6 ms·

I've been doing a 16-20 hour fast since the lockdown and WFH, and to be honest I saw a significant decrease in my overall anxiety as a result. Anxiety I often o

I've been doing a 16-20 hour fast since the lockdown and WFH, and to be honest I saw a significant decrease in my overall anxiety as a result. Anxiety I often offset with significant amounts of CBD (a $100/month expense). And while there are drawbacks, I can't bench press 215lbs anymore, the overall benefits have been pretty significant that I will keep doing it. My weight was pretty erratic, given the high stress load and super active lifestyle I could fluctuate 8lbs in a day. Now my weight has stabilized and my head is clearer. I studied biology with an understanding of autophagy and I only ate once a day for nearly a decade now (2011), but I used to eat 3000+ calories in one sitting, but now I've decided to limit my overall caloric intake (1500-2000) and reduced it to a 8-4 hour window and saw even better results. Also, as a former chef, I now savor my food way more and take the time to enjoy it more than when I tasted and ate all day and suffered from a sort of palate fatigue and made my gravitate to salty, greasy food late at night when I actually had an appetite.

James_Henry 6y ago
Perhaps the weight loss improved sleep breathing. Have you ever had a sleep test before?
peteretep 6y ago
> Anxiety I often offset with significant amounts of CBD (a $100/month expense). While I wouldn’t dare to comment on someone else’s mental health situation, I’d note for anyone else reading and considering this that traditional SSRIs are very effective for some people, cheap, and you won’t have trouble taking them across borders or getting them prescribed in an emergency from a random doctor if you lose your stash
- Melting_Harps 6y ago
  > traditional SSRIs are very effective... With immense amount of side-effects, I'd advise people to use CBD to see if it alleviates the symptoms before any SSRI. In addition to the anxiety, I needed it for inflammation and pain relief which is a massive component to many ailments that have compounding effects. I worked 70+ hours a week in the peak season(s), so sleeping became a rare commodity which high loads of CBD with some CBG/CBN/THC made it happen nearly on demand.
  - peteretep 6y ago
    > With immense amount of side-effects This idea kept me from trying them for years, and I have not found this to be true at all for me. Again, I'm not trying to speak to _your_ situation -- for some people they're ineffective and laden with side-effects -- but there's a lot of scare-mongering for a treatment that works absolute wonders for a lot of people. I'd encourage people with anxiety to absolutely try them before deciding they're not for them.
  - radicalriddler 6y ago
    Going to agree with the sibling reply. I've been on SSRI's, and I have friends who've been put on SSRI's, and there hasn't been any awful side effects. Definitely not "immense".
    - PeterStuer 6y ago
      Don't mean any disrespect, but given that the inability to orgasm is a very common sideffect of SSRI's, they might not have told you the full story?
      - jelliclesfarm 6y ago
        Not to mention withdrawal symptoms. And issues with weaning/tapering. SSRIs are often for life. And is a gateway drug for other pharmaceuticals to deal with the side effects.
        sizzle 6y ago
        "brain zaps" are a very disturbing unpleasant withdrawal symptom, never want to experience that again in my life...
  - jelliclesfarm 6y ago
    It’s nuts how we are regulating CBD when alcohol and nicotine do far greater damage. CBD is legit therapeutic. The more I learn about it, I can’t wrap my head around this. One day..a hundred or so years from now when the world is saner, our children will read about it in their textbooks and stare at each other w/disbelief.
DoreenMichele 6y ago
Anxiety I often offset with significant amounts of CBD (a $100/month expense). Foods containing rosemary, sage and dill are some things I find helpful with anxiety. Also licorice with real licorice extract.
- jelliclesfarm 6y ago
  Liquorice is an adaptogen that helps balance cortisol levels and balance the adrenals. The other are merely anti inflammatory. Another effective herb for anxiety would be holy basil or tulsi. Easy to grow everywhere. Leaving a few leaves of holy basil in a copper container overnight and having a few sips in the morning on an empty stomach is my old grandmother’s remedy/morning ritual. Later when I started growing holy basil at the farm, one of the herbalist who bought from me said that the copper vessel has something to do with enhancing bio availability of chromium and other trace minerals in holy basil. Other stress reducing adaptogen herbs that are a tad uncommon(and need herbalist guidance), ashwagandha and rhodiola. I can grow the former but not the latter in CA. Maca too is said to have a balancing effect on adrenals and thereby reducing stress and related anxiety. Of course, there is always lavender. My favorite.
  - aiisjustanif 6y ago
    Holy basil is also used as an anti inflammatory consumable. It’s anti anxiety property has as much proof as its anti inflammatory property [1], which is to say like most herbal supplements the jury is out. If you want to go the herbal route I think commonly used herbs with more of a medical precedent could be useful like: - Garlic - Ginseng - Green Tea - Aloe Vera - Ginger - Chamomile [1] Singh, S., Majumdar, D. K., and Rehan, H. M. Evaluation of anti-inflammatory potential of fixed oil of Ocimum sanctum (Holybasil) and its possible mechanism of action. J Ethnopharmacol. 1996;54(1):19-26
