What can we do to increase the longevity hormone FGF21?
In the year 2000, a new human hormone was discovered. It was fibroblast growth factor 21, so they called it FGF21. Since its discovery, FGF21 has been recognized as a key agent in promoting metabolic and arterial health, metabolism, and longevity. Inject it into obese monkeys, and they lose weight without reducing their food intake. And they didn’t just lose a little weight—they had a 27 percent drop in body fat while eating the same amount. In mice, it increases their lifespan by 30 to 40%, compared to lifelong calorie restriction, and, again, they achieve this without reducing their food intake. The researchers concluded that FGF21 could be used as a hormone therapy to extend the lifespan of mammals, which has Big Pharma salivating, raising the question: “Can aging be ‘drunk’?”
That’s not all FGF21 can do, either. “The idea that one medicine can cure obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia [like high cholesterol]and high blood pressure at the same time might have seemed impossible a few years ago but is now a happy and exciting prospect.” The reason you can’t just give people FGF21 is that it breaks down quickly in the body, so you’ll need injections every hour or two, day and night. Therefore, drug companies are trying to patent a long-lasting FGF21 analogue. And, really, give people a little PF-05231023, and they can lose about 10 pounds in 25 days, and get amazing drops in triglycerides and cholesterol, as you can see below and at 1:48 in my video. Life Extension by FGF21.After that, the side effects of the newly introduced drugs started to develop. Okay, what are the options? How about packaging the FGF21 gene into a virus and injecting it so that it can stitch the FGF21 gene into our DNA? Or you can tie your running shoes. Exercise boosts FGF21 levels, which may be one of the reasons exercise is good for us.
Which works better, though, aerobic exercise (eight weeks of running training) or resistance training (eight weeks of weights)? The response of both, but resistance work ended running, an increase of 42% in FGF21 against an increase of 25% in the aerobic exercise group. Okay, but what can we do about food? Yes, you can try engineering and injection, but wouldn’t it be easier to just encourage our natural, endless production through food? Another way is to not eat at all. It’s called the hunger hormone because fasting creates FGF21, but not until after a day or two.
Physiologically, FGF21 expression increases markedly in response to fasting or starvation. But, unlike mice, which show an increase after just six hours of fasting, humans don’t get a significant increase in FGF21 until a week later. Fasting can double FGF21, but it takes 10 days of fasting, which is the poster child for an unstable eating pattern. You can see the increase below and at my 3:19 video.
So, how do you get the benefits without going hungry? Can a ketogenic diet mimic fast food? No. The Keto diet doesn’t work. In fact, keep it for a few months, and you can get a significant drop in the rates. A high-fat diet may even interfere with the boost you get from exercise, which has been shown in a study of intensity interval training.
So what kind of food works? We’ll find out next.
Doctor’s Note
Stay tuned for part two: How To Boost FGF21 With A Longevity Diet.
Flashback Friday: How Much Should You Exercise? Check out the video to find out.
To find out more about longevity, see Friday Favorites: How to Increase Your Life Expectancy 12 to 14 Years.
