IQed And IF: Woke Wellness

March 23, 2019

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Written by IQed Smart Nutrition

March 23, 2019

·

Written by IQed Smart Nutrition

As someone who has followed the evidence-based Mediterranean Diet, including IQed for myself and my family for decades, what caught my eye is that intermittent fasting (known as “IF”)may trigger some anti-aging properties. ~Lisa Geng

I am the mom who holds multiple patents and patents pending on IQed. I turned 58 years old this year, and as I approach 60 am not just interested in being healthy, I'm already healthy. As someone who has followed the evidence-based Mediterranean Diet, including IQed for myself and my family for decades, what caught my eye is that intermittent fasting (known as just "IF")may trigger some anti-aging properties.

I appreciate the evidence about the anti-aging aspects of IF is weak, mainly from preclinical studies, but from all that I read up on IF, it seemed to be healthy regardless. I started seeing some of my fitness friends, such as Michael Gonzalez Wallace, author of the book Super Body Super Brain were supporters and followers of IF.

What is Intermittent fasting?

Intermittent fasting/IF is a diet regimen that cycles between brief periods of fasting, with either no food or significant calorie reduction, and periods of almost unrestricted eating. It is promoted to change body composition through loss of fat mass and weight and improve health markers associated with diseases such as blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The roots of intermittent fasting (IF) can be traced back to traditional fasting. Fasting is a universal ritual used for centuries for health or spiritual benefits. This practice is mentioned in early texts by Socrates, Plato, and religious groups. Today, many celebrities, such as Chris Pratt, Terry Crews, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Jimmy Kimmel, and Halle Berry, enjoy the benefits of IF. There is growing evidence that intermittent fasting is a healthy lifestyle change that can be sustained over time.

Anti-aging aspects of IF -what intrigued me

As long ago as the 1930s, one American scientist found that significantly reducing calories helped mice live longer, healthier lives. Studies have shown that decreasing calorie consumption by 30 to 40 percent (regardless of how it's done) can extend life span by a third or more. In addition to anti-aging, there is data to suggest that limiting food intake may reduce the risk of many common diseases.

Before IF 2018, at 57 years old.

Here I was before starting last year at 57 years old. I have always been healthy and fit. No medical issues, no medications, and 5 foot 6, ranged between 135 and 140 pounds. I didn't start IF with IQed to lose weight. I didn't think I needed to lose weight.

After IF 2018 at 58 years old

Here I am at 58 years old after one year of IF. Without dieting, without feeling hungry, and while continuing to consume carbs and sugars (in moderation of course) and while continuing to follow a Mediterranean diet, this past year using IQed and IF I lost close to 20 pounds and STILL feel great. No health issues and still no medications. I didn't start IF to lose weight because I didn't think I needed to. I like the way I look now too. The only difference between the Mediterranean diet and IQed I have already followed this past year is the addition of IF.

Why IQed® and IF

IF is a way of living that doesn't involve dieting. You can still follow a Mediterranean Diet or any other diet that makes you comfortable. I love IQed and have used my patented nutritional composition IQed for years, even before IF. Being that I notoriously never can eat that much at one time, I had followed the "grazing" mealtime practice of eating a bit all day long. In the "before" photo below, this is what I looked like at 57 after following this method for decades. It worked for me.

I knew consuming all my essential nutrients daily with the IF-shortened feeding time could be problematic, so the obvious solution was IQed and IF. Every day for the past year, I used the same 2 to 4 scoops of IQed a day depending on what else I ate that day, but now it's to ensure I'm consuming all the macro and micronutrients my body requires daily. IQed for me simplified IF. I still cook and make my soups and foods, but now I cook what I crave or want; I don't have to worry about getting in all the nutrients if I'm only eating in a 4-hour window that day as again, I can only eat so much before I'm just stuffed!

What is Time-Restricted Eating?
Time-restricted eating is an easy way to ensure you get all the nutrients your body needs without spending hours in the kitchen. It simply means you eat all your meals within a specific daily timeframe. For example, you might eat between 10 am and 6 pm or 12 pm and 6 pm. Eating within a 4, 6, or 8-hour window leaves a window of 16 to 20 hours for your body to fast.

Intermittent fasting has been shown to have many health benefits, including weight loss, reduced inflammation, and improved brain function. So by following a time-restricted eating plan, you can reap all these benefits while still enjoying your favorite foods. And with IQed Smart Nutrition, it's easy to ensure you get all the nutrients your body needs while intermittent fasting.

IQed is more than just a food supplement. It's a complete meal replacement that is convenient, affordable, and tastes great! With IQed, you can be sure you and your family are getting the nutrition needed and tested free of any of the icky stuff in today's food supply. So don't wait another day. Give your family the gift of IQed Smart Nutrition today.

Time-restricted eating is a healthy way to eat for the whole family. Following an IF eating plan can reap all the benefits of fasting while still enjoying your favorite foods. And with IQed Smart Nutrition, it's easy to ensure you get all the nutrients your body needs while intermittent fasting. So don't wait another day. Give your family the gift of IQed Smart Nutrition today!

IF isn't starving yourself

When your body doesn't consume all the nutrients it requires, it can go into stress mode and release cortisol, the stress hormone linked to increased belly fat. IF is not about starving yourself, and you again should consume all the essential nutrients you require daily, just in a shorter window -even if you are doing one meal a day (called OMAD) which I don't follow, but many do. I don't believe in elimination diets, including the popular belief of the day that eliminating all carbs or sugars is healthy. I have a history of celiac disease and spent much of my early childhood in the hospital. At the same time, they figured out the issue at that time when it was rare, I had to be gluten-free much of my childhood, I am currently in celiac remission, which happens for some children with celiac disease, and I" m hoping never to have to be gluten-free again and am shocked so many choose gluten-free or keto willingly. Healthy carbs add fiber and nutrients to our diets.

