest names in modern nutritional science. With proper editing, this could have been a five-star book, but it unfortunately falls short due to multiple typos, a sometimes whiplash-inducing shift between ultra-casual and ultra-scientific writing, and undue repetition.
August 29, 2016
Clearly self-published and desperate for an editor. Sometimes painful reading.
Some good information, probably a lot if you're into heavy-duty fasting.
Might have inspired me to try a 3-day water fast. Or not.
Some good information, probably a lot if you're into heavy-duty fasting.
Might have inspired me to try a 3-day water fast. Or not.
July 15, 2017
Profoundly Interesting and provoking!
A thoughtful book about a subject much needed. I am definitely going to examine this one, vegan style. Fasting and intermittent fasting.
A thoughtful book about a subject much needed. I am definitely going to examine this one, vegan style. Fasting and intermittent fasting.
January 14, 2022
"Eating 3 meals and 2 snacks a day is not normal from an evolutionary perspective".
Fasting has been used for a long time to treat disease. Hippocrates used to say that while sick, eating would feed the disease, hence one of the remedies was fasting. "The weaker you are from disease, the more certain it is that you need to fast".
In various accounts, subjects showed a greater state of well-being after undergoing one of the prolonged fasts, discovering that their allergies went away, their energy levels were higher and their health in general improved.
A very interesting claim is that "if one engages in 7-10 day water fasting once a year, the risk of tumor overgrowth and cancer would be almost completely reduced" was a bold one.
"In prolonged fasting (under optimal conditions) one never feels hungry". I personally was able to confirm that in a 3 days fast I did while following a keto diet, all the meanwhile doing HIIT and calisthenics daily, drinking only water with sea salt and lemon to keep hydrated and mineral levels in good condition. I could sleep well and had no trouble performing my job.
However, "Be careful with following general recommendations. Our DNAs, even if they are 99% the same, individual gene expression is different", meaning that only through trial and error you can be certain what works and doesn't work for your specific case.
"Even though there are tremendous benefits for people undergoing prolonged fasting, there are many more factors to optimal health than food restriction or food intake alone. For some changes in the body to be persistent on the long term, fasting should be combined with other strategies (e.g. keto diet, high intensity training and weight lifting, daily cold showers (personally, my favorites), getting enough fresh air and direct exposure to sunlight (in the morning), going to bed around 9-10pm, sleeping between 6 and 9 hours a night)".
The book is overall well written (with a few grammatical/vocabulary errors), the research well presented and referenced, the personal experience honestly portrayed.
The only negative point I noticed is that he promotes a keto diet all year round (which is also not normal from an evolutionary perspective, to use his words), which can impair metabolic flexibility on the long term. In northern latitudes, where high sugar fruit and vegetables are hard to come by in the harsh winter months, it was usual to get into ketosis while surviving on meat and other low sugar fruits and vegetables, so it makes sense that an annual (maybe bi annual) keto period would fit in everyone's eating regime. In my experience, I love keto and it made me feel awesome, but I would warn against metabolic rigidity (sticking to keto in this case all year round).
Overall, you should enjoy doing this or introducing these changes into your life gradually to make it enjoyable, there's no point in living a long, miserable life.
Fasting has been used for a long time to treat disease. Hippocrates used to say that while sick, eating would feed the disease, hence one of the remedies was fasting. "The weaker you are from disease, the more certain it is that you need to fast".
In various accounts, subjects showed a greater state of well-being after undergoing one of the prolonged fasts, discovering that their allergies went away, their energy levels were higher and their health in general improved.
A very interesting claim is that "if one engages in 7-10 day water fasting once a year, the risk of tumor overgrowth and cancer would be almost completely reduced" was a bold one.
"In prolonged fasting (under optimal conditions) one never feels hungry". I personally was able to confirm that in a 3 days fast I did while following a keto diet, all the meanwhile doing HIIT and calisthenics daily, drinking only water with sea salt and lemon to keep hydrated and mineral levels in good condition. I could sleep well and had no trouble performing my job.
However, "Be careful with following general recommendations. Our DNAs, even if they are 99% the same, individual gene expression is different", meaning that only through trial and error you can be certain what works and doesn't work for your specific case.
"Even though there are tremendous benefits for people undergoing prolonged fasting, there are many more factors to optimal health than food restriction or food intake alone. For some changes in the body to be persistent on the long term, fasting should be combined with other strategies (e.g. keto diet, high intensity training and weight lifting, daily cold showers (personally, my favorites), getting enough fresh air and direct exposure to sunlight (in the morning), going to bed around 9-10pm, sleeping between 6 and 9 hours a night)".
