16 ms·
Fasting leads to stress resistance, self-renewal, and regeneration (2014)
- lr4444lr 10y agoThe catch-22 is that chemotherapy and cancer itself can reduce appetite and cause weight loss, so doctors demur when their more self-informed patients stumble across research on (temporary) fasting's protective effect (throw "cellular autophagy and health" into Google and you can immerse yourself for hours). Malnutrition can in turn harm the immune system. Where's the sweet spot? Who knows, and the fear of malpractice suits slows down progress.
- gr3yh47 10y agoI would say that another huge impediment to some research is the pharmaceutical industry's incredible lobbying power. you bet they want to make gosh darn sure that if something is going to help cancer they want to be able to charge thousands of dollars/dose for it
- lawless123 10y ago>you bet they want to make gosh darn sure that if something is going to help cancer they want to be able to charge thousands of dollars/dose for it Special $500 fasting pills which contain only water.
- phkahler 10y agoYep. Another great one to throw into google is Iodine and apoptosis: https://www.google.com/#q=iodine+apoptosis https://www.google.com/#q=iodine+apoptosis The first two results are NIH papers on the topic.
- zaphods-towel 10y agoHi, can you talk a bit more about this? I have extremely low iodine and have been trying to figure out how to address it, so your mention of iodine caught my attention. Also, when you say iodine and apoptosis my first thought is cancer treatment— is that what you're implying?
- phkahler 10y agoOh if you try it, ramp up iodine slowly. I had some strange reactions the first two days. YMMV again.
- phkahler 10y agoThe RDA for iodine is 150 micrograms. I treated my asthma (lungs use iodine too) with about 1mg of iodine daily and 250mg of magnesium - YMMV of course. I was taking kelp supplements but needed 6 a day to get the amount I wanted. Another source is Lugol's solution - a few drops in a cup of water is several mg. I also use Lugol's for healing cuts, scrapes, and scars. Iodine has also been suggested as a cancer cure for many different types - some strains of breast cancer in particular. This is because there are a couple pathways leading to apoptosis that require iodine to function - turns out your mitochondria need iodine too. The funniest thing I ran across in all this was an article about the link between kelp and reduced breast cancer risk. At the end they said this should be investigated further because the author knew kelp had high iodine content and thought that would be bad for people. In other words, we need to isolate the anti-cancer agent and commercialize it so you don't kill yourself with too much iodine. Funny because the iodine is likely the anti-cancer agent, and is not bad for you in the slightest.
- lr4444lr 10y agoI don't disagree, but academia and government (which I realize are not always separate from corporate R&D) are enormous drivers of scientific progress. There's a lot of quackery out there which I think erroneously magnifies the conspiratorial suppressive power of the pharmaceutical industry. My argument is simply this: doctors need more leverage to use cutting edge research in their practice. I am not in the medical field, and I don't know exactly how to accomplish this, but must surely lose a lot of organic ground-level experimentation at individual doctor-patient mutual consent, which would generate a wealth of epidemiological data with which to move medicine forward. It deprives patients of certain medical alternatives, and doctors of part of their scientific capacity as experimentalists. The entire field of vaccinations began from an observation of smallpox immunity in the Turkish country side where folk wisdom was to rub scabs into superficial wounds of healthy children. When western doctors observed a stark decrease in the infection rate, this began experimentation that became the foundation of the modern practice. I don't think that this could be done today. The extreme counterexample is the Tuskegee experiment, but the key element missing there was patient awareness of their own participation as an experimental control.
- digler999 10y agoAt least their remedies work, unlike holistic medicine that charges thousands of dollars to cleanse peoples' chakras.
- baldfat 10y agoThe effects on mood and brain function is pretty much an established benefit. "... studies have built on decades-old research establishing a connection between caloric intake and brain function." http://www.johnshopkinshealthreview.com/issues/spring-summer-2016/articles/are-there-any-proven-benefits-to-fasting http://www.johnshopkinshealthreview.com/issues/spring-summer... As someone that USE TO (Why is it you have more self-discipline in your 20s then your older years???) Fast about once a week for 24 hours (supper to supper). There are many positive benefits as a person when you go past 3 days also. There are plenty of studies out there about fasting and its benefits and risk. People who have never done more then 3 days nor have read scientific research seem to see this as a negative. The human body can go for more then 40 days without food so a few days actually has very little negative "malnutrition" issues. The stomach takes about 3 days to shrink after that has finished you actually don't really feel hungry and surprisingly you would be shocked at the spike in energy and focus you get for the days 4-10. Longest I have ever done was 10 days but man food explodes with flavor. One of my favorite things is after coming back to food everything taste better and is more enjoyable.
