Fasting triggers stem cell regeneration of damaged, old immune system (2014) • Hacker News Board

Re: Fasting triggers stem cell regeneration of damaged, old immune system (2014)

#161

Post by agumonkey » Sun, Jan 04, 2015, 6:53 AM UTC

solarmist wrote: post #84

wtbob wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In the past it was common not to eat, voluntarily? Pretty much every religion of which I'm aware has the concept of fasting, and on every culture people terms to make an attempt to follow their religion's strictures (c.f. all the folds you see running at the gym). Sure, as you more religions don't tend to mention the physical health benefits, but they certainly believe in the psychological health benefits. Regardle…

Really? My understanding of religious fasting was it was a form of devotion. To show how dedicated you were to that cause. Or to show that you could overcome your biological instincts. In other words to demonstrate fortitude, strength of will, and discipline, and thus become closer to an ideal that is mostly considered non-biological or rather transcend the biological (God/Nirvana/etc). Or to empathize with suffering…

Funny, I'm not religious and from my distanced POV I never took fasting as a sign of devotion, more an old fashioned detox/cleanse with a sense of minimalistic life (which is not far from empathizing with deprivation).

Re: Fasting triggers stem cell regeneration of damaged, old immune system (2014)

#162

Post by kr4 » Sun, Jan 04, 2015, 7:20 AM UTC

axotty wrote: post #149

anglican1549 wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why does insecurity come into play? Couldn't there be other reasons for God being adamant about what a person believes (i.e., worships)? What if man's nature really is best nurtured by and finds its completion in (his telos ) the Being called God? If your kids insist on eating cotton candy (which works against their health) amid a veritable feast (that is delightful and nutritious), wouldn't your ire be justified?

Disclaimer: This is my personal belief, it seems it seems to offended some passionate dissenters. I understand, I've been there before too. God is often depicted as moody and chronically concerned with what we think of him. I think that's a ridiculous projection of our own human insecurities. If a creator like God existed, he would be billions of orders of magnitude more intelligent than us. Why would he care if we w…

Consider God as not a being but the infinite consciousness that pervades every particle/subparticle. Considering God as a finite (great) being who sits somewhere high in the space and runs the show on Earth is limiting the supreme being.

Upanishads states that God exists in each one of us as the pure consciousness that experiences the three states – waking, dreaming and sleeping. The mind with ego (I-ness) is the veil that has made us blind to experience this consciousness (experiencing consciousness by consciousness is possible as stated by wise men but describing that experience in words isn't possible because words are objects of mind and consciousness is beyond mind.)

Re: Fasting triggers stem cell regeneration of damaged, old immune system (2014)

#163

Post by kr4 » Sun, Jan 04, 2015, 7:35 AM UTC

reasonattlm wrote: post #32

Better publicity materials: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-06/uosc-fts06021... The paper: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2014.04.014 Really it's just not worth even reading whatever the popular press has to say about a particular strand of research, especially when lines like "regenerate the entire immune system" are thrown around. No, no, no. Not what is happening: read the paper or even just the publ…

Eating right amount of food that your body really needs at all times is best than eating too much some times and fasting at other times. Stability of food intake insures stability of mind and a stable, calm mind results in stable body.

Then there're people who have overcome hunger [0]. But this cannot be achieved through fasting but through practice of Yoga.

0]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prahlad_Jani

"Prahlad Jani, also known as "Mataji", (born Chunriwala Mataji, 13 August 1929) is an Indian sadhu. He claims to have lived without food and water since 1940, and says that the goddess Amba sustains him. Two observational studies of Jani have been conducted, one in 2003 and one in 2010, both involving Sudhir Shah, a neurologist at the Sterling Hospitals in Ahmedabad, India, who had studied people claiming to have exceptional spiritual abilities, including other fasters such as Hira Ratan Manek. In both cases the investigators confirmed Jani's ability to survive healthily without food and water during the testing periods, although neither study was submitted to a scientific journal. "