    - jelliclesfarm 6y ago
      I cant say holy basil is the best anti inflammatory. Maybe. It is mostly used as an adaptogen to balance adrenals and bring down cortisol levels. It can be used as an all around herbal support because it will always ‘balance’ hormones and naturally occurring steroids(like cortisol). So as an adaptogen, gentle and no side effects. Rosemary has good anti inflammation properties and it’s proven. However turmeric is superior to rosemary and CBD even better. But rosemary and turmeric* can be easily incorporated in food. Garlic is also good. One must be careful with rosemary(don’t ingest ‘Rosemary tea’ etc..high in volatiles. you will likely end up with a headache or throw up)..but because it has mild to moderate vasodilation properties, it is excellent for circulation issues tho’ especially when applied topically. I want to say that rosemary’s efficiency is more due to it being a rubefacient rather than a powerful anti inflammatory. Example: you are better off using rosemary infused oil for massaging your scalp than ingesting a cup of even mild rosemary tea. The former application will greatly improve circulation to head as the oil topically works better and has less side effects. Ditto with arnica..arnica gel is better than arnica tincture or herb for internal use. They are useful for hematomas and bruising. But will cause internal bruising and bleeding/inhibit clotting factor when taken internally or applied over an open wound or cut or used subcutaneously. Topical application? It’s golden! *anecdote: when I was growing up, one of the home herbal lores I heard was how every mother needs three things: turmeric, holy basil and neem. So every home has neem in the front of the house, a basil shrine at the back(hence ‘holy’. It’s similar to elderberry. If something is ‘holy’, one never over harvests it and will keep propagating the plant species). The turmeric used to hang around the woman’s neck or the dried rhizomes given as gifts. Similarly on the kitchen, for food: Ginger, black pepper and long pepper. I used to work as a chef and trained classical French. I gave a couple of classes to non indian chefs about loading up spice boxes. A typical spice box(South Indian. It differs regionally) will have seven compartments. cumin, coriander seeds, dried red chilies, turmeric, fenugreek seeds, fennel and cardamom. They are all medicinal. This is all you need in small quantities every day. It’s more effective in food everyday with a pinch here and there 2-3x/day. not as much when taken as capsules or a high medicinal dose sporadically. Herbs and spices don’t act like pharmaceutical doses. You have to think of them as preventative therapies rather than curative ones. Asafoetida goes separately in another shelf and clad in multiple layers of metal as does saffron because they are volatile and delicate+expensive respectively. There is another set of tempering seeds but my system was to use one box for flavoring spices and another for tempering.
baby 6y ago
Isn’t CBD pretty much a placebo for the dose they sell?
Markoff 6y ago
Is it really fasting though? That's having big lunch and just skipping dinner. Many people do this often unintentionally without calling it fasting at all. You should move at least to 36-40 hours, although even that I don't find particularly special.
- dingaling 6y ago
  > You should move at least to 36-40 hours That's dangerous internet 'advice' for anyone physically active. For example I can manage two hours before needing to eat again due to physical reaction.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- float4 6y ago
  > Is it really fasting though? "In a physiological context, [...] a person is assumed to be fasting once 8–12 hours have elapsed since the last meal. Metabolic changes of the fasting state begin after absorption of a meal (typically 3–5 hours after eating)."[0] So yes, it really is fasting. > 36-40 hours, although even that I don't find particularly special Don't make such claims without sources. And for what it's worth: most people don't fast in hope of others finding it special anyway. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasting
  - Markoff 6y ago
    TIL my father is pioneer of fasting eating for years just late lunch as single meal per day actually most of the population is fasting by this logic, if you sleep at least 6-8 hours and don't eat right before sleeping and immediately after waking up so sorry for considering this pretty stupid definition of fasting when 80-90% of population is fasting during sleep
- brixon 6y ago
  They are referring to intermittent fasting, not regular fasting. A lot of the intermittent fasting talks about the windows of fasting but they still eat everyday.
electrondood 6y ago
This is really interesting... I recently discovered my anxiety 100% vanished if I had a protein shake for breakfast, instead of fasting all day. For me I think it was a neurotransmitter deficiency from not having sufficient precursor amino acids.
wing-_-nuts 6y ago
>I've been doing a 16-20 hour fast since the lockdown and WFH, and to be honest I saw a significant decrease in my overall anxiety as a result. Anxiety I often offset with significant amounts of CBD (a $100/month expense). Ironic, because what I've noticed is my anxiety goes absolutely haywire after a long period without food. I can go with OMAD, but I have to be careful to have some nuts or something on hand if I need them