- bflesch 10y agoWhat kind of drinks do you drink during that fasting period? I imagine I'd collapse after one day if I wouldn't drink soda or something high-sugar / high-coffeine.
- dorfsmay 10y agoFasting means no calories. No you wouldn't collapse, the body stores fat exactly for this reason. When you fast, eventually your body switches to fat burning mode.
- wlll 10y agoWhen I was fasting for 24 hour periods (I really need to get back on that) I would drink black coffee and water. I stopped drinking soda many years ago (apart from the odd coke at a party or something). Realised it was addictive. It just feels normal to always be drinking water now. I don't miss it. Coffee, I turn my machine on in the morning and it's 50/50 if I remember to drink one during the day. I drink a fair amount of tea (PG Tips with milk, I'm English) though.
- dorfsmay 10y agoMalnutrition is about lacking essential nutrients. Fasting is very different than "eating less". The body works in one of two mode. 1: use current energy, as long as you provide energy (eating) it'll use it and make you hungry if you're not giving it enough. 2: use stored energy. If you stop eating for long enough (some say 12 hours, other say 24 hours, I suspect it depends on what you have make your body used to, eg some long distance runners fast to make their body switch to fat burning mode earlier). The body has zero energy available in stomach/muscles, it'll then start burning stored fat ; unless you're very skinny, you can go on stored fat for a long time. If you eat normal meals (no calorie restriction, you shouldn't be hungry at the end of the meal) between fasts, it shouldn't lead to health problems. Recent studies show that the refeeding at the end of a 5+ day fast is benefic for your health, the closest thing to stem cells. Google "Valter Longo" for more information about it. For general information about fasting, check Jason Fung material (blogs, youtube). He's a medical doctor who runs a clinic to cure patients of diabetes type 2 through fasting, and has put out a lot of material out there with lots of explanations.
- apathy 10y ago1) Tanya is an oncologist 2) Cachexia != fasting. Not much you can do about cachexia, it is an end stage phenomenon where the tumor is hijacking essentially all incoming nutrition. Feed the patient, feed the goober. 3) reversing myeloid bias (I'm dubious about this, even though Gregor was not the kind of fast and loose player that would fudge counts) would, if true, enhance innate and adaptive responses (subject to a million caveats because Immunology Is Really Fucking Hard) If patients consent to trials and enough evidence accumulates it will become the standard of care. Of course it's going to be tough to patent not eating so don't hold your breath.
- lubonay 10y agoMost of the studies I've come across regarding fasting are done with mice. I wanna see someone test this in production by using human test subjects!
- lawless123 10y agoResults will be available in ~90 years.
- dingdingdang 10y agoIf at all: some of these findings were implemented health practises roughly 100 years ago (see for example iodine as mentioned above).
- monodeldiablo 10y agoThere are a few small-scale case studies done on human subjects, but they're fairly recent. I was just reading one late last year on ~10 subjects. The experimental group (5-6 patients) had equal or better response to chemo and experienced fewer side effects than the control. For obvious ethical reasons, though, I think they can only do this with patients with a terminal prognosis. Nevertheless, in my experience, you'd get a lot of volunteers from anybody undergoing chemo.
- reirob 10y agoAbout studies over 20 years with human patients: http://apache2.pum.edu.pl/~fasting/bur_ab.doc http://apache2.pum.edu.pl/~fasting/bur_ab.doc
- gigatexal 10y agoAccording to the study it was fasting for 24 to 120 hours or 2 to 5 days. Yikes. Is that without food and water or just without food?
- HalfwayToDice 10y agowithout water would be extremely dangerous/fatal
- ryanworl 10y agoDrinking only water for only 24 hours or even 36 hours is not that difficult if you have decent self-control and no medical problems. Personally, I stop being hungry after about 18 hours and it only returns after about 36, which is as far as I've ever gone.
- gigatexal 10y agoYeah that self control bit is the hardest part. Kudos for being able to go 36 hours.