I also have a sweet tooth, but some healthy treats are out there, and I don't want to live without sweets. If you're going to follow something long-term, schedule in cheats here and there- sweets or snacks you enjoy. Having a larger cheat meal here and there can even boost metabolism. I love baking cookies -here is one of my cheat cookie recipes with IQed, even though I typically don't recommend cooking with IQed as all ingredients are certified as foods, and we want to preserve all those amazing nutrients!

As David L. Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP, FACLM, who is the founding director of Yale University's Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, and current President of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, says, "We were born with a preference for sweet because that has fostered the survival of not only Homo sapiens, but mammals in general, for perhaps as long as there have been mammals. Breast milk — and I trust no one is foolhardy enough to suggest that breast milk is evil! — is a sugar-sweetened beverage.

We like sweets because mammals who like sweets are more apt to survive than mammals who don't. Period."

How I did IF this past year

IF is flexible in that you choose the days or hours during which you think it's best to fast. The one I started to follow is the 16:8 (hours) meal plan—where you eat whatever you want (within reason) for eight hours a day and then fast for the other 16. It's recommended to start with the 16:8, but many, including me, end up following an 18:6 or even a 20:4. I tend to like to eat more later in the day, it's also when I may go out to dinner, so I like starting to eat later in the day. But depending on your schedule, you may want to eat earlier and stop eating earlier.

Weight loss -if you need to lose weight highly recommend IF!

I wasn't looking for weight loss, and it just happened. Some physicians and nutrition experts believe that IF can be an effective way to lose weight, particularly for those who don't like counting calories, measuring foods, or eliminating food groups from their diet. But again, with that aside, there is some evidence supporting that IF is a healthy lifestyle choice, which is why I first tried it.

Here are some evidenced based reasons why to consider IF:

October 10, 2022 Cell Reports Medicine: Time-restricted eating with or without low-carbohydrate diet reduces visceral fat and improves metabolic syndrome: A randomized trial

- One USC study found that patients who fasted for five consecutive days each month (consumed between 750 and 1,100 calories) had lower blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and IGF-1 levels (a compound associated with increased risk of cancer) than those who ate usually.
- A 2018 study by Krista Varady, Ph.D., an associate professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois at Chicago, sought to examine the efficacy of intermittent fasting in a 16:8 diet, which includes a fasting period of 16 hours and an eating period of eight hours. In the study published in the nutrition and Healthy Aging journal, 23 obese men and women were directed to eat only between 10 am and 6 pm, with no food limits. During the other 16 hours, they consumed only calorie-free beverages like water, tea, coffee, and diet soda. During the 12-week study period, the 16:8 fasting participants consumed about 340 calories less than the control group, which didn't change their eating habits. The fasting group lost nearly 3 percent of their weight and lowered their blood pressure.
- Researchers from the University of Alabama conducted a study with a small group of obese men with prediabetes. They compared a form of intermittent fasting called "early time-restricted feeding," where all meals were fit into an early eight-hour period of the day (7 am to 3 pm), or spread out over 12 hours (between 7 am and 7 pm). Both groups maintained their weight (did not gain or lose). Still, after five weeks, the eight-hour group had dramatically lower insulin levels, significantly improved insulin sensitivity, and significantly lower blood pressure. The best part? The eight-hour group also had significantly decreased appetite. They weren't starving. Changing the timing of meals by eating earlier in the day and extending the overnight fast significantly benefited metabolism.
- A recent study completed by the German Cancer Research Center concluded that intermittent fasting indeed "helps lose weight and promotes health," The regimen proved especially adept at getting rid of fat in the liver. A USC study also found that the diet reduced participants' risk of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and other age-related diseases. While researchers cautioned that more testing is necessary, the results are at least encouraging.
- Fasting intermittently has been shown to reverse a form of heart disease.
- Moving back to breakfast and dinner time can have profound effects on how your body processes meals, akin to intermittent fasting. Subjects who could stick to the schedule reduced overall body fat by the end of the ten weeks by an average of 1.9 percent.
- IF may induce ketosis (which you may be familiar with thanks to the ketogenic diet), in which the body draws on energy from stored fats instead of blood sugar (typically the body's first go-to when it needs power). The other mechanism, which has been studied in animal research, is that cells and tissues may enter a phase of rest, renewal, and rejuvenation. This could reduce chronic disease risk and increase longevity."
In short, for me, IF is something I'll continue. It's easy, I spend less time preparing and eating food, I'm completely satisfied each day, only hungry when it's time to eat, and again feeling great so if you get IQed with IF you too can have the easy button for staying,, well nourished and satisfied daily while receiving all the evidence-based reasons of staying healthier than ever.

Sources

LISA GENG

Mom Conceptualist For IQed

Lisa Geng got her start as a designer, patented inventor, and creator in the fashion, toy, and film industries, but after the early diagnosis of her young children with diagnosis including severe apraxia, hypotonia, sensory processing disorder, ADHD, CAPD, she entered the world of nonprofit, pilot studies, and advocacy. As the mother of two “late talkers,” she is the founder and president of the nonprofit CHERAB Foundation, co-author of the acclaimed book, The Late Talker, (St Martin’s Press 2003), and holds two patents and patents pending on IQed nutritional composition. Lisa has been serving as a parent advocate on an AAN Immunization Panel since 2015 and is a member of CUE through Cochrane US. Lisa is currently working on a second book, The Late Talker Grows Up and serves as a Late Talkers, Silent Voices executive producer. She lives on the Treasure Coast of Florida.

IQed® is being planned for both preclinical and clinical studies