James_Henry 6y ago

Perhaps the weight loss improved sleep breathing. Have you ever had a sleep test before?

peteretep 6y ago

> Anxiety I often offset with significant amounts of CBD (a $100/month expense). While I wouldn’t dare to comment on someone else’s mental health situation, I’d note for anyone else reading and considering this that traditional SSRIs are very effective for some people, cheap, and you won’t have trouble taking them across borders or getting them prescribed in an emergency from a random doctor if you lose your stash

Melting_Harps 6y ago
> traditional SSRIs are very effective... With immense amount of side-effects, I'd advise people to use CBD to see if it alleviates the symptoms before any SSRI. In addition to the anxiety, I needed it for inflammation and pain relief which is a massive component to many ailments that have compounding effects. I worked 70+ hours a week in the peak season(s), so sleeping became a rare commodity which high loads of CBD with some CBG/CBN/THC made it happen nearly on demand.
- peteretep 6y ago
  > With immense amount of side-effects This idea kept me from trying them for years, and I have not found this to be true at all for me. Again, I'm not trying to speak to _your_ situation -- for some people they're ineffective and laden with side-effects -- but there's a lot of scare-mongering for a treatment that works absolute wonders for a lot of people. I'd encourage people with anxiety to absolutely try them before deciding they're not for them.
- radicalriddler 6y ago
  Going to agree with the sibling reply. I've been on SSRI's, and I have friends who've been put on SSRI's, and there hasn't been any awful side effects. Definitely not "immense".
  - PeterStuer 6y ago
    Don't mean any disrespect, but given that the inability to orgasm is a very common sideffect of SSRI's, they might not have told you the full story?
    - jelliclesfarm 6y ago
      Not to mention withdrawal symptoms. And issues with weaning/tapering. SSRIs are often for life. And is a gateway drug for other pharmaceuticals to deal with the side effects.
      - sizzle 6y ago
        "brain zaps" are a very disturbing unpleasant withdrawal symptom, never want to experience that again in my life...
- jelliclesfarm 6y ago
  It’s nuts how we are regulating CBD when alcohol and nicotine do far greater damage. CBD is legit therapeutic. The more I learn about it, I can’t wrap my head around this. One day..a hundred or so years from now when the world is saner, our children will read about it in their textbooks and stare at each other w/disbelief.