- raverbashing 10y agoThere seems to be a barrier you cross when you start getting hungry after N hours after your last meal (when it would be your next one), but suddenly you're not hungry anymore
- andy_ppp 10y agoDoes anyone know why fasting seems to make chemotherapy apparently less harmful to your immune system? "Multiple cycles of fasting abated the immunosuppression and mortality caused by chemotherapy and reversed age-dependent myeloid-bias in mice, in agreement with preliminary data on the protection of lymphocytes from chemotoxicity in fasting patients." My theory would be that when in a fasting state the body is less likely to utilise the chemotherapeutic compounds in fasting tissues while the cancer instead steadily grows and consumes these drugs? I'm entirely guessing of course; maybe this could be triggered without fasting somehow.
- riledhel 10y agoI once read that fasting promotes something like "cell reuse" and the body starts breaking down old/damaged cells faster. I'll try to find the source (and this is not my field by any means)
- adventured 10y agoI think you're referring to the process of cell autophagy and the activation of it by fasting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autophagy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autophagy
- jlebrech 10y agoour genetic makeup has adapted to famine and fast, if you don't fast whatever hormones we create during fast are missing from the body.
- maykr 10y agoThat's it - fasting makes sense from evolutionary biology standpoint - the food was scarce up until modern era, and thus the obesity was quite uncommon. If one was lucky enough to get a meal, that could be his only meal in a week or a few days at least - that's exactly the fasting cycles that were part of the everyday life.
- voidlogic 10y agoI'd be curious how similar the results of being in nutritional ketosis would be. I've been studies in the past looking at rigorous caloric restriction benefits that demonstrated that people in isocaloric nutritional ketosis got most of the benefits of the restriction group (while not having the misery long term caloric restriction).
- napsterbr 10y agoSince there are a lot of "fasters" here, let me ask something. I'd like to create a fasting habit just to experiment, but can't understand how that's even possible when working out on gym daily. I'm not skinny and have lots of fat to burn, but I think my muscles would catabolyze as soon as I fail one meal. Am I missing something about fasting?
- serg_chernata 10y agoYou need to work through a short period of adjustment that may feel like hell. Changing your diet is never easy. You may have a headache or just feel drained the first few days but you will adapt. I've said this before, but I've found to have more energy when I eat less food. Or rather, less carbs in particular.
- berzerk 10y agoI'm a bodybuilder and I've been Intermittent Fasting now for about 3 years and have worked out 5 days a week most of that time. It's about all timing your meals properly. I work out in the evening so when I have a noon meal it gives my body enough time incorporate the food for fuel before the workout. My biggest meal is after the workout when my body is at it's anabolic peak. The funny thing thing is that you can still gain weight using this protocol and I've used it very well to pack on some additional muscle so it's not a free-for-all and you still need to eat clean 90% of the time.
- antihero 10y agoWait, I'm confused. You say you've been fasting, but then you also talk about working out 5 days a week and eating after a work out. I thought fasting was like, not eating?
- serg_chernata 10y agoHe talked about intermittent fasting
- jontas 10y ago
- reasonattlm 10y agoIf this area of research interests you, here are some other resources from recent years: Will calorie restriction work in humans? http://dx.doi.org/10.18632/aging.100581 http://dx.doi.org/10.18632/aging.100581 Diet that mimics fasting appears to slow aging http://news.usc.edu/82959/diet-that-mimics-fasting-appears-to-slow-aging/ http://news.usc.edu/82959/diet-that-mimics-fasting-appears-t... Fasting mimicking diet reduces risk factors for aging and multiple age-related disease https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-02/cci-fm020717.php https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-02/cci-fm020717... Diet that mimics fasting may also reduce multiple sclerosis symptoms http://news.usc.edu/101187/diet-that-mimics-fasting-may-also-reduce-multiple-sclerosis-symptoms/ http://news.usc.edu/101187/diet-that-mimics-fasting-may-also... Fasting Therapy for Treating and Preventing Disease - Current State of Evidence http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000357765 http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000357765 And so forth. There's a lot of information out there.
