Eat, fast, and live for longer | Françoise Wilhemi de Toledo | TEDxAnnecy

Françoise discovered fasting at age 17. She practices it regularly, twelve to sixteen hours a day instead of two to three times a week every year.

Fasting is a physiological ability of animals and humans, and absolutely necessary for life on planet earth. Before the advent of technologies allowing us to preserve food, human beings fasted cyclically when the production of food reduced as in winters for example. To keep alive, internal food was used from the fat tissues through fasting, instead of absorbing external food through eating. Better, in fasting mode, the tissues and cells metabolize their damaged structures by digesting ageing cells. We observe a reduction of inflammation, an improvement of mood and an increase in resistance to stress. After fasting, the activated stems cells rejuvenate our tissues. A community that fast is peaceful and supportive, and human beings turn to their inner self, live more consciously and more intuitively without feeling hungry. During re-feeding, the palate is back to zero, so everything tastes amazing. We can feel those feeling of hunger and satiety again. Fasting is a therapy, a reset of the metabolism, and source of inspiration.

When Françoise was a teenager, in a patriarchal family in Geneva, her life radically changed. During the movements of May 1968, she discovered what makes her live today: a revolution of thought, healthy eating, yoga, ecology, feminism, and above all ... fasting. Today, she is a doctor specialized in fasting and nutrition, and she has been working for forty years for her family business: fasting clinics. Her motivation is to help a man or a woman to discover their inner and unsuspected potentials. Rediscovering our fasting ability not only means using our potential for self-recovery, but also realizing that the impossible is possible in this field and in many others as well.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

Living well, when we stopped
eating willingly

for 16 hours, two days, or 10 days,

that seems impossible to you

or maybe perfectly normal
because you've already experienced this.

Let me explain to you what fasting is
and maybe tell you my story

and how I discovered it
and rediscovered this ability

that each human has in him
as well as animals.

When I was 15, I was a Genevan
teenager in the whirlwind of 1968.

Of course, it was the music festivals,
the fight against authority,

but most of all, it was
an abundance of new ideas

that came to us
and broadened our horizon.

I heard for the first time words like,

"ecology," "yoga,"
"meditation," "feminism,"

while today these are themes

that are part of my life
and the life of my contemporaries.

Renouncing the buttery food
of the patriarchal family table

and asking instead for vegetables,
wholemeal cereals and cold pressed oil,

really, that was
a revolution in my family.

But when I decided
to start fasting at age 17,

I didn't dare talk about it
to my friends, nor my family.

I just simply stopped eating,

just like that, to lose weight
and out of curiosity.

And I didn't have a clue
about the metabolism of fasting,

about the practice or how to do it,
it was a complete improvisation.

And it was an unforgettable experience.

After a day or two, I had the impression
of regaining my energy,

of being positive
and feeling almost exhilarated.

Communication with my friends
and my family members was facilitated,

even though they absolutely
didn't understand what I was doing.

And I was shocked:
I wasn't hungry, and I felt happy -

which didn't happen often anymore
during my tormented teenage years.

My skin became smoother,
my acne disappeared,

and that's obviously great
to a teenager.

Waking up wasn't a problem.
Walking for miles didn't tire me out.

I also had the feeling of being
at one with Nature.

After 11 days of this extraordinary
experience, I said to myself,

"Maybe, I should think
about eating again."

But, how were you supposed
to stop this process ?

I had no one to guide me,
I didn't know how to do it.

So I started eating again
in an uncontrolled manner and fell ill.

All my problems returned
about family and career guidance.

And there, I understood
that I had to do it differently.

Later, when I would become a doctor
and specialist in fasting therapy,

I would be very carefull
to teach all my patients

how to return to eating
and to their daily lives

since it should be done slowly
and in a very conscious way.

In fact, I had the chance to find,

through a friend who was also a doctor,

a medically supported fasting center

that was founded in 1953.

The founder is a German doctor
named Otto Buchinger.

He is a doctor that cured himself
of an acute rheumatic fever -

a general inflammation of the joints
that was making him disabled -

by fasting during 19 days.

