There is no shortage of diet plans and weight-loss tips online, promising wonders. Most people who’ve tried some of them know that the results often don’t satisfy or last long. With some exceptions, popular diets are often ineffective because they are created without scientific research and medical insight into people’s hormonal and metabolic processes.

However, there is a new trend of meal-replacement plans that may replace fad diets. They are created by medical professionals, backed by scientific studies, and primarily target a person’s metabolic makeup and food-related health issues.

ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet is among the first and most effective detoxication and meal-replacement dietary programs. The following article explains how the program works, what benefits to expect, and how to determine if you are a suitable candidate for this diet.

What Is the ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet?

ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet (FMD) is a 5-day dietary program that aims to detoxify the body and reset a person’s metabolism.

The program’s creator, Valter Longo, is a cell biologist who spent decades studying how fasting affects aging. With assistance from May Clinic and MD Anderson Cancer Center, Dr. Longo’s research showed fasting may have significant health benefits and promote longevity.

These findings inspired Dr. Longo and his team to design ProLon, a medical weight loss program that aims to provide the patient with carefully selected nutrients that nourish the body while tricking it into thinking it is fasting. The Mayo Clinic and MD Anderson Cancer Center assisted Dr. Longo’s research.

The idea of the ProLon Diet is to offer the benefits of water-only fasting without exposing the patient to the risks associated with no food intake.

How Does It Work?

ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet is a 5-day dietary protocol during which a person consumes pre-packaged meals for five days according to instructions on the packaging. The program also includes a 20-minute consultation with a health coach.

The meals are packaged in five boxes labeled Day 1 to Day 5. Each box contains the meals for that day with suggestions in which order to consume them.

It is important to not change the order of boxes, because they contain a different number of calories and different nutrients. The contents of each box is the result of a carefully researched strategy to improve metabolic processes.

The ProLon creators recommend using ProLon once a month for three months and then as needed or as advised by your medical provider. It is not designed as a long-term dietary plan.

What Food Do You Eat on the ProLon Diet?

All ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet meals are whole-food sourced, plant-based, and gluten-free. They are low in calories, protein, and sugar, and high in healthy fats.

The meals mainly consist of soups and protein bars, and the soups are dehydrated and easily prepared by adding hot water.

This is a detailed list of items in the ProLon meal kits:

• Soups (e.g., minestrone, mushroom, tomato, black bean, butternut squash, etc.)
• Protein bars (nuts, honey, flax, coconut)
• Kale crackers
• Olives
• Choco crisp bar (dark chocolate, almonds, crispy brown rice, rolled oats, etc.)
• Vitamin and mineral supplements
• Algal oil supplement (to provide enough omega-3 fatty acids)
• Herbal teas (spearmint, hibiscus, spearmint-lemon)
• L-drink (glycerol-based energy drink to support gluconeogenesis, the process of using energy from fats rather than carbs)

You can’t eat any other food during the 5-day fasting period. You can, however, drink water and unsweetened teas.

Pros and Cons of ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet

If you are considering ProLon to detox, lose weight, and improve your metabolism, take some time to review the pros and cons of this dietary plan.

Potential Benefits of ProLon

The listed benefits are the results of clinical studies on mice and humans sponsored by the National Institute of Health. More research on humans and patient experience is needed to confirm the promising results of the clinical trials.

• ProLon regulates the metabolism.
• It cleans the body from toxins and waste.
• It helps with weight loss and reduces belly fat. However, it is not effective for people who need to lose a significant amount of weight.
• It increases cognitive performance and mental focus.
• It provides greater energy.
• It improves sleep quality.
• It reduces bloating.
• It lowers blood pressure.
• It significantly reduces blood sugar.
• It significantly improves cholesterol levels.
• It reduces inflammation.
• It supports cancer treatment.
• It helps treat autoimmune conditions.
• It slows down cellular aging, repairs damaged cells, and rejuvenates the body.

Patients report that the benefits of the ProLon diet continue for months after the 5-day protocol.

Cons of ProLon

The ProLon dietary program offers amazing benefits, but it does come with a few disadvantages.

• It is costly. A single ProLon box with 5 daily meals costs $249.
• It takes some planning because it’s not recommended to start the program during a physically demanding week or before menstruation.
• It is challenging. Some people may have difficulty coping with hunger pangs during the diet.
• It isn’t for everyone. The diet may trigger overeating in people with eating disorders. It may be risky for people with certain health issues.
• It doesn’t provide significant weight loss. People who expect to lose a lot of weight with the ProLon diet may be disappointed.

Fasting Mimicking Diet Vs. Intermittent Fasting

The Fasting Mimicking Diet is a calorie-restricted, meal-replacement dietary program. People on this diet are allowed to eat only those meals that have been carefully selected by scientists based on the amount and ratio of nutrients in the food.

Intermittent fasting is another popular diet that has emerged in the past few years. It is a time-restricted eating plan that involves eating only during a certain time interval. One of the most popular intermittent fasting variations is the 8:16, in which the person eats during an eight-hour window and fasts for 16 hours.

Research shows that both eating plans provide numerous health benefits and promote longevity.

However, if people on an intermittent fasting schedule choose to dramatically shorten their eating window to 1 hour every 24 hours, this can come with risks such as seriously low blood sugar, fatigue, reduced immune function, and more.

It has also been shown that intermittent fasting diminishes athletic performance and increases recovery time after sports injuries. On the other hand, the ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet provides essential nutrients to the body, increasing energy and enabling athletes to maintain lean body mass.

Who’s a Good Candidate for ProLon?

ProLon is designed for healthy adults who wish to reset, detoxify, increase mental focus and energy, manage weight, and improve overall health.

Losing weight is the dietary program’s after-effect, but it is not its primary goal. Therefore, it is not the best option for patients who want to shed a lot of extra pounds quickly.

ProLon creators don’t recommend this diet to people who fit the following criteria:

• Pregnant and nursing women
• Undernourished people (with a BMI under 18)
• People with allergies to nuts or soy
• People with serious medical conditions, including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer
• People who take medications that require regular calorie intake
• People with eating disorders

Consult your doctor if you have any medical issues or take medications that may pose a risk to you during your ProLon detoxication journey.

Conclusion

Losing and managing weight is a constant struggle for many people and if you are among them, consider the ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet. This promising new dietary plan helps you jumpstart the journey to your ideal weight while focusing on overall health.