The 5:2 Diet - Fad or Fact? Time to experiment!

More and more I am hearing about a diet called the 5:2 diet – when I first heard about it, I was sceptical at this new fad diet, I even wrote a Facebook status about it, but I will explain my initial scepticism below. I am hearing more about it from different sources and have patients and work colleagues both trying it out, so its made me think... is there something good behind this diet? Is it just a fad, or is it fact?

About the 5:2 diet

So this diet was first made popular by Michael Moseley, who tried out the diet in the documentary, Eat, Fast & Live Longer. After 9 weeks on this diet, he found he lost 20 pounds (9 kilograms), a drop in cholesterol and lower blood sugar results. Pretty amazing stuff, as he didn’t increase exercise or anything else in his life.

The premise of the diet is for 5 days your eat normally, and then ‘fast’ for 2 days – this is not a total fast, but its a low calorie diet – men are limited to 600 calories a day, women 500 calories (a normal recommended amount to eat is 2000 calories per day). The days of fasting do not need to be consecutive.

There have been some studies on this diet type, which not only found weight loss and the cholesterol and blood sugar level improvements, but also improved brain function and even lower potentially cancerous  cells in the blood. This is due to a hormone known as IGF1. This hormone helps with normal growth in childhood, but in adults it can promote abnormal growth, such as cancer cells. By fasting, you are stopping the production of this hormone.  Other studies found that intermittent fasting increases levels of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF stimulates new brain cells in the hippocampus – the area of the brain responsible for memory. The shrinking of the hippocampus is linked with dementia and Alzheimer’s – so intermittent fasting may play a role in these conditions. BDNF also has been found to be a mild  anti depressant!

Why was I so sceptical?

When I first heard about it, I got told ‘fast for 2 days, eat whatever you like for the other 5 days’ Thats just opening the flood gates, by telling people you can eat whatever you want for 5 days - I know some people that would take definite advantage of this! And as for calorie control – never been a big fan. People may go for lean cuisine, diet foods or low fat foods to make sure that they don’t go over their calorie count. Just because something is low calorie, does not mean its good for you! How about your health? As a naturopath, I work with nutrients, not calories, so this whole calorie counting realm is new to me.  If people are educated that they need to eat REAL foods and enough protein to keep them satiated, then this diet works quite well.

This picture encapsulates my 5:2 diet scepticism perfectly.

Time to experiment!

My husband and I are doing the 5:2 diet to see not only how it feels and what its like to live on a low calorie diet, but also to see what happens to us. My husband loves to run, so he is observing if by fasting he will have more energy to run or less – online forums give both yes and no answers for this. The only way to know is to try it ourselves!

The first fasting week

My husband and I this week have started the 5:2 diet. Keeping in mind about nutrients and to avoid deficiencies, I have been very careful with what we eat. I have been using the calorie king app to help keep us on track as far as calories go and it has been a real education to both of us.

Spring vegetable soup with cumin - my very filling and a tasty 150 calorie fast day lunch!

By the end of the first fasting day, we both found it strange to eat and be hungry 10 minutes later. No food could fill us! The next morning my body felt very clean internally – hard to describe it. We went out to breakfast where this one meal was the more than the whole calorie count of the day before, but the food felt so nourishing and like every molecule of that food was beneficial to the body. A great feeling! 

Possibly my new favourite meal- quinoa crumbed eggs with goats cheese and green bean  & almond salad. This was my post fast day breakfast from The Artful Dodger in Elsternwick. Definitely more calories than I consumed the day before! nom nom nom!

I’m typing this on my 2^nd fasting day – it could be because I’m at home, but I’m finding it a lot easier today. I haven’t hit night time yet though. J

I will write blogs to follow up on the progress of this diet and will include meal ideas in those.

References to the studies mentioned are available upon request – laura.thenaturopath@gmail.com

Coconut Oil

I thought this would be a good time to bring up cooking oils. It is usually recommended by TV to use olive oil over other oils (vegetable oil, sunflower oil) as it has been shown to reduce cholesterol levels and the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). While it is fantastic to put on salads and on foods after cooking, olive oil is not a heat stable oil and loses its health benefits when heated and can convert to trans fats - a harmful by-product which can increase the risk of CVD, obesity, diabetes, cancer and even Alzheimer's. 

Saturated fats are heat stable (solid at room temperature) and are less likely to convert to trans fats. A safe and healthy alternative to use is coconut oil.

What is coconut oil?

Coconut oil is a highly aromatic saturated fat which can be used for cooking. It is mainly used in parts of Asia (such as Malaysia and Vietnam) and India and adds a slight coconut taste to cooking. 

What are the health benefits of coconut oil?

Cholesterol lowering

Coconut oil contains lauric acid, which contains the ability to assist in cholesterol management. There have been mixed results in coconut oils  activity with cholesterol levels: some studies indicate that it lowers LDL cholesterol and oxidation in the body, while others indicate that the negative effects of saturated fats suggest that it should not be consumed regularly. Coconut oil has been found to decrease cholesterol in studies performed in its countries of origin, leading to theories that it may be due to the storage methods or lowered deterioration of the oil.

Anti fungal properties

Coconut has been found to have antimicrobial properties, with studies showing that it has the ability to kill fungal infections including Candida albicans (Thrush). It also has been shown to have moderate anti-inflammatory and pain relief properties in animal studies.

Weight loss / thyroid assistance

Some websites claim that coconut oil may have properties which assist weight management due to an effect up on the thyroid. This property cannot be substantiated, as there has been no research found to backup this claim.

Antioxidant

Coconut oil has been found to lower oxidation effects in the body, making it a good antioxidant. It has been found that extra virgin coconut oil contains more antioxidants, so buy extra virgin (unless you really don't like a coconutty flavour)

What do I look for if I’m going to buy it?

Coconut oil can be found in all good health food stores. Extra virgin Coconut oil is extracted via a wet process, and coconut oil is extracted via a dry process. Buy either virgin or extra virgin - Extra virgin will give you a slight coconut taste, while virgin has no coconut taste.  

Organic coconut oils will not contain genetically-modified coconut or have previous pesticide use, so the healthier option would be to buy an organic brand.

Storage:  Keep your coconut oil jar in a cool place, as it can melt with heat (tip: keep it in the fridge in summertime!).

How to use: Use it just the same as you would butter in a fry pan. Coconut oil will melt pretty quickly and if using extra virgin coconut oil, your kitchen will smell amazing, especially if you cook it up with onions!