The book is overall well written (with a few grammatical/vocabulary errors), the research well presented and referenced, the personal experience honestly portrayed.
The only negative point I noticed is that he promotes a keto diet all year round (which is also not normal from an evolutionary perspective, to use his words), which can impair metabolic flexibility on the long term. In northern latitudes, where high sugar fruit and vegetables are hard to come by in the harsh winter months, it was usual to get into ketosis while surviving on meat and other low sugar fruits and vegetables, so it makes sense that an annual (maybe bi annual) keto period would fit in everyone's eating regime. In my experience, I love keto and it made me feel awesome, but I would warn against metabolic rigidity (sticking to keto in this case all year round).
Overall, you should enjoy doing this or introducing these changes into your life gradually to make it enjoyable, there's no point in living a long, miserable life.
February 18, 2018
Knowing why and how periodic and intermittent fasting works, this is your book.
This book is heavy in actual studies with a few anecdotes. If you like solid research to back up your health and weight choices, this is perfect. If you prefer a lot of rah rah hype, look elsewhere. I like finding out why simply lowering calories fails and what to do instead. AUTOPHAGY is explained and the anti- cancer aspects of fasting are compelling. Conquering jet lag with fasting interests me because traveling from California eastward, especially to Europe is a challenge for me. My first day there is lost in recovery. I also like the idea that this way of eating can rejuvenate, heal and add years of life.
As I said earlier, this book is heavy on research. If you like that, you will love it. I appreciate that this information is backed by science instead of fluff.
This book is heavy in actual studies with a few anecdotes. If you like solid research to back up your health and weight choices, this is perfect. If you prefer a lot of rah rah hype, look elsewhere. I like finding out why simply lowering calories fails and what to do instead. AUTOPHAGY is explained and the anti- cancer aspects of fasting are compelling. Conquering jet lag with fasting interests me because traveling from California eastward, especially to Europe is a challenge for me. My first day there is lost in recovery. I also like the idea that this way of eating can rejuvenate, heal and add years of life.
As I said earlier, this book is heavy on research. If you like that, you will love it. I appreciate that this information is backed by science instead of fluff.
August 8, 2019
¡𝙎𝙪𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙙𝙤!
Me apasiona el tema de la salud y la longevidad y me gustó la forma de escribir de Cristian Vlad Zot. Utiliza muchos argumentos científicos, hace referencia a cientos de estudios, libros e investigaciones, nos brinda algunas interpretaciones personales y nos cuenta sobre su experiencia.
En el libro toca temas sobre historia natural y humana acerca del ayuno, estudios, casos y fundamentos científicos, así como buenas recomendaciones para realizarlos.
Me apasiona el tema de la salud y la longevidad y me gustó la forma de escribir de Cristian Vlad Zot. Utiliza muchos argumentos científicos, hace referencia a cientos de estudios, libros e investigaciones, nos brinda algunas interpretaciones personales y nos cuenta sobre su experiencia.
En el libro toca temas sobre historia natural y humana acerca del ayuno, estudios, casos y fundamentos científicos, así como buenas recomendaciones para realizarlos.
May 31, 2017
Such a good book. Read it people. Even if you don't need to loos weight. Fasting is amazing tool for healthy lifestyle.
November 13, 2018
An interesting short book, but with a lot of repeated ideas. Thus, the content of this book is even shorter.
October 11, 2019
Great investigation
Great investigation. 😄😄😄 I look forward to reading your other books. Great investigation and good sources. Keep giving us more
Great investigation. 😄😄😄 I look forward to reading your other books. Great investigation and good sources. Keep giving us more
November 11, 2015
This book is an incredibly rich resource with a huge number of annotations so that the reader can confirm all of the information provided. The author has gone to a great deal of trouble researching nutrition from a maximum health/maximum lifespan goal orientation and clearly states when he thinks the research he uncovered has a broad basis that may help most people verses how his personal body genetics respond better or worse to the protocols derived from the research he studied. If you want to learn more about how the body makes use of the food you eat to heal, grow, or fight disease you may find this book very useful in your own search for knowledge.
January 12, 2017
Excellent info if you have Cancer
Hard science but so worth it. An in depth study on fasting throughout history. Lot's of studies sighted proving how necessary it is to have better health, longer life and get rid of many chronic illnesses. AND a way to do it without all the hunger and headaches. I recently did a four day fast with no discomfiture. It was my first ever and I felt like just going. This was because I had given up sugar, starches and grains gradually. Now I eat from 10 am to 6 pm. Intermediate Fasting is the way to go. Especially if you're doing chemotherapy.