DoreenMichele 6y ago

Anxiety I often offset with significant amounts of CBD (a $100/month expense). Foods containing rosemary, sage and dill are some things I find helpful with anxiety. Also licorice with real licorice extract.

jelliclesfarm 6y ago
Liquorice is an adaptogen that helps balance cortisol levels and balance the adrenals. The other are merely anti inflammatory. Another effective herb for anxiety would be holy basil or tulsi. Easy to grow everywhere. Leaving a few leaves of holy basil in a copper container overnight and having a few sips in the morning on an empty stomach is my old grandmother’s remedy/morning ritual. Later when I started growing holy basil at the farm, one of the herbalist who bought from me said that the copper vessel has something to do with enhancing bio availability of chromium and other trace minerals in holy basil. Other stress reducing adaptogen herbs that are a tad uncommon(and need herbalist guidance), ashwagandha and rhodiola. I can grow the former but not the latter in CA. Maca too is said to have a balancing effect on adrenals and thereby reducing stress and related anxiety. Of course, there is always lavender. My favorite.
- aiisjustanif 6y ago
  Holy basil is also used as an anti inflammatory consumable. It’s anti anxiety property has as much proof as its anti inflammatory property [1], which is to say like most herbal supplements the jury is out. If you want to go the herbal route I think commonly used herbs with more of a medical precedent could be useful like: - Garlic - Ginseng - Green Tea - Aloe Vera - Ginger - Chamomile [1] Singh, S., Majumdar, D. K., and Rehan, H. M. Evaluation of anti-inflammatory potential of fixed oil of Ocimum sanctum (Holybasil) and its possible mechanism of action. J Ethnopharmacol. 1996;54(1):19-26
  - jelliclesfarm 6y ago
    I cant say holy basil is the best anti inflammatory. Maybe. It is mostly used as an adaptogen to balance adrenals and bring down cortisol levels. It can be used as an all around herbal support because it will always ‘balance’ hormones and naturally occurring steroids(like cortisol). So as an adaptogen, gentle and no side effects. Rosemary has good anti inflammation properties and it’s proven. However turmeric is superior to rosemary and CBD even better. But rosemary and turmeric* can be easily incorporated in food. Garlic is also good. One must be careful with rosemary(don’t ingest ‘Rosemary tea’ etc..high in volatiles. you will likely end up with a headache or throw up)..but because it has mild to moderate vasodilation properties, it is excellent for circulation issues tho’ especially when applied topically. I want to say that rosemary’s efficiency is more due to it being a rubefacient rather than a powerful anti inflammatory. Example: you are better off using rosemary infused oil for massaging your scalp than ingesting a cup of even mild rosemary tea. The former application will greatly improve circulation to head as the oil topically works better and has less side effects. Ditto with arnica..arnica gel is better than arnica tincture or herb for internal use. They are useful for hematomas and bruising. But will cause internal bruising and bleeding/inhibit clotting factor when taken internally or applied over an open wound or cut or used subcutaneously. Topical application? It’s golden! *anecdote: when I was growing up, one of the home herbal lores I heard was how every mother needs three things: turmeric, holy basil and neem. So every home has neem in the front of the house, a basil shrine at the back(hence ‘holy’. It’s similar to elderberry. If something is ‘holy’, one never over harvests it and will keep propagating the plant species). The turmeric used to hang around the woman’s neck or the dried rhizomes given as gifts. Similarly on the kitchen, for food: Ginger, black pepper and long pepper. I used to work as a chef and trained classical French. I gave a couple of classes to non indian chefs about loading up spice boxes. A typical spice box(South Indian. It differs regionally) will have seven compartments. cumin, coriander seeds, dried red chilies, turmeric, fenugreek seeds, fennel and cardamom. They are all medicinal. This is all you need in small quantities every day. It’s more effective in food everyday with a pinch here and there 2-3x/day. not as much when taken as capsules or a high medicinal dose sporadically. Herbs and spices don’t act like pharmaceutical doses. You have to think of them as preventative therapies rather than curative ones. Asafoetida goes separately in another shelf and clad in multiple layers of metal as does saffron because they are volatile and delicate+expensive respectively. There is another set of tempering seeds but my system was to use one box for flavoring spices and another for tempering.

baby 6y ago

Isn’t CBD pretty much a placebo for the