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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

#71

Post by [deleted] »

Nihilartikel wrote: post #53
xutopia wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

[deleted]

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

#72

Post by thisisbrians »

hourislate wrote: post #61
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 fasted 100 lbs away over the last 2 years. I adhere to an 18/6 time delay eating schedule but have done 2-3 day fasts with 1 refeed meal for a month at a time. I've also done countless 5-7 day fasts. I've gone as long as 12 days with nothing but water. There were many months where I could count the number of times I ate on one hand. My last go was every other day with just one meal on my eating days. I did tha…

Many, many people who follow fasting/ketogenic diets report heightened energy and focus, myself included. This usually comes after the carb/keto flu phase once adjusted to the low carb intake and after the body has gone fully into ketosis. You have to be careful to get enough salt while fasting or eating very low-carb, though, as your body can struggle to hold on to water without those carbs you're used to eating. Consuming too little salt can definitely contribute to feeling sluggish.

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

#73

Post by sambeau »

hourislate wrote: post #61
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 fasted 100 lbs away over the last 2 years. I adhere to an 18/6 time delay eating schedule but have done 2-3 day fasts with 1 refeed meal for a month at a time. I've also done countless 5-7 day fasts. I've gone as long as 12 days with nothing but water. There were many months where I could count the number of times I ate on one hand. My last go was every other day with just one meal on my eating days. I did tha…

When I fasted I remember the feeling of energy kicking in around day 2-3. I had moments of supreme clarity but also moments of fuzziness. The energy boost was real though. I continued to exercise quite heavily so didn't't see any muscle loss. I'm quite a big guy so there were a lot of fat reserves to melt—my skin became very greasy as if I'd eaten a very fat-heavy meal, I could even taste the oil in my mouth.

I wonder if, if you are not a big eater, then the difference might be less than if you tended to be full of food, digesting away all day and night. Similarly, if there's not a lot of fat on you maybe, rather than burning fat with an energy boost, you end up burning muscle and feel tired?

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

#74

Post by nwienert »

hourislate wrote: post #61
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 fasted 100 lbs away over the last 2 years. I adhere to an 18/6 time delay eating schedule but have done 2-3 day fasts with 1 refeed meal for a month at a time. I've also done countless 5-7 day fasts. I've gone as long as 12 days with nothing but water. There were many months where I could count the number of times I ate on one hand. My last go was every other day with just one meal on my eating days. I did tha…

I’ve never done the long term fasts, but my anecdotal experience also confirms this - I definitely have significantly less mental clarity on any type of fast I’ve done, to the point where it definitely affects my productivity even by end of day 1.

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

#75

Post by snarf21 »

hourislate wrote: post #61
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 fasted 100 lbs away over the last 2 years. I adhere to an 18/6 time delay eating schedule but have done 2-3 day fasts with 1 refeed meal for a month at a time. I've also done countless 5-7 day fasts. I've gone as long as 12 days with nothing but water. There were many months where I could count the number of times I ate on one hand. My last go was every other day with just one meal on my eating days. I did tha…

My understanding (and experience) is that this clarity is usually just about the lack of all the crap that normally makes you feel awful. Things like sugar, dairy, and processed grains plus preprocessed foods. I've always found that after 10 days, you start to feel amazing and do so for around two weeks more before your body starts to adjust.

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

#76

Post by teraku »

markus92 wrote: post #70
cellularmitosis wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any info as to which fasting schedule is most effective?

Unfortunately that is far outside my expertise. The study here used a diet that is supposed to mimick the effects of fasting by having a low calorie/protein diet. In the discussion, they say the effects on a growth factor can be measured in blood plasma after 48 hours of fasting, or 48 hours of this diet. My layman guess is that the best schedule is probably the one you can adhere to.

If it's a low protein diet, couldn't the lack of certain aminoacids which promotes cell growth (and by that, also cancer growth) also aid slowing cancer?

Layman here, just popped into my mind.

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

#77

Post by zhynn »

Cro_on wrote: post #10

If there were ever a panacea, it would be fasting. The more tight and widespread the research becomes, the more that we prove what humanity has known anecdotally throughout civilisation. From being a Roman cure for epileptic seizures, through the integral practice in most religions, and to the 21st century where we start to prove that it increases both healthspan and lifespan. I find it quite interesting that somethi…

I always find it funny that fasting comes up so often, but a ctrl-f almost never turns up someone mentioning Ramadan. Nearly 25% of the world population fasts for an entire month, but it's almost invisible to the western world. While I don't agree with all of the details of the fast (I drink water), I think it is an admirable holiday, it's way healthier for the world than Christmas or Thanksgiving.

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

#78

Post by projektfu »

hazz99 wrote: post #23
Cro_on wrote: post #10

If there were ever a panacea, it would be fasting. The more tight and widespread the research becomes, the more that we prove what humanity has known anecdotally throughout civilisation. From being a Roman cure for epileptic seizures, through the integral practice in most religions, and to the 21st century where we start to prove that it increases both healthspan and lifespan. I find it quite interesting that somethi…

How does a fasting mimicking diet (FMD, like the one described in the article) work? I had a skim and didn’t see a detailed explanation. What’s your experience like?

The FMD in the article was approximately 200 calories per day for 3 days, using a standardized set of allowed items (broths, etc.)

This was done in preparation for each chemo treatment.

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

#79

Post by me_me_me »

hourislate wrote: post #61
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 fasted 100 lbs away over the last 2 years. I adhere to an 18/6 time delay eating schedule but have done 2-3 day fasts with 1 refeed meal for a month at a time. I've also done countless 5-7 day fasts. I've gone as long as 12 days with nothing but water. There were many months where I could count the number of times I ate on one hand. My last go was every other day with just one meal on my eating days. I did tha…

> I've gone as long as 12 days with nothing but water.

This is dangerous and please don't encourage others to do only water fast. Pure water fast is dangerous beyond 4 days or so.

You need to supplement minerals while on per-longed fast. Salt, magnesium and potassium are vital to regulatory processes in your body.

When your body uses up all reserves it will not be able to sustain those processes. It is serious business so please read up on the subject while trying anything longer than 3 days.

> feeling of dying and lying in bed shivering on a 5-7 day.

This is body telling you something is wrong, ignoring is outright stupid. Like ignoring that you are bleeding.

> I have fasted 100 lbs away Congratulations

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

#80

Post by [deleted] »

swarnie_ wrote: post #65
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.

Do you have any recommend resources around fasting? or a preferred routine? I'm very interested in reading more.

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