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Recently, a prominent programmer on Chinese Twitter suddenly passed away, which not only saddened people but also made many people start paying attention to health issues. In light of this, I am preparing to share some articles in the hope that they will be helpful to everyone.

Diet Section

Two States Influenced by Diet

1. The state of being full, which means having a high blood sugar level. At this time, our body will be more active in replicating and growing cells.
2. The state of fasting, which means having a low blood sugar level. At this time, our body will be more active in repairing and cleansing cells.

Since we naturally do not eat anything while sleeping, it is generally said that a portion of our sleep time puts us in a fasting state. The choice of eating time is actually about controlling the duration and balance of these two states. Interestingly, many ethnic cultures and religions around the world have customs related to fasting, which can even last for many days.

In 2012, scientists began conducting experiments on mice, dividing them into two groups. One group could eat at any time of the day, while the other group could only eat during a fixed 8-hour period. Within the larger group, the mice were further divided into smaller groups and given both healthy and unhealthy food to eat. The results showed that the mice who could only eat during the 8-hour period, even if they ate unhealthy high-fat food, still maintained or even improved their health levels. This study shocked the academic community, and subsequently, numerous experiments and papers were published on humans, different genders, different ages, and different professions (including athletes), revealing many benefits of intermittent fasting for the body. These benefits include promoting liver health, bile acid metabolism, self-healing inflammation, weight maintenance, increasing brown fat reserves (beneficial for health), preventing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, blood sugar control, and gut health, among others. If the habit of intermittent fasting is maintained for more than 60 days, our bodies will tend to metabolize fat for energy and control weight. Therefore, Professor Huberman pointed out that when we eat and what we eat are equally important. This study has also led many researchers in the academic community to adopt the habit of fasting, including Professor Huberman himself.

How to Control Diet

Since long-term fasting is difficult, the majority of research focuses on intermittent fasting. In simple terms, it means eating during a fixed time period of the day (aligned with the sleep cycle) and not consuming any food during other time periods. Here are two versions: basic and advanced.

1. Basic: If you want to enjoy the basic benefits of fasting, the simplest principle to follow is to not eat anything within at least 1 hour after waking up and to not eat anything for the last 2-3 hours before going to bed.
2. Advanced: Currently, the most ideal eating window according to research results is 8 hours. Taking into account social customs, a reasonable time range is generally between 10-18 or 12-20. It seems that skipping breakfast is not a bad thing :)
3. If you want to build muscle through exercise, it is recommended to shift this eating window earlier because consuming protein in the morning is beneficial for muscle growth. The timing of exercise can be freely chosen.
4. It is important to maintain the stability of this eating window. Otherwise, it will have a similar effect to frequent jet lag, resulting in a loss of benefits.
5. If you want to try advanced fasting, it is recommended to gradually change your eating habits. For example, shorten the eating window by 1 hour every two days until you reach the desired 8-hour window.

It is worth noting that when we say not to eat anything, it does not mean we cannot drink water. As mentioned earlier, whether we are in a fasting state mainly depends on our blood sugar level. Therefore:

Drinking water, tea, coffee (without milk), etc., does not break the fast. However, consuming a spoonful of sugar will break the fast.
If you want to enter the fasting state as quickly as possible after dinner, you can do some light exercise, such as taking a walk, to speed up blood sugar clearance.
Metformin, berberine, etc., can directly promote blood sugar clearance. Cinnamon, lemon juice, can also slightly lower blood sugar.

Finally, if you feel dizzy or shaky during the fasting period, there is no need to immediately eat or consume sugar. Drinking a little saltwater (you can add lemon juice) can usually alleviate the symptoms. This reminds me of Lex mentioning taking medication to supplement various electrolytes, such as sodium, magnesium, potassium, etc.

Diet and Digestive Health

1. The microbial community in the intestines not only affects the healthy functioning of the digestive system but also plays a crucial role in the human immune system.
2. The way babies are born and grow forms very different gut microbiota ecologies. Exposure to a microbial environment (while being cautious about situations that can cause diseases) is beneficial for maintaining a healthy gut microbiota. For example, having pets at home and allowing children to play freely without excessive cleaning and disinfection.
3. There is no standard conclusion on what constitutes a healthy gut microbiota ecology. However, overall, higher diversity in the microbiota generally indicates better health.
4. Antibiotics can severely disrupt the gut microbiota ecology and should be used with caution.

What kind of diet can help us maintain the diversity and health of our gut microbiota?

1. High-fiber foods: whole grains, legumes, vegetables, nuts. These are traditionally considered very healthy foods, and many fiber breakdown processes require the help of gut microbiota. In other words, fiber is their "food."

2. Fermented foods: yogurt, milk wine (kefir), kombucha, sauerkraut, pickles, natto, etc. Note that they should be naturally fermented, usually refrigerated and non-canned. Also, for fermented foods like yogurt, extra care should be taken to avoid adding sugar or other additives.

3. The group of people who consume fermented foods significantly increases the diversity of their gut microbiota. They also experience significant reductions in dozens of immune markers and have better inhibitory effects on various types of inflammation. Unexpectedly, gut microbiota can also regulate inflammation.

4. Consuming high-fiber foods is helpful for people who already have a high level of gut microbiota diversity. However, for those who do not, increasing fiber intake does not provide much help. In the process of industrialization, human eating habits have changed over many generations to include a large amount of meat and processed foods. The ecological structure of the gut microbiota cannot be changed solely by increasing the amount of fiber in the diet.