- hackermailman 10y agoAnybody interested the doctors from the USC article on aging above and here[1] about simulated fasting now have a startup for it http://l-nutra.com/prolon/ http://l-nutra.com/prolon/ and here https://prolonfmd.com/ https://prolonfmd.com/ though only available in US, Italy and Australia right now. It's a 5 day fast once a month for overweight people or every couple of months for in shape people. No idea what the price is. [1]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9741137 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9741137
- reasonattlm 10y agoThe price is zero, because the necessary information to do exactly the same thing yourself with plain old food is available in the papers and in the vast number of calorie/micronutrient information sites out there online, and it is really, really easy to just go and do that. The point of Prolon is that it is a way to obtain money from the regulatory/Big Pharma system in order to do more research into quantifying the benefits fasting and calorie restriction. Not that it is anything special in and of itself. It is just food, less of it.
- m3kw9 10y agoAside from the "science" that happens inside the body, has there. Has there been an overall study where you compare the overall life span of a twin? If you are fasting like a 3rd worlder, their mortality rate seem high.
- tbihl 10y agoIf you're comparing a lifespan to someone in developing areas, meal tempo is probably no more than a footnote compared to inaccessibility of medical care, safe birth, safe food and water, occupational hazards, destabilization and violence, etc.
- pbkhrv 10y agoMainstream religions have been advocating various forms of fasting for centuries. Thank you science for explaining why and how it works.
- nurettin 10y agoAFAIK this article doesn't suggest getting dehydrated at any point. That's just evil.
- the_duke 10y agoI was interested in what their definition of prolonged fasting was, so, FYI: > Prolonged fasting (PF) lasting 48–120 hours (Introduction)
- projectramo 10y agoThanks, I was looking for this. That is between 2 - 5 days which is a wide span. I could probably sustain it for 2 days (a weekend, don't have to be "all there" for work etc) but 5 would be a miracle so I wish they were clearer on which one it needs to be.
- SteveCoast 10y agoMost people think (like I did) that because they think a sugar crash is the same thing as hunger. Hunger doesn't feel anywhere near as bad. Once you're in ketosis, which is the 72 hour mark (give or take) of water-only fasting you actually feel great. And if you do a keto or paleo diet you won't feel bad in the first place. My longest fast was 9.5 days and I felt great the whole time and lost a ton of weight amongst various other benefits. Remember, humans used to fast all the time and it was just normal because either food was unavailable (there didn't used to be unlimited pop tarts for everyone) or for spiritual reasons. Both what we eat and when we eat were all invented in the last few hundred years for the most part (chicken was about 100 years ago, breakfast was 2-300 years ago depending when you count it). Most of these inventions have been a bad idea. Come join us on /r/fasting and /r/keto on reddit, or read Dr. Fung's books on obesity and on fasting, or Gary Taubes various books, or Dr. Wahls books, or Prof. Seyfried's textbook.
- buserror 10y agoI agree with that; I do my fasting during the working week, my typical one is 3 to 5 days, starting sunday evening and more often than not, finish by a fantastic meal on the friday evening. I haven't tried longer than this, as it suits me. As I mentioned in another post, I get a nice mental high on the 3 and 4th day, but the 5th I'm actually quite happy to hit the food again. Oh and crack a beer :-) I'm fairly sure I could continue, but I feel that my physical performance would decrease, while the typical 5 day one I don't have any sign of fatigue -- I do tend to sleep a bit more tho. I do quite a bit of clay pigeon shooting -- that's a sport that requires good speed/strength and mental acuity-- and during a fast I feel quicker and will likely do a better score than on a normal weekday.
- ABCLAW 10y agoI have practiced intermittent and prolonged fasting in the past (for approximately 6 months each), but had to stop on account of dramatically increased irritability, especially surrounding planned fast breaking meals. How do successful fasting practitioners manage the impact on their mood and restraint?
- hasperdi 10y agoI feel irritable when I am hungry. I heard that irritability is from the swinging blood sugar level and Ketogenic diet helps in reducing the swing. This is interesting to me, but I have not tried any of this. Maybe anyone with more Ketogenic diet experience/knowledge willing to share his/her experience?
- ABCLAW 10y agoI would be interested in hearing more about similar experiences too!