I learnt that there was a method,

a well-known method based
on clinical experience,

and that there were rules and rituals
to follow for a fast to be beneficial.

So I got to learn,

and, at the same time, I had the chance
to meet the founder's grandson ...

who became my husband.
(Laughter)

So we are the 3rd generation
to develop this medical fasting method

which is the most practiced worldwide.

And we have created fasting centers
that are now led by the 4th generation.

Fasting appeals to young people.

What I found astounding
is that this experience so dazzling

and what I saw of clinical
improvements in those centers

weren't taught in medical studies.

During all my medical training,

at no point have I ever heard of fasting
or the physiology of fasting.

There was mention of fasting animals
because all animals around us fast.

For example, a caterpillar
becomes a butterfly

as it stays in a cocoon
and fasts for several months.

Without eating, there is an absolutely
extraordinary transformation.

There are more common animals,
such as marmots, bears,

migrating birds, and of course,
penguins of the Antarctic.

(Rires)

Perhaps two words were mentioned
about fasting in decompensated diabetes,

and also, as a poor
method of losing weight.

It wasn't until the sciences of longevity
and the last few years' publications

that we understood the mechanisms
through which therapeutic fasting

has an extraordinary and exceptional
effect on health and longevity.

So maybe you'll ask me,

"Renouncing this extraordinary
pleasure of eating, what for ?"

and "Why should I fast?"

First of all, it is about fascination,

a fascination with
our own genetic program.

In our own body, we have
this ancient knowledge.

So why not rediscover it?

First, we must understand that fasting,
if done correctly, is not dangerous.

And what is fasting?
What does it mean to stop eating?

Truly, it is simply the transition

from a form of life
that relies on external food

that we eat and digest
by burning its components,

to the combustion of fats
lying in reserve in our body.

So fasting means indeed to stop eating,

but from the point of view of the cell,
fasting is mainly changing fuel,

eating in another way.

You may understand better
if I compare the cells to hybrid cars.

A hybrid car can switch
from petrol to electricity

indiscriminately from one to the other.

In our body, our cells
are also capable

of moving from that external food

to this internal food
stored in our reserves.

What are the effects of this transition?

Firstly, it affects our metabolism.

Glycaemia or blood sugar
decreases, insulin plummets,

and three hormones take over,

adrenaline, glucagon
and the growth hormone.

Thanks to these three hormones,
we start using our reserves,

first, a small sugar reserve
in the liver named "glycogen,"

then the large reserves of fat

that almost all of us have in large
quantities once we reach a certain age -

and we all would like
to shed it. (Laughter)

And the fasting motto,
from a metabolic point of view,

is saving proteins.

What can we cure by fasting?
How does it work?

First, the cellular pathways activate.

As you can imagine, the body is hungry.

So it starts with the old modified
structures, maybe whole cells,

that are going to be caught and digested
in a process called "autophagy".

And the elements that are collected

are going to be either
recycled or eliminated.

There are means of natural elimination
that a well-managed fast should boost.

First, the kidneys are stimulated
by drinking a lot of water and herbal tea.

Then, the lungs are stimulated
to excrete carbonic gas,

and the skin to perspire
by physical exercise and natural methods.

Then, the liver and intestines are also
stimulated through natural methods.

Another mechanism explains why,
in a fast, pain and stiffness decrease.

It's the decrease
of inflammatory processes.

It's an extraordinary effect
that we notice very quickly.

Some people come with arthritis
in their hands, for example, and say,

"I've fasted for three days and I can
already close my hands again."

This explains the improvement
of many illnesses.

And regarding metabolism,

there's weight loss of course,
a decrease in the waistline,

but also a normalization
of the blood pressure,

the blood sugar and cholesterol,

and all of these occurs while physical
and emotional well-being improve each day.

And for someone who has never fasted,
this is completely counter-intuitive.

We expect to feel bad
and be hungry all the time,

but it is not the case at all.

We've documented all these improvements
and changes in parameters

in a study published in January 2019,
covering 1422 cases of people

who have fasted for 5, 10,
15 days or 20 days,

with this Buchinger method.

So the conclusion is

what can we treat with this fast
on a medical point of view?