Re: Fasting triggers stem cell regeneration of damaged, old immune system (2014)

#164

Post by cbd1984 » Sun, Jan 04, 2015, 8:07 AM UTC

lotsofmangos wrote: post #115

con-templative wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Really it's just not worth even reading whatever the popular press has to say about a particular strand of research, especially when lines like "regenerate the entire immune system" are thrown around. To look at it from the opposite perspective, here's a helpful guide for scientists on how to get a health study into the UK news: http://www.nhs.uk/news/2014/12December/Pages/your-guide-to-h...

"Boffins, are you having trouble communicating the fruits of your labour to a wider audience? Have you spent five thankless years going through stool samples in an attempt to find new treatments for giardiasis only to have your work written up as a single paragraph on page 34 of the Rochdale Observer? Well, worry no more. Drawing on decades of journalistic experience, the Behind the Headlines team has come up with th…

I can just hear the cherry British accent (RP, if you please) soaking through the text.

Re: Fasting triggers stem cell regeneration of damaged, old immune system (2014)

#165

Post by jqm » Sun, Jan 04, 2015, 8:37 AM UTC

thret wrote: post #157

jqm wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I realize modern religion has tried to blunt the concept (it's all about love etc)... but blood atonement figures very prominently in the doctrine presented in the bible... Romans3:25, Hebrews9:22, Rev1:5 for instance. There are plenty more. Very prominent concept. Which is why up until recently there was plenty of talk about being "washed in the blood" in Christian churches. (I believe the manifest brutal cruelty an…

I think you have it backwards. The 'brutal cruelty and outright ridiculousness' of blood sacrifice is the whole point of Christianity. I realise Judaism has changed a lot, but in Jesus' time it was an unforgiving system. The death of Jesus was supposed to supplant all other kinds of sacrifice, and bring in a new system whereby you didn't need to atone for sins any more - you simply had to ask for forgiveness. When yo…

The three verses cited on blood atonement are from the NT.

I realize the idea is that the blood of Jesus was supposed to end blood atonement and usher in a new era. However, I never thought this idea was reasonable, never identified with a God who would set such a system up, and never felt that this idea at the core of a religion would ultimately lead to positive outcomes or really much more than continued barbarism and cruelty, but I'm not going to argue with your faith.

Re: Fasting triggers stem cell regeneration of damaged, old immune system (2014)

#166

Post by mingabunga » Sun, Jan 04, 2015, 9:14 AM UTC

graeme wrote: post #65

mingabunga wrote: post #30

I've been eating once a day for the past 3.5 years and I'd read about the supposed immune system benefits. I've not had a cold/flu since then and I used to get 3-4 a year, so I'm sticking with it and I've become used to it anyway.

Perhaps an unusual question, but how do bowel movements work for you, and was there a transition period? Whenever I try eating once a day or a fast, I feel fine, except that without fail I have diarrhea.

All good - no problems, I think from memory that it's probably now less frequent

Re: Fasting triggers stem cell regeneration of damaged, old immune system (2014)

#167

Post by nl » Sun, Jan 04, 2015, 10:48 AM UTC

jqm wrote: post #98

disputin wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are mormons not christians?

Mormons claim Christianity and espouse some Christian principals (i.e. blood atonement for sins of the world), although many of their beliefs (i.e. God is an evolved man and through adherence to Mormon doctrine men can become Gods after death) put them well outside the realm of what is considered mainstream Christianity. I'm not sure these additional beliefs necessarily disqualify them as "Christian" though as they d…

The "standard" beliefs of Christianity are expressed in the Nicene creed[1][2]. Even recent evangelical churches believe the things listed there, although they probably don't recite the creed itself.