Hard science but so worth it. An in depth study on fasting throughout history. Lot's of studies sighted proving how necessary it is to have better health, longer life and get rid of many chronic illnesses. AND a way to do it without all the hunger and headaches. I recently did a four day fast with no discomfiture. It was my first ever and I felt like just going. This was because I had given up sugar, starches and grains gradually. Now I eat from 10 am to 6 pm. Intermediate Fasting is the way to go. Especially if you're doing chemotherapy.
April 5, 2016
Intermittent Fasting is easy!
This book has been very helpful for my IF experiment. I've gone two days now with only supper, and am considering extending indefinitely with an additional annual water-only fast perhaps later in the year per Dr. Seyfried's 7-10 day anti-cancer recommendation. I forgot to mention that I've been keto-adapted since May'14, so maybe I can start the clock on a daily IF protocol on top of that!
This book has been very helpful for my IF experiment. I've gone two days now with only supper, and am considering extending indefinitely with an additional annual water-only fast perhaps later in the year per Dr. Seyfried's 7-10 day anti-cancer recommendation. I forgot to mention that I've been keto-adapted since May'14, so maybe I can start the clock on a daily IF protocol on top of that!
May 22, 2015
The book is very detailed and goes over a great number of studies (probably as many as there are on the subject) and enlists the numerous benefits of both intermittent and prolonged fasting in great detail, showing the results of these studies and also he's personal experience in the field. The author has clearly done his homework on the subject!
August 19, 2015
If you want to know the science behind water fasting then this is a great book for you. For me, it was too much detail on the studies & I got bored & skimmed through some of it. It is not a book to really help you water fast, but gives you tips on what you can do. Water fasting seems extremely hard & I don't know if I would do it.
October 7, 2016
Excellent primer
A very thorough discussion of long term fasting and intermittent fasting. I appreciate the time it's taken to gather and study all the documents referenced in this book. The conclusions seem sound and scientifically supported, I'm ready to experiment on my own fasts
A very thorough discussion of long term fasting and intermittent fasting. I appreciate the time it's taken to gather and study all the documents referenced in this book. The conclusions seem sound and scientifically supported, I'm ready to experiment on my own fasts
September 2, 2015
The best thing about this was that it was a good source of fasting information for those on a Ketogenic diet. The worst thing about it was that the author really needs to proofread.
December 31, 2015
I really like Crtistian's books, lot's of information well written to grab information no fluff
February 7, 2016
Excellent discourse on fasting
Though technical in its discussions, I found this book very helpful in my efforts to get healthier. Great tips and questions answered at the end.
Though technical in its discussions, I found this book very helpful in my efforts to get healthier. Great tips and questions answered at the end.
February 9, 2016
Good resource on intermittent fasting...
June 16, 2016
Some of the best info for fasting i have seen!
November 9, 2016
Author goes in detail about Biology stuff. A lot of names of hormones and processes. Basically he says Keto+IFM+Weight training. At the end he give some insights in the protocol he uses.
July 20, 2015
Good introduction to both intermittent and prolonged fasting
March 29, 2017
There was a lot of good information in this book.
A lot.
Of information.
Unfortunately most of it reminded me of when I taught scientific writing classes and the students would cram bits and pieces of all the research they had done hoping I would be impressed by all they had read and perhaps not notice they had not really internalized it, or distilled it to be meaningful to anyone.
I realize the author intends to present the research so that the reader can make up his/her own mind, but that's what references are for. I'm ok with an author showing a bit of bias in interpretation (we all do) if he can at least give me a bit of guidance.
It is a good literature review. And quite frankly more coherently written than several of the other books on fasting I've read that are more like poorly written anecdotal blog entries.
I recommend it as a good part of learning about fasting, seeing the current/past research (as well as some history of fasting prior to "scientific research") and hearing one man's success story.
A lot.
Of information.
Unfortunately most of it reminded me of when I taught scientific writing classes and the students would cram bits and pieces of all the research they had done hoping I would be impressed by all they had read and perhaps not notice they had not really internalized it, or distilled it to be meaningful to anyone.
I realize the author intends to present the research so that the reader can make up his/her own mind, but that's what references are for. I'm ok with an author showing a bit of bias in interpretation (we all do) if he can at least give me a bit of guidance.
It is a good literature review. And quite frankly more coherently written than several of the other books on fasting I've read that are more like poorly written anecdotal blog entries.
I recommend it as a good part of learning about fasting, seeing the current/past research (as well as some history of fasting prior to "scientific research") and hearing one man's success story.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews