Slightly off-topic: Intermittent Fasting
 

I've been hearing a lot about Calorie restriction to extend life and help with various diseases, especially autoimmune disease as I'm battling one myself. But I didn't think I could do it. Just don't have that sort of willpower. But I might be able to do Intermittent Fasting (IF) and I keep reading more and more about it.

Here's an interesting article from Dr. Eades blog.

I think I'm going to try this, see if it helps with my AS.

More than just interesting
 

Because of this gluten problem and being in Europe out and about, we can not find food and often find ourselves not eating until dinner. I hate breakfast. He does not talk about hydrating the body with water. I am doing better. Believe it or not, I never am sick. It has been 6 years since the last case of anti biotics.


We have a saying "the least you eat the healthier you are".

We do a soup broth/juice fast when we get glutened.

The first fast we ever did started us on our gf journey. It was 4 days and on the fourth day, I felt super-human!

I don't have the wear-with-all to do it very often (especially now since I'm nursing and almost always ravenous) but I do want to do another one soon because I have come to believe that it gives the body a break and gives it a really good cleanout (like cleaning out your oil/filter in your vehicle :D ).

My son (6 years old) does two day fasts (broth/juice) frequently (about once every 2/3 months or so) because he gets contaminated very easily. Nothing gets his system back on track as quickly and efficiently as one of these fasts (and we've tried many things over the last 4 years).

I just started IF with yesterday being my first fasting day. It wasn't difficult at all. We'll see how tomorrow goes. :) My hope is to improve my health and reduce my autoimmune disease symptoms and perhaps even lose a bit of weight! I could stand to lose another 10-20 pounds.

I must diagree with you about it being "slightly off-topic." Fasting does help sometimes when it comes to food allergies or sensitivities. So not off topic at all.

I have severe nutritional deficiencies and sometimes I will have a minor health problem. I have had ulcers in the past from too much stress. When I don't feel well I usually don't feel much like eating. So, sometimes I know that the body may benefit from easing up on digestion by fasting. Feed a cold and starve a fever.

I find that sometimes when I fast for maybe a day or two it does seem to bring everything back to the same level like KimS indicated. In my case though I can have problems with the nutritional supplements I take. So just stopping the supplements for a day or two can basically allow me to start fresh again.

The only medical reason I have seen to do a fast for more than a couple of days is to start the rotation diet. There seems to be a real benefit in this situation where you are getting basically everything (all foods) out of your system.

I have read that if you do need to fast for more than a couple of days glutamine, an amino acid, can provide energy to your brain. This amino acid is also great mixed in water to soothe the GI tract. So glutamine might be good for people with GI problems, like leaky gut, or those who do a fast sometimes. But glutamine would prevent the problems some can feel when their brain is starved of sugar basically.

Dr. Eades recommends glutamine too, especially for gut issues. I keep forgetting to take it.

The thing that got me interested in fasting is that lots of autoimmune arthritis people I talk to get relief from their symptoms with fasting (and a no-starch diet).

There's a good article on Sciencenews.org about this.

Day 3 of trying out IF. I hear it takes 2 weeks of this before the good effects kick in. I wonder if it'll be tough going without food on a Saturday? I really loaded up last night and I'm still feeling pretty stuffed today.

Hi everyone
 

My experiance with fasting was not that great. I went on a juice fast, that was suppose to detox your body. Well it did, and I felt just awful, like I had the flue. I think the third day my boss made me go home because I looked awful. Anyways I did learn something from it. Your suppose to ease into a fast and ease out of a fast. Lots of people think you just stop eatting, and then on day whatever, they gorge themselves because there starving. Apparently this is not very good for the body. I think its a great thing to do, eatting is way overrated:D Patricia:)

Not for me: hope it works for you
 

I have done various fasts in the past, but I will never fast again after having two bad experiences with the last two fasts. I hope it works for you Nancy, but I think if you start out in a very depleted state, a fast can be harmful. I think you really need to be taking it easy during the fast and for at least two to three weeks afterwards.

