Interesting. Given the life span of mice, I have to wonder what the term “Intermittent Fasting” means for them. For Humans it’s generally going between 16 to 22 hours without eating every day (some say 12 hours is enough, but that’s wimping out). For mice, might Intermittent Fasting be 4 hours or so? Likewise, if mice go 16 hours, is that more equivalent to several days of fasting for humans?
I ask because the definition of Intermittent fasting for humans (16 to 22 hours) barely causes any biological changes in humans as one needs to fast 36 hours minimum to get to really start to get some biological changes (16 hours of fasting does tend to limit overall calories, but that’s about it).
“In aged mice with critical-size defects, alternating-day intermittent fasting restored osteogenic compartment health, improving CD90+ cell function as well as bone remodelling and significantly enhanced bone repair to levels comparable to younger animals. This effect was recapitulated by even shorter- term supplementation of the gut bacteria Akkermansia muciniphila or nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN – an NAD+ precursor) in aged mice, highlighting the multifaceted mechanisms of action of intermittent fasting. We further identify mitochondrial dysfunction as a key component in age-related decline in osteoprogenitor function and show that both cyclical nutrient deprivation or NMN rejuvenate mitochondrial health and enhance osteogenesis in vitro.”