Fasting-Mimicking Diets in Longevity and Disease

Aging is the major risk factor for many diseases, placing juventology and gerontology research, respectively studying how organisms remain young/are rejuvenated or become older, at the center of disease prevention. Periodic fasting (PF) and fasting-mimicking diets (FMDs) lasting 4–7 days and in most cases applied once a month or less have gained attention as a potential therapeutic approach for promoting longevity and preventing and treating multiple age-related diseases. These periodic interventions represent a departure from the everyday changes required by well-studied anti-aging dietary interventions such as calorie restriction but are also clearly distinct from intermittent fasting methods such as alternate-day fasting or time-restricted eating. Here we discuss the potential effects of PF and FMDs on longevity and diseases including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disease, and autoimmunity, in both rodent models and humans.