- buserror 10y agoIt's your mindset perhaps? Do you resent something in particular? Personally I make it an 'event'. After 4 of 5 days fasting, on the last day I go shopping and prepare myself something /special/ and in quantity! Because, as you know, food never tastes as good as after a fast, the effect on the gustatory papillae is nothing short of amazing, it's like being high. Seriously, HALF of the kick I get out of fasting is /that/ high I get when I stop :-) Perhaps try to get into a 'Buddhist monk' personae if you feel any stress, and relax! I often tell (jokingly) people who wonder at me fasting that it's to improve my kung-fu! :-)
- dustyg 10y agoStaying hydrated and getting enough sleep helps me. Caffeine also helps boost mood and energy levels while suppressing hunger
- curioussavage 10y agoNot a fan of fasting, But I get irritable if I wait too long to eat. That disappeared while I was trying keto
- giardini 10y agoA total fast is very difficult - intermittent fasting (two fasting days a week, < 700 calories on a fasting day) works well and is easier. Read these articles by Dr. Mirkin, a sports physiologist and cyclist who uses intermittent fasting: http://www.drmirkin.com/nutrition/weight-loss-with-intermittent-fasting.html http://www.drmirkin.com/nutrition/weight-loss-with-intermitt... http://www.drmirkin.com/nutrition/why-we-use-intermittent-fasting.html http://www.drmirkin.com/nutrition/why-we-use-intermittent-fa... There's a book about it (but read the review below before buying): The FastDiet - Revised & Updated: Lose Weight, Stay Healthy, and Live Longer with the Simple Secret of Intermittent Fasting by Michael Mosley https://www.amazon.com/FastDiet-Revised-Updated-Healthy-Intermittent/dp/150110201X/ref=la_B00LQSMOHC_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1487607799&sr=1-1 https://www.amazon.com/FastDiet-Revised-Updated-Healthy-Inte... Before buying the book, read this review, which gives tips and suggests that the book is unnecessary: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R30YI8D3RGZOFK/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_viewpnt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=150110201X#R30YI8D3RGZOFK https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R30YI8D3RGZOFK/re...
- buserror 10y agoI rather disagree with that short fasting time. The only real hard day is the first one; so just doing two days is a 'bad deal' I find, you get most of the inconvenient (the first day), and very little in terms of benefits. By the second day you are no longer hungry anyway, so why stop? Perhaps there's lots of research telling you otherwise, but in my case, if I switch my body and mindset into 'fast' mode, I do it fully. The reason I prefer fasting vs any other calories reducing diets is that it's /binary/ and I don't have to count silly calories. I think a good 'short' fast is 3 days, and up to 5 in my case, simply because I can fit it into a working week and have a fantastic meal on the friday evening. The other thing to note is that the 3 and 4th days (might just be me!) I get a 'mental high' that is quite interesting. Everything seems sharper for a while. Of course this is just my opinion, trust the doctors, they've been telling us lies for 40 years about diet and nutrition -- I'm sure /this/ time around they know what they are doing ;-) [sorry for the sarcasm guys]
- criddell 10y agoYou only eat on the weekend? Seriously? Socially, how does that work for you? I get a lot of enjoyment cooking and eating with my family every night. Do you do any strenuous exercise during the week?
- jsudhams 10y agoIn south india, we do intermittent fasting i.e. eat in night and the till next afternoon 1 PM do not eat anything. This is on no moon day + another day for most people who follow. But there are people who do this for 2 to 3 days a week.
- wallace_f 10y agoIf I skip just two meals I get irritability, acid reflux, upset stomach, headache, and at worst, aggressive. The acid reflux can sometimes get so bad that my ears start to get clogged I get other ENT symptoms. I don't see how people can do it. I can't.
- Tehnix 10y agoYou might want to go to the doctor with your acid reflux. I personally have to take an anti-acid everyday else it comes crawling back at me. Things like often clearing your throat can be a sign of it.
- wallace_f 10y agoThanks. I get that throat clearing, I probably should. I am otherwise very healthy and active so now that I think about it, may be some underlying cause.
- dta5003 10y agoKeep going, it gets better after it gets worse.
- seoknucklehead 10y agoFasting is normally associated with religious devotion as described in this article: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1986/04/the-law-of-the-fast?lang=eng https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1986/04/the-law-of-th... However, even while describing the spiritual benefits of fasting, this LDS leader also points out what science has said about the benefits of fasting: "Fasting is also beneficial to us physically. Some time ago I read an article in Science News written by Charles L. Goodrich, which stated that the advantages of modern eating habits extend far beyond the cosmetic. Numerous animal studies have demonstrated that caloric restriction early in life leads to an increased life span and reduces the risk of certain diseases. "There is also evidence of health-promoting effects of periodic fasting. Some experiments have shown that periodic fasting not only promotes a longer life, but encourages a more vigorous activity later in life."