The last two fasts I did were for 3 to 4 days. The last fast was a juice fast and I eased into it and out of it and did not work during the fast. The previous fast before that, I didn't take it easy so much. Anyways, two weeks after both of these fasts, I ended up with severe back muscle spasms and it literally took me about 6 months to get better. There were a couple of years between the fasts. I think fasting is a very personal thing. It works for some people and not for others, like me. Since I have been working with an acupuncturist, it makes sense to me that fasting would not be good for me because of my particular bodily deficiences.

There are ways to detox the body without fasting, using herbs and a clean diet. I personally think the SCD intro diet is pretty good if you need to give your digestive system a break, but don't want to deny your body of nutrients and calories (I didn't eat the dairy or honey). I did this twice over the summer, and it cleared my diarrhea up temporarily. Or, I think just cutting out sugar, alcohol, stimulants, preservatives, and only eating home cooked meals with whole organic foods is a good way to clean your body out.

Claire

They're very short fasts. Just 24 hours and you're asleep for 8 of them. Not that difficult really. The health benefits sound great. In fact, I noticed on my swim today my stamina had improved enormously. Read the article if you haven't, it really is thought provoking.

I'd think of this more as "Ramadan Lite" than anything else.

Just wanted to note that your reaction may not have been to the fast... but to the subsequent inclusion of a food that your system reacted to. If reactions are not noted and the diet changed, the body will sometimes change the mode of 'communication' by changing the symptom. The person will assume that the 'missing' symptom means they got better when, possibly, the symptoms may have just 'evolved' into something else.

When doing a fast and then adding foods back in, a journal should be kept. That way, if the same symptom follows a second or third fast, then you can look at what foods were added in before the symptom appeared.

I do absolutely agree that one should 'take it easy' during fasting though. This means that I don't think the body should be hugely stressed with big workouts or running. It should be a time of calmness for the 'whole system'.

This does not mean lying in bed the whole time. It means working quietly, reading quietly, moving slowly but with purpose. It is highly beneficial to do a slow moving form of exercise during this time (yoga, tai chi, etc.).

Also beneficial are epsom salt baths.

I have found, using this technique that fasts have become a fundamental way of life.

This is not to say that I haven't done fasts the other way (just going back to a regular diet immediately). It was those times that I did not benefit very well from the fasts, which is why I know what I know now.

All the mistakes I've made still count for something! :D

Kind regards,
KimS

After a fast, food should be added back in very slowly, one at a time (about 8 hours apart). People often seem to just return to their regular every day diet after that and then suffer for it and blame the fast.

I read through the article and the link to the "study", which was 3 doctors trying intermittent fasting and reporting on their observations. I remain respectfully skeptical until I see some real research on humans with lab work to back it up. I felt great after my fasts too. It was weeks later when the depletions seriously affected my back muscles. I'm not someone who needs to lose weight, so doing it for that reason wouldn't help me either.

BTW, Ramadan is a period of 40 days of fasting for Muslims. They fast from sun up to sun down, no food, no water, no smoking, no sex. From sun up to sun down, a Muslim would not be able to take anything in their body. I lived in a country that observed Ramadan and most of the people were Muslim. It's pretty intense. I tried it for a few days to try to show my support, but as I was living in a hot, dry, African country, I drank water during the day. Some people made fun of me because of that, so I decided it wasn't worth it. The worst part was watching pregnant women do the fasting, even though they were exempt through the Koran. They did it because they felt pressured to do so. Then, they wondered by their babies were born so small. I didn't think it was a particularly healthy thing for anyone.

Claire

A few other interesting articles about IF:
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20030607/food.asp

http://www.sciencedaily.com/release...30211072836.htm
http://lansbury.bwh.harvard.edu/ad_reviews_2003.htm

I'm not a lab rat, although I do play one on TV. But the calorie restriction response seems to work regardless of species. Traditional CR always seemed too difficult to me, but delaying eating until dinner time every other day, I think I can do that.

I'm experimenting on myself hoping I can help other people with AS. I know that AS patients often use longer fasts to get out of a flare. I tried one, it was very tough, although it did seem to help my symptoms for awhile.

"intermittent fasting reduces blood pressure [and] reduces heart rate similar to what's seen with regular exercise."

