Nutritional advice changes pretty quickly. One minute they’re telling us to fast, then fasting can kill us, then, wait a minute, fasting is back; only this time make it an olive oil fast.
Why fast?
“For fifty thousand years…human civilization was about one thing and one thing only: food. Every culture that existed put most of their time, energy, manpower and resources into food production… The industrial revolution mechanized agriculture. Since then, we’ve been able to focus on other things.” – The Hail Mary Project, Andy Weir
So Yeah, prior to mechanized agriculture food was scarce. Three square meals a day was a luxury, not the norm. Our bodies haven’t adapted to modern abundance; they’re still designed to function in scarcity. We evolved, in my opinion, to occasionally (intermittently) fast.
Fasting triggers a process in our bodies called autophagy. Literally translated it means self (auto) eating (phagy). Autophagy is a recycling process where cells break down and reuse damaged components, as well as generate energy and building blocks for repair. It begins about 30 minutes after we eat a meal “but significant, beneficial levels typically ramp up after 16-24 hours of fasting, becoming much more pronounced by 48-72 hours.”
So to experience the true benefits of autophagy we have to fast 1 to 3 days.
Where does Olive Oil come in?
Olive oil is all the rage suddenly. Eccentric millionaire and renowned biohacker Bryan Johnson recently called olive oil the super of superfoods, even saying it was better than ozempic.
The Good
Here’s a quick run down of the benefits of Extra Virgin olive oil:
- lowers bad cholesterol
- increases good cholesterol
- rich in polyphenols that act as anti inflammatories.
- Daily intake is associated with reduced risk of fatal dementia
But it’s basically a healthy fat, right? It has calories (120/teaspoon). Consuming it breaks a fast, doesn’t it?
Pump your breaks. Olive Oil actually accelerates autophagy via powerful polyphenols like oleuropein and oleocanthal contained within. Some research suggests it doubles the speed of autophagy, hence cutting the length of time neccessarry to fast. So you can have all the benefits of autophagy without having to starve yourself for 3 days.
Let the Madness Commence
I have undertaken 3 24 hour Olive Oil fasts, but unfortunately I only took data from one of them.
Bodyweight: 216.4 lbs.
Body Fat %: 15.6%.
This was taken on my eros scale.
My fast began Saturday night; I ceased eating at 6:30 pm, and had a single tablespoon before I went to bed. I woke up the next morning a little after 7 am. My 24 hour fast was half over already.
My goal was to only to consume EVO when I felt a pang of hunger. All told I had about 5 tbsps of EVO as I went about my day, which included a light workout, a walk with the dog, and chasing after my 3 year old son. 24 hours passed quickly. There was never a moment where the day seemed to drag.
Test Out Time
And now for the moment we’ve all been waiting for. The test out. 6:30 rolled around. I stripped off my clothes and hopped on the scale.
Body weight: 211.4.
Body Fat %: 15.1%.
Whoa!
Now that’s a result. The scale is telling me I just lost 5 lbs, and 2 of them were pure body fat? Lucky for me I had yet another eros scale (at work) to re-test on.
Same result.
Well, it’s either an Eros scale conspiracy or I just accomplished something truly amazing with little to no effort.
Next up my client Derek gave it a whirl.
While he does not own an eros scale, he did lose an identical 5 lbs in 24 hours.
One more test
I have lost 8 lbs in 2 hours while running, only to gain it back after eating breakfast and (crucially) rehydrating. Rapid weight loss usually coincides with fluid loss. It has been 2.5 weeks since I lost the 5 lbs. I am fully hydrated and eating normally.
I have lost an additional pound. 6 lbs in 2 weeks.
DAMN! This olive oil fad may be here to stay.