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

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

#141

Post by davidwparker »

AstralStorm wrote: post #136
davidwparker wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That paper isn't the original- it's a followup. The original is a strict fast (water only) for 72 hours. The FMD (Fasting Mimic Diet) is for 120 hours (5 days) and has more food allowed: "The human FMD diet consists of a 5 day regimen: day 1 of the diet supplies 1,090 kcal (10% protein, 56% fat, 34% carbohydrate), days 2–5 are identical in formulation and provide 725 kcal (9% protein, 44% fat, 47% carbohydrate)."

Wow, that's lower than what many calorie restriction experimenters run!

Yeah, it's supposed to "Mimic" a fast. Supposedly it's easier to do than the 3-day water only fast, since you're getting some sustenance, but I haven't tried it.

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

#142

Post by gtirloni »

forgetsusername wrote: post #74
yodsanklai wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a middle line between over-eating junk food and fasting!

I agree. And I think the vast majority of people overeat and don't realize it. I think the obesity rates reflect that. Observe the conversations around these articles every time they pop up: people think it's unhealthy to go without calories for any amount of time. Where does that come from?

It's one's wishful thinking against other's wishful thinking.

Luckily science has produced good evidence in favor of fasting / calorie restriction that this is slowly changing.

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

#143

Post by chiefalchemist »

re: "People are better eating on a regular basis.”

Well, that depends on what you're eating. One can't help but wonder if the reaction is not because of fasting per se, but because toxins are not be introduced into the body on a regular basis.

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

#144

Post by zo1 »

codedinosaur wrote: post #35
NinoScript wrote: post #18

If I were to fast for that long, should I ingest anything other than water? Some vitamin supplements for example? Or maybe a bit of salt? Or is it really only water?

When I was fasting (about 2.5 weeks), I ingested nothing but water. I don't think you need to be worried about running out of essential nutrients when you are only fasting for 3 days. Personal experience, of course. No empirical evidence.

I would definitely worry about not eating for 15 days.

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

#145

Post by gtirloni »

rsync wrote: post #107
NinoScript wrote: post #18

If I were to fast for that long, should I ingest anything other than water? Some vitamin supplements for example? Or maybe a bit of salt? Or is it really only water?

IANAD. My understanding is that you are avoiding calories. More specifically, you are avoiding the bodily processes (especially insulin response, etc.) that accompany digestion. So water, coffee and tea fit into that. Coffee or tea with milk, however, does not. I am not sure about the vitamin supplements. Even if they are zero calorie, they have to be digested, etc., in a way that goes beyond coffee and tea ... I wou…

I used to have coffee and tea while water fasting but not anymore. While coffee helps with the initial headaches and may provide more energy in the following days, the fact that caffeine is a psychoactive drug started to worry me when doing the fasts. Surely, I don't think it causes any damage and by all means, have some if it helps you. But I've noticed it affects my primary goal with fasting: putting my system in a more natural state than before. It took me a while to remove it from my fasting practice.

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

#147

Post by pmoriarty »

wodenokoto wrote: post #2

Do they literally mean zero intake of calories for 72 hours? That sounds like a long time. How do you prepare for that nutrition wise and mentally? People eat at night during the ramadan.

There is a lot of evidence that the human body can survive for much, much longer than 72 hours without food:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-long-can-a-per...

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17095605

The first article mentions someone going for 73 days without food, the second 66 days, and many others for shorter periods (but still on the order of multiple tens of days).

Some examples:

"In the 1940s, Mahatma Gandhi survived 21 days on sips of water during a display of civil disobedience."

"Dr Mike Stroud, senior lecturer of Medicine and Nutrition at Southampton University ... who accompanied veteran British adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes across the Antarctic, said it was possible to survive 60 days without food."

"In 1981, Republican prisoner Bobby Sands died in Northern Ireland's Maze prison after a hunger strike lasting 66 days."

Of course many factors may influence how long you can go without food, such as the amount of physical activity you engage in. If you're running marathons every day, you're naturally not going to be able to go without food as long as someone who's immobile the whole time, etc.

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

#148

Post by ashark »

dazzawazza wrote: post #13
kseistrup wrote: post #9

Although I haven't attempted this myself, I have seen many people attempt to endure a 72 hours fast (as part of diagnosing a potential pheochromocytoma) and the majority experience this as extremely difficult. I wonder if multiple shorter fasts — e.g., a 24 hours fast once a week — could be as beneficial.

I regularly fast for 20+ hours (calorie restriction, I do drink water because I am not an idiot) once or twice a week. You get very used to it. While its not something I look forward to, it's purely psychological. A few hours after I miss 'breakfast' my tummy rumbles two or three times and then my body doesn't care anymore. The max time I've fasted is forty hours and I have to say if you can get past the first fours…

I tried single day (don't eat anything in a single waking period, not strict 24-hours—over 24 hours, in fact) fasting a few times a couple years back. I don't usually eat breakfast anyway (rarely feel hungry in the morning), but ~1hr after I usually eat lunch I'd feel fairly bad, and by 3pm or so I'd feel quite weak and mentally sluggish.

I still plan to try a 72 hour fast at some point, but I'm expecting it to be very unpleasant based on those experiences.

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

#149

Post by yuja_wang »

The "Body Positivity" movement that encourages people, especially young woman, to be obese or overweight, and tries to criminalize images of slender people in advertising may be the most unhealthy political movement there is.

Obesity kills 300,000 people in the U.S. each year, and with the exception of several hundred people suffering with psychological disorders who manage to starve themselves each year, being slender or even a bit "underweight" has no negative health effects and may have some positive ones.

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

#150

Post by yuja_wang »

pmoriarty wrote: post #147
wodenokoto wrote: post #2

Do they literally mean zero intake of calories for 72 hours? That sounds like a long time. How do you prepare for that nutrition wise and mentally? People eat at night during the ramadan.

There is a lot of evidence that the human body can survive for much, much longer than 72 hours without food: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-long-can-a-per... http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17095605 The first article mentions someone going for 73 days without food, the second 66 days, and many others for shorter periods (but still on the order of multiple tens of days). Some examples: "In the 1940s, M…

Fat people can fast for a year with few problems.

Here's a write up from the NIH.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2495396/pdf/post...

Overeating is a psychological disorder. Few Americans would have any ill effects not eating for a few days -- especially the 66% of Americans who are obese or overweight.

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