Fasting isn’t just a trend—it might be one of the most powerful tools for slowing the visible and cellular signs of aging. In a recent YouTube video, Dr. Tim Pearce and cellular aging scientist Dr. Nichola explained how strategic fasting, combined with a plant-rich diet, can help rejuvenate your body from the inside out.
Struggling With Sleep? This Rechargeable Sound Machine Is A Total Game-Changer
How Fasting Can Slow Down Aging
“We are not designed to be constantly eating,” Dr. Nichola notes. “Our biology evolved for periods of abundance followed by periods without food. When we eat all the time, our bodies never get the chance to repair themselves at a cellular level.” This repair, triggered during fasting, activates pathways like autophagy that remove damaged proteins and reduce inflammation—key contributors to aging.
Dr. Nichola adds that what you eat matters just as much as when you eat. “A diet rich in a variety of plant-based foods—think 30 different types per week—feeds your microbiome, lowers inflammation, and actually helps reverse biological age,” she explains. These natural plant molecules, from flavonoids to phytochemicals, can have drug-like effects in the body, supporting skin health, immunity, and overall longevity.
Fasting doesn’t have to be extreme, either. For most women, a 12-hour overnight fast—such as finishing dinner by 8 p.m. and not eating until 8 a.m.—is enough to activate these cellular benefits. Men may benefit from slightly longer windows of 14–16 hours. Even brief periods without food give the body a chance to switch from building and storing nutrients to repairing and rejuvenating cells.
The bottom line
The takeaway? Combining plant diversity with mindful eating windows can slow down both the physical and cellular signs of aging, leaving skin brighter, inflammation lower, and your body functioning more efficiently. As Dr. Pearce says, “Food can be medicine, and fasting is one of the most powerful ways to let your body heal and restore itself naturally.”
