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Fasting improves chemotherapy results and protects from side effects: study

nature.com

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Re: Fasting improves chemotherapy results and protects from side effects: study

#51

Post by kovek »

koevet wrote: post #28
mmhsieh wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

while on fasts, you get an energy level and mental clarity that has to be felt to be believed. everyone should try it at least once.

I have been on a 18/6 and 20/4 fasting protocol for 3 months now - few up and downs but mostly sticking to it. The obvious results are weight loss (not so much, I'm within my BMI targets). I can confirm that my mental sharpness has improved but it's not the same every day. Most days I feel amazing, some other days I feel quite tired and I experience some mental fog. I still haven't found the reason for such an oscill…

I noticed that in the winter, eating mostly fruits would cause a “crash” about ~30mins-1h after my fruity meal (but dang I had a lot of energy during that time). When I ate potatoes, spaghetti, I would have a longer span of energy.

Re: Fasting improves chemotherapy results and protects from side effects: study

#52

Post by kyle_morris_ »

lawlorino wrote: post #22

Since this is likely to attract a lot of fasting practicioners to the comments I want to ask - I've occasionally tried out fasting or severe calorie restriction in the past but I always seem to get dizzy, weak and shaky in the first 24 hours and have to give up. This seems like a normal physiological response to be honest, how are people either avoiding or coping with this?

Crawl > walk > run

Try eating breakfast at 10 am instead of 8(let’s say) for a couple of weeks.

Then see if you can hold off until noon without going to bed later.

If you can eat between the window of noon and 8PM you’re effectively on a 16/8 diet.

After you’re comfortable, try eating no later than 6PM, then try 4PM. Before you know it you’re on a 20/4 schedule.

Re: Fasting improves chemotherapy results and protects from side effects: study

#53

Post by Nihilartikel »

xutopia wrote: post #33
mmhsieh wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

while on fasts, you get an energy level and mental clarity that has to be felt to be believed. everyone should try it at least once.

I did a 3 day fast to see what it was all about. The energy levels were not there. I would get tired after a short brisk walk. Physically I was weaker but still had burst strength just no endurance or cardio. Mentally however I found myself unable to have too many variables in my head and my mind was not more able to focus on something but less distracted with extraneous thoughts. I could if I wanted to shut off the…

I had a period a few years back where I did fasts up to 3 days quite frequently.. Once I got used to it they felt pretty good. But, the point I wanted to add is that they would have been very difficult for me if I wasn't also doing a pretty strict low-carb ketosis diet. Without the hunger control of keto and having my body acclimated to using stored fat as a primary energy source, fasts have been untenable.

Re: Fasting improves chemotherapy results and protects from side effects: study

#54

Post by wincy »

lawlorino wrote: post #22

Since this is likely to attract a lot of fasting practicioners to the comments I want to ask - I've occasionally tried out fasting or severe calorie restriction in the past but I always seem to get dizzy, weak and shaky in the first 24 hours and have to give up. This seems like a normal physiological response to be honest, how are people either avoiding or coping with this?

I’m by no means an expert, but I think there’s some amount of adaptation that occurs. I feel like I had to “train” my body to fast. I had a similar problem and it was really unpleasant the first time I tried a fast, but recently did a three day fast with no discomfort right until the end. The end was weird because I told myself I was going to break my fast, and my stomach kicked into action too early, making me sick. Like I went from very little hunger to RAVENOUS. Had to break my fast at a drive through (best chalupa I’ve ever tasted!)

For me at least I go into fasting by first skipping breakfast for a few days, then skipping breakfast and lunch. Skipping dinner is mostly a mental hurdle because there’s so much psychological signaling that you should eat at dinner time and don’t really know what else to do with yourself. Going to bed without eating in a day feels weird at first.

I also make sure to get lots of electrolytes during all of this, magnesium glycinate and lite salt seem to do the trick. Otherwise I start to get shaky and have bad headaches.

Re: Fasting improves chemotherapy results and protects from side effects: study

#56

Post by BillyTheKing »

eperfa wrote: post #17

Looks like this study was initiated/sponsored by this company, specifically testing the effectiveness on what they call Fasting Mimicking Diet. https://l-nutra.com/pages/fasting-mimicking-diet If I understand correctly this is a low-calorie diet, which is easier to follow than a strict water-only diet, but they claim it is equally effective. They recommend it also for healthy individuals, 5 days a month. Does anyone…

I do actually, did it twice this year one week in January and then again during lockdown during the last week of March I think. I heard about it from the guy who came up with it, he wrote a book about the merits of a Mediterranean plant-based diet (with the occasional fish, but no meat) that resonated quite well with me, since it's easy to implement and also really delicious - I mean there isn't really all that much that go wrong with eating vegetables, some bread and pasta, nuts, olive oil, and fish (also had the welcome side-effect to reduce my meat-consumption to pretty much zero now)

Anyway, so after I switched my diet I decided to give his FMD a go and was pleasantly surprised - it's pretty tough, the second and third day were the worst for me, I was just incredibly hungry (and honestly speaking I did'n really achieve any mental clarity during those days), just went on a ton of walks. But I felt I gained a lot of mental strength following that experience, it was easier for me change eating or drinking habits simply because this exercise of control over your most basic need really provides you with a boost of confidence.

You obviously also lose a lot of weight (around 4kg per week) and I've lost even more since then, maybe 20kg since the beginning of the year (though that's a combination of sport, this pescatarian Mediterranean diet, but probably also those 2 fasting sessions). I plan on doing it again, though I want to try out 'real' water fasting next time. I think this is a great starting-point into fasting, though.

Re: Fasting improves chemotherapy results and protects from side effects: study

#57

Post by blueterminal »

lawlorino wrote: post #22

Since this is likely to attract a lot of fasting practicioners to the comments I want to ask - I've occasionally tried out fasting or severe calorie restriction in the past but I always seem to get dizzy, weak and shaky in the first 24 hours and have to give up. This seems like a normal physiological response to be honest, how are people either avoiding or coping with this?

Water with a little bit of salt solved this for me. But I am not a doctor so I don't know how good or bad it is.

Re: Fasting improves chemotherapy results and protects from side effects: study

#58

Post by SketchySeaBeast »

Cro_on wrote: post #20
mmhsieh wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

while on fasts, you get an energy level and mental clarity that has to be felt to be believed. everyone should try it at least once.

i like to persuade people by having them imagine an isolated tiger who hasn't eaten anything in a week. by force of nature their sense of smell, hearing, etc. must all be heightened so as to ensure their survival.

But that's because they are incredibly hungry and food focused, at that point they don't care about taking part in other activities and just want food. That tiger would definitely not be the sort I'd care to be around.

Re: Fasting improves chemotherapy results and protects from side effects: study

#59

Post by [deleted] »

xutopia wrote: post #33
mmhsieh wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

while on fasts, you get an energy level and mental clarity that has to be felt to be believed. everyone should try it at least once.

I did a 3 day fast to see what it was all about. The energy levels were not there. I would get tired after a short brisk walk. Physically I was weaker but still had burst strength just no endurance or cardio. Mentally however I found myself unable to have too many variables in my head and my mind was not more able to focus on something but less distracted with extraneous thoughts. I could if I wanted to shut off the…

[deleted]

Re: Fasting improves chemotherapy results and protects from side effects: study

#60

Post by Yizahi »

I'm not doubting the results (yet), but I just can't understand how is this possible. Chemotherapy basically damages host cells, with a lot of collateral damage. It already can cause all sorts of digestive tract problems and weight loss among other things. And now they propose to cut energy intake even more. How is this beneficial I can't understand.
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