Fasting Produces Anti-Aging Molecules

Georgia State University researchers suggest that you can actually delay vascular aging processes with the aid of β-Hydroxybutyrate produced during calorie restriction or fasting periods. Arterial stiffening is a degenerative change that occurs with aging, arteries slowly lose ability of elasticity due to fraying of lamellar elastin elements present in artery walls with to continued mechanical stress, other factors contributing to the deprivation include changes related to arterial collagen protein and advanced glycation end products.

Age is the most important risk factor for disease, find ways to delay aging is a pathway to reducing incident and severity of disease. This study investigated connections between periods of fasting or eating less with slowing down aging, which is an area of human physiology that is less explored and largely unknown.

Presence of  β-Hydroxybutyrate compound, according to the researchers, has the capability to decelerate vascular aging phenomenon by acting on endothelial cells lining the interior of blood and lymph vessels, and helping in the prevention of senescence. The compound has been found to stop these cells from becoming old by promoting cell division. Activity of stem cell factor Octamer binding transcriptional factor is also accelerated by the compound via binding to a particular RNA protein which elevates an essential factor against DNA damage induced cell aging that helps to keep vessels healthy for longer periods of time. Oct4 could potentially act as pharmaceutical target for minimizing or stopping aging if it is able to make vascular systems more youthful, which can lead to lesser age related disease that will ultimately lead to a positive gain in longevity and healthspans of humans.