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- billytables 10y agoHarper's ran an article on this topic in 2012, including a focus on fasting during chemo. It's paywalled, however: http://harpers.org/archive/2012/03/starving-your-way-to-vigor/ http://harpers.org/archive/2012/03/starving-your-way-to-vigo...
- xbryanx 10y agoI think that people overlook the social barriers to adopting even intermittent fasting. My partner (a doctor) thinks it's bonkers and dislikes it when I want to skip meals that we would normally share (family dinner). That's not an insurmountable barrier, but combined with nights out with friends, drinks after work, etc...my fasting routine can get worn down nothing after a few weeks. I hope as the health benefits get popularized, we see some cultural shifts that make it more acceptable in social settings and family structures.
- andai 10y agoThere's new studies coming out more often now on the life-extending benefits of caloric restriction (in mice). I think there was a study on some kind of simians too.
- emcq 10y agoUnfortunately, I dont think this will happen. So much in society revolves around delicious food and relaxing beverages. How would a business make money from someone fasting?
- ndb6000 10y agoI enjoyed this recent interview with Valter Longo on the subject of fasting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6PyyatqJSE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6PyyatqJSE They discuss underlying mechanics and various clinical trials and much more...
- xchip 10y agoChill out, this is about "fasting on stem cells", not on people :)
- stupidcar 10y ago...in mice.
- agentgt 10y agoThere seems to be a lot of different fasting protocols these days. What works for me is to only eat between 3pm-8pm.... and here is the big one I only get to eat if I have worked out that day!!!! (usually right before. obviously the workout has to be before you eat or else you might not follow through). Incidentally but not intentionally this sort of mimics what happens in the wild for animals (not really humans because homo sapiens have been able to store foods since the beginning of the species). I lost 30 pounds doing this. I decided to stop because I had a son recently so it was difficult to workout. So now I just do the 12pm-8pm lean gains method.
- nozzlegear 10y agoI've also lost a great deal of weight (~75 pounds) with intermittent fasting, though my hours were from 12pm to 6pm. The biggest benefit didn't come from the fasting itself, but from strictly adhering to the window that I had set. If I can only eat between 12 and 6, then by default I can't graze on food in the morning or the evenings, which was the biggest source of excess calories for me.
- markkat 10y agoThis is a personal anecdote, but I went through about 10 years where I was getting colds and flu-like symptoms several times each year. I did a 72hr fast almost three years ago now, and have only been stay-home sick once since, which happened just a few weeks ago. Friends and family have commented on my health, the difference was so noticeable. I am planning on doing it again soon. Interestingly, I stored my bone marrow stem cells during this stretch of good health, which includes the long-term hematopoietic stem cells mentioned. I plan to transplant them to my older self later in life. I hope the benefits transfer as well. :)
- asciimo 10y agoThat made me do a cartoonish head-shake. Is that something you can request from your physician? Is it the same process as donating marrow? How much does it cost? How long does it take? Is there science on this technique?
- markkat 10y ago>Is that something you can request from your physician? In MI, NC, and CA atm. Full disclosure, I co-founded the company: https://www.foreverlabs.co/ https://www.foreverlabs.co/. >Is it the same process as donating marrow? Like an aspiration, but less. 60cc are taken from your pelvis on your lower back under local anesthetic. It takes a few minutes. >How much does it cost? $3500 + $250/yr >Is there science on this technique? Yes. There has been an explosion in clinical trials using the MSCs (and HSCs to a lesser extent) for treatments of ailments ranging from osteoarthritis to heart disease. Personally, I've been developing therapies bone mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for stroke, brain injury, and other neuropathologies for 15 years. You cells diminish in number and quality with age, so it makes sense to store young ones for treatment later. But, beyond that, there is evidence that young-to-old transplantation increase lifespan: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23967009 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23967009 We are currently doing our own young-to-old preclinical work in mice, with the aim to do the first autologous young-to-old human trials.
