Have tried to substitute for my own, hopefully temporary, failure to implement water fasting, that is really a sound, and incidentally economic and effective way to jump start aging stem cells. Into late 60’s and 70’s one’s stem cells are indeed aged! So aged that in that present state they are in my mind subjectively a serious impediment to health and longevity! In a nutshell aging is stem cell aging! The reason for my personal hesitance to water fasting on that strict effective, and annual schedule, is paranoia of losing what little fat cells I have around my gut! This is the opposite of the overwhelming and vast majority of North Americans, who have the exact opposite problem! So I am trying carefully to increase belly fat without resorting to a disastrous diet…and it is difficult!
One really has to guard against eating too many proteins, although I now regularly take 35 grams after an early morning workout, to ensure that the minimum requirement, (which thanks to Valter Longo research) is present in the system to avoid muscle degradation. Also the nature of these proteins and timing has to be just right! It so happens that Whey protein is assimilated fast...other types may take longer, and care on the ingredients is vital. In addition the usual sweetener is often a non starter…for instance Sucralose! But despite personal efforts, have only seen marginal improvement. Place blame on stress… presently overriding respecting a whole slew of issues! Key is to master and park the problems!
What is the next best thing to do short of outright fasting! Well, the Valter Longo Fasting Mimicing Diet (FMD) is a somewhat easier fast…one eats some calories in a strict proportion of Fat, Protein and Carbohydrates, but it is still just a process, designed to make it easier for the vast majority of North Americans, of a full fast, with the object of recovery waking stem cells. Outside Fasting itself, and by that taking a classic four to five days…what other process can assist the mitochondrial nightmare for aged persons?
We have written the positives of exercise, and Ketosis caused by intermittent fasting. The latter is really NOT fasting, and really only initiates Fat burning because of the short window of eating in any 24 hours. It is useful to condition the body for a real fast that actually tackles the stem cell issue.
But there is one strategy that I have found only recently, because I misunderstood the necessary elements, to be effective. That is Heat Shock and Cold Shock Magic! What is this? Well ironically Heat Shock Proteins are the same kind of proteins generated from Cold Shock. Heat Shock & Cold Shock Magic!
It is with amazement that I have seen the likes of Wim Hof walk barefooted and bare chested up high mountain tops, swim in glacier water, and even navigate deserts at shockingly intense temperatures, and survive. He effectively generates heat shock proteins from either end of the temperature spectrum. Plus he has allowed his body to graduate the hormesis process..which is the concept of subjecting stress, and the DNA evolutionary benefits we have inherited from that process!
Frequent Sauna use has been used in parts of Eastern Europe, Asia, and particularly Finland for hundreds, if not thousands of years! It truly is a health catalyst, both physical and neurological, if not emotional. In particular for cardio vascular health, improved brain or neurological health, and mitochondrial biogenesis, which is the removal of old worn out mitochondria and the generation of new ones. To my reasoning, although this is not a Stem Cell wake up, but somewhat parallel, in that the mitochondria are directly affected by the results and pathways caused by the heat shock proteins. Heat Shock & Cold Shock Magic!
Now, I have added one further ingredient! It is really the utilization of contrasting heat…from the sauna….and cold…from the near freezing temperatures of jumping into a hole in the ice in Finland after the sauna!! One can do this by just turning the water in the shower to cold! If there is no sauna available…say one is travelling…then a hot shower with the contrast to cold for a couple of minutes is certainly an excellent substitute! Again a word of caution! Rhonda Patrick is a pains to stress that before these kind of contrasting body shocks, make sure of your doctor counsel! Practically speaking I notice that Rhonda stresses that the period of sauna from the studies should extend to 20 minutes...personally find that quite tough! And a temperature ranging in the mid 75 C, even upwards!..is the target…! Have not ‘enjoyed’ the Finnish experience practiced by some 10% of those users, of immersing into the ice water of the adjacent frozen lake!
Interestingly Heat as opposed to Cold may be uniquely beneficial to the Brain…Researchers have discovered a possible link between heat stress and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). This factor activates your brain stem cells to convert new neurons and triggers other chemicals to promote neurological health. They discovered that exercise in hot weather increases BDNF, as opposed to cold weather. But that does not remove the other many positives of Cold! And Sauna combined with Cold provides everything! Heat Shock & Cold Shock Magic!