And that is the second incentive

after the fascination with the discovery
of your intrinsic mechanisms.

We can treat illnesses called "metabolic"
such as obesity, type two diabetes,

hypercholesterolemia, hyperuricaemia...

These are also risk factors
for cardiac and vascular illnesses,

so we prevent heart attacks or strokes.

There is a another large group:
chronic inflammatory illnesses,

those that make typically
people ill or stiff

such as arthritis, rheumatic illnesses,

and also gastritis, colitis,
and other illnesses ending with "tis",

and allergies, migraines and asthma too.

Then there is a third, less known group
that is all the depressive conditions,

the states of physical
and psychological exhaustion

because fasting boosts mood

and it boosts energy
in the case of pre-burnout.

Today, as I have said,

an enormous amount of research
is taking place globally

to study the effects of short, long,
modified and repeated fasting.

We notice them on certain illnesses
we didn't think about 20 years ago,

such as cancer, such as Alzheimer's,
at least in its prevention,

such as polyarthritis, multiple sclerosis
and Parkinson's.

Here are the new research fields
that will enlighten us in years to come.

You're perhaps going to wonder,

"Why don't I take the plunge
and try to fast?"

Then, I will answer you,

"Beware! Fasting is not
a walk in the park.

It's a medium-intensity mountain trek.

You need to know the itinerary,
have a good guide,

prepare for it and not
over estimate yourself."

There is a group of people
who take medication for their illnesses -

those I've already mentioned
for which fasting is recommended.

In these cases, fasting can only
be done in a specialized center

where doctors are specialists
in fasting therapy.

People in good health can attempt
a personal experiment,

with a good manual,
a group and a guide if possible,

and do intermittent fasts.

It can be, for example, something
that is beneficial and easy to do,

that is to stop eating
for a long period including the night.

It could be 16 hours for example.

You eat your last meal at 6 pm
and have your breakfast at 10 am.

It is called "16/8 intermittent fasting."

You can also have
one fasting day up to five,

or days where calories
are restricted to around 600 cal.

And food lovers, what will they say,
the French especially who love gastronomy?

Why deprive ourselves of this pleasure?
Isn't it anti-gastronomy?

Well, I would say, "No. Indeed, we prevent
that pleasure for a short while,

but it should be replaced
with other pleasures,

and there is an abundance
of them in fasting."

First, there is the pleasure
of having time,

being free from all these
behavioral patterns.

It is the pleasure to be able
to read a good book, listen to music,

be in contact with Nature, go for a walk,

have time for your own body
and for yourself.

And don't forget that at the end
of the fast, when you start to eat again,

the taste is a marvel.

Any food item tastes
like a three star meal.

Moreover, after fasting, the feeling
of hunger and fullness can be revived

and that may enable us
to restore a healthy eating habit.

There is also
a spiritual dimension in fasting.

We are now in the period
of Lent for Christians,

but in all religions,
there are periods of fast,

because there is a spiritual
but also a communal dimension.

So, fasting is an opportunity
to rejuvenate our body,

because during re-feeding,
embryonic stem cells regenerate.

So, we have a rejuvenation of cells.

But in addition, it's an opportunity
to meditate on our own existence

and to redirect our lives
on a good path.

I should speak a couple
of words on the methodology.

A fast must be experienced differently
and far from everyday life if possible.

The period before the fast
must be taken care of

by decreasing food little by little
and perform one day of mono-diet.

Beginning a fast means
having a different daily rhythm:

a good rotation between rest
and physical exercise,

and rituals, meetings with others,

for example, a conviviality
around a fruit juice or a vegetable soup.

Then the return to food
should be gradual and conscious.

In sum, I would like to say,

"Be fascinated by this ancient program,
by this ancient knowledge,

that is in your body
and you might never have discovered.

And if you decide to do a fast,
do so with a good support,

with a good method and,
if you are ill, with a medical facility.

I hope that you will also start
to panic in front of junk food,

but trust in this program
that is fasting

that may help you to prevent diseases,

live longer in good health,

and have, in some cases,
a deep spiritual experience

and a re-orientation of your life.

(Applause)