- mingabunga 10y agoI've been IF for about 5 years now, eating once a day in the evening mostly. Have had one minor cold in that whole time, where as before I would get at least 3 pretty bad colds a year.
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- 3eto 10y agoFull title: Prolonged Fasting Reduces IGF-1/PKA to Promote Hematopoietic-Stem-Cell-Based Regeneration and Reverse Immunosuppression. By 'prolonged' the authors mean lasting 48–120 hours.
- kxs 10y agoI'm very interested in fasting. I have been doing IF for 4 months and it works out great. Has anyone experience with prolonged fasting (3 days+) and auto immune diseases, specifically Alopecia?
- skoczko 10y agoFor the "fasters" above who feel like sharing info, a couple of questions: 1. When you fast what food (if any) and drinks do you consume? Coffee, tea? etc 2. How long can you go on the above while fasting? 3. How old are you? 4. Do you exercise? If so what's the frequency and intensity? 5. What's your BMI, if you don't know, would you classify yourself as lean, normal or overweight? 5. Why do you do it? To lose weight? To "cleanse"? To feel better physically and/or mentally? I'm asking all the above to figure out whether my profile (33yrs old, running every second day with ~30km weekly + basic work out of pushups, pullups, situps, etc, BMI 24) is anything like the profiles of "fasters". A year ago I've noticed I started putting up on weight and decided to switch to a low-carb diet, cut down on beer/wine and exercise regularly. I lost about 6kg of excess fat within 2 months (down to 12% overall fat). Now I have largely reverted back to my standard diet though I avoid sweets/candy, white bread/pasta/rice/potatoes in larger quantities and "processed" food in general. I seem be able to maintain my fat and muscle levels and sustain high energy levels through out the day.
- codedinosaur 10y agoI've been occasionally fasting, sometimes for several weeks. I do long fasts about once every 2 years. 1. I drink only water during the fast. Don't even use toothpaste for brushing teeth (use baking soda). 2. I usually go about 10 to 12 days. The longest I have fasted is 27 days. It really is not that diffucult physically, once you have the mental aspect sorted out. 3. I'm almost 28 now, started fasting when I was 23, I think. 4. I do a little light exercise to loosen my joints and some Yoga. During a long fast, I find I have enough energy to run 10 miles on some days, but on most days, although I feel alert, can't do intense exercise. Anyways, it is better during this time to let the body use its resources for detox. 5. My BMI fluctuates between 24 and 26, so I could be borderline overweight, but only for a few months at a time, usually during the holidays. 6. When I fasted the first time, I wanted a quick way to lose weight. But really, there's other ways to lose weight than water fasting. I find that I easily lost 1.5lbs per week with calorie restriction and upping proportion of protein in my diet. ( I usually keep it between 1500 to 1700 cals, I'm 5'5"). I tend to feel very good after a fast. The real challenge is you are doing if for weight loss is developing discipline after the water fast. If you really are going to fast, I would advise you to avoid the exercises you mentioned. You will lose strength, but will be able to quickly get back to your previous body weight and strength within a few weeks after the fast. Hope that helped.
- markfluffalo 10y agoIf I don't eat every 4 hours I turn into a broken aggressive mess!
- Girlang 10y agoOne thing's certain: The "Fat Acceptance" movement is killing people.
- agarttha 10y agohttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2673798/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2673798/ Although intermittent calorie restriction (CR) has been shown to lower IGF-1, this article shows that prolonged CR does not affect IGF-1 levels. However prolonged protein restriction, especially animal protein, _is_ shown to reduce IGF-1 levels.
- rdtsc 10y agoIt is interesting that some religions include fasting as part of their rituals and traditions. Specifically I am familiar with Eastern Orthodox https://orthodoxwiki.org/Fasting https://orthodoxwiki.org/Fasting some of it is just dietary restrictions no meats, sometimes not animal products, etc. And strangely it often includes vegetable oils and wine as well. Monastic communities would practice a total fast sometimes from what I remember. Wonder if somehow health benefits observed over the centuries ended up codified as religious practice somehow to benefit the followers.
- tuxidomasx 10y agoIt seems to me that the hardest part about fasting is tolerating the cravings for food. Do people who fast resort to cheating the hunger urge (prescription pills, foods with no nutritional content, etc)? I know there is a well known and highly-available recreational drug that works extremely well for suppressing the urge to eat.