Most mainstream Christians don't consider Mormons as Christians because they have added to the Bible, which is considered a heresy.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicene_Creed#Comparison_betwee... (note that "catholic" in this means "diverse" and doesn't specifically refer to the Catholic church)

[2] the differences between the two creeds listed there are basically what split the Orthodox church from the Western church and indirectly led to the fall of Constantinople. So some people consider them fairly important, but others don't.

Re: Fasting triggers stem cell regeneration of damaged, old immune system (2014)

#168

Post by justinpaulson » Sun, Jan 04, 2015, 11:28 AM UTC

Thought I would weigh in as I have a personal interest and history with fasting.

I once fasted for 25 days on nothing but water. I biked to class and work daily during the fast. After a couple days, hunger cravings disappeared. After two weeks I began to gain a mental clarity that I had not encountered before. I would get a head rush when I stood up too quickly after about 15'r days, but this was remedied by taking a deep breath beforehand. You begin to see and think of things differently when you find that you have given up an activity like eating that is so fundamental to human existence. I lost about 30 pounds (196-166) but almost immediately gained 15 back when I started eating again. I still remember how amazing a strawberry tasted the first time I ate after 25 days. I found a new appreciation for all types of foods I had never enjoyed before Infasted. It was a monumental experience in my life.

There are some commenters claiming different things about fasting, but the body is a miraculous thing and it can go quite some time without food. I plan to complete a 40 day fast along the lines of the Pythagoreans, Buddha, Jesus, and the ancient Egyptian Schools.

I do not, however, recommend this for everyone. An average person should have no problems with a prolonged fast, but there are no guarantees that you do not have some dormant medical issue. I went about my fast rather naively with no medical supervision, and though I had no negative consequences, I can not recommend my actions to others for obvious reasons. I am merely sharing my personal experience.

In a more relevant note to the article, I have found that fasting always makes me recover from an illness more quickly. If I have a cold or any other trivial illness I always fast and recover fairly quickly, again N=1. But I did come to the conclusions of this idea after extensive research into the benefits of fasting.

Re: Fasting triggers stem cell regeneration of damaged, old immune system (2014)

#169

Post by dedif » Sun, Jan 04, 2015, 12:47 PM UTC

halflings wrote: post #74

anindyabd wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not Muslim, but I was born and raised in a Muslim country, and almost all my friends are Muslim. As you note, in the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. Right before dawn, they eat seheri , and after dusk, they eat iftaar . During the month of Ramadan, no one seems to lose any weight, mainly because everyone seems to overcompensate during iftaar. Where I come from iftaar food is much oilier and ric…

Yes, unfortunately in many Arab/Asian countries people over-indulge at Iftar time. It seems less of an issue for "converts" of different origins = more of a cultural thing, as Muhammad -saws- encouraged people to eat and drink moderately, and certainly not over-indulge in a month like Ramadan. Some people, including me, avoid this though. When I was obese (for different reasons), I used to lose 3 or 4 kilograms each…

I loose systematically 2 to 3 kg each Ramadan. People usually exaggerate on food (esp. sweets) during iftaar.

Re: Fasting triggers stem cell regeneration of damaged, old immune system (2014)

#170

Post by halflings » Sun, Jan 04, 2015, 1:08 PM UTC

stefantalpalaru wrote: post #114

halflings wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> - fasting on Ramadan was probably created by a religious leader who felt better after doing it himself and though it to be a good idea for everybody else to do it. That religious leader would be Muhammad. That's one way to see things and how I explain part of my belief in Islam to non-religious people: Worst case scenario, I'm just doing things that I believe are pretty smart (fasting, praying, helping the poor an…

> Muhammad was an illiterate shepherd after all An illiterate shepherd? He was a merchant until he was 40 and then became a warrior.

He was indeed a merchant, and later worked as Khadija's accountant (before he married her) when he received the revelation.

But he was a shepherd during his youth and was illiterate (even when he received the revelation and was a merchant/accountant, this is a period where a lot is based on oral communication).

Not sure about that "became a warrior" part (although he was what you could call a political leader, which included -in that time- participating in wars)