In Jeffrey Bland’s April column in Integrative Medicine, A Clinician’s Journal, he references the work of Volter Longo, PhD, the author of the Longevity Diet: Discover the New Science Behind Stem Cell Activation and Regeneration to Slow Aging, Fight Disease and Optimize Weight. Longo is the director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California and a principal scientist in the development and study of the fasting mimicking diet (FMD). Thanks to our partnership with IMCJ, we bring you a summary of Bland’s column and the entire article for download, with a TEDX talk from Longo.
I have followed Dr Longo’s career for many years with great admiration. He has been published in top-tier journals and I consider his research to be brilliant work that ties together well-designed studies in cellular biology with animal studies and recent human clinical trials to provide a mechanistic explanation for the positive metabolic effects seen with FMD. ~ Jeffrey Bland, PhD
“In his book, Dr Longo writes about some exciting findings regarding a FMD research group consisting of 16-month-old mice, which are described as being the equivalent of a 45-year-old human: “A stem cell-dependent process rejuvenated the immune system. Regeneration also occurred in the liver, muscle, and brain. Levels of several types of stem cells increased.” He went on to explain: “The fasting itself destroys many damaged cells, and damaged components inside the cells but it also activates stem cells.”” Bland calls Longo’s work, nothing short of revolutionary and marvels at his discovery that “the body can regenerate organs that have been damaged due to age and faulty metabolism through activation of primordial stem cells.”
Bland builds on Longo’s work by reviewing the work of other experts in the same field, including: 1. William Kannel, MD, Framingham Heart Study and an emeritus professor of medicine and public health at the Boston University School of Medicine, 2. Bert Vogelstein, PhD, from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, 3. Benjamin Ebert, MD, and his colleagues at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 4. Paul Ridker, MD, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and trial chairman of the Canakinumab Anti-inflammatory Thrombosis Outcome Study (CANTOS).