Hmmm - will this get me out of exercising? Maybe intermittent fasting would be easier. I hate exercise just for the sake of exercise.
Anne

I see you think like I do! :D

Actually, I noticed my swimming went much better this weekend. I don't swim much and I'd do a length, have to rest, do another. This time I was actually able to do a few before having to rest. And my breathing was amazing. I felt like I could cover 1/3 the pool before having to breathe.

I'm also sleeping really well, which is always iffy for me. It might not be related since I just go through phases with that anyway.

A collection of links about IF: http://www.connotea.org/tag/intermittent_fasting

Most of the time they just stay up all night eating and then go to work to sleep the next day... accidents go through the roof as people fall asleep at the wheel and tempers flare....

I don't think fasting is very good but Ive gone 2-3 days frequently in Ramadan and then some idiot tells me he hasn't eaten since 5AM.... poor idiot... I haven't eaten since 5AM either... 5AM YESTERDAY but I'm not walking round complaining and going to the toilet to sneak a cigarette am I?

I'm on my 4th 24 hour fast. It really isn't a big deal at this point. So I miss 2 meals every other day. *shrug* I feel good and my blood pressure has dropped a bit, which is one of the signs that CR is kicking in. Another week and other CR benefits might kick in.

I'm on my thrid week of this. Feeling quite good. My bad gastro symptoms and neurological issues have subsided almost completely. The "one meal days" aren't all that difficult any longer. Any hunger I have is easy to ignore and I feel rather sharper on fasting days.

A number of the other folks doing this have had some very spectacular drops in the blood glucose, from elevated numbers to going closer to normal.

Oh, this has a NAME?
 

I thought it was "old ladies lose appetite" diet?

Over the last year, I have had no desire to eat sometimes (how strange is that?)

And I have lost a small amount of weight, but also have seen much fewer
allergies needing the dreaded Claritin.

So have I been intermittently fasting? skipping meals, not feeling hungry some days, drinking extra water, and having a small snack at bedtime?
My husband thinks I am going nuts... he is nagging me.

Can I now say I am "intermittently fasting"? I have never fasted 24 hrs or more (unless ILL)... but I often only have two modest meals a day and skip dinner.
I feel better when I skip dinner! And it is easier in the summer BTW.

I am going to look into this!

I guess the original implementation of this they at 20% of their calories every other day. On the other days they ate as normal.

I never have lost the desire to eat. It is one urge I think I shall never lose, unless I'm horribly ill. :p

Just an update, I am still doing this 3x-4x a week. It has gotten to be easy.

People on the message forum where I am doing this are reporting some amazing results. Diabetics with much better blood sugar control, people with chronic pain and inflammation going away, digestive disorders getting better, ezcema clearing up. Strangely enough, some people who were rather binge-y eaters are having better control. Including myself.

We have a CR (Calorie Restriction) person following along with our results telling us what we might expect. I should have CRP and SED rate results soon from before I started and then in a few more weeks, more recent ones. So that might show something interesting about my autoimmune status.

Here's the thread if anyone wants to follow it: http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=309675

Found a new article about this. Very good!
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...7912_1,00.html

I'm still doing this. I feel very good. My intestines have normalized for the first time in 10 months, maybe this is why, maybe due to something else.

I am following your updates with great interest.

It's always thrilling to hear when someone is feeling so much better! :cool::)

Thanks Kim!

I've been talking to a CRON (Calorie restriction with optimal nutrition) person. It's a long story but just about every creature who is restricted on calories has a 30% or more longer life-span. There have been no exceptions found yet. So there are people actually doing this now and participating in experiments. Their blood test results, BP, and other signs indicate it is working well for them. It helps with all kinds of allergy and autoimmune conditions. But there are drawbacks. People tend to get grumpy, their reproductivity decreases, they get skinny, they're cold all the time. IF should avoid this.

But there are special caveats for starting this later in life. You have to ramp up slowly. Now IF seems to have the same effects as CR but I don't think the mid-life use of IF has been studied. So I am thinking of getting off this for awhile and starting up more slowly. Slowly lengthening the fasting time.

The biggest difference is that IF is easier to follow than CR. You don't have to reduce your total calorie intake, you don't have the crankiness and coldness and hopefully it won't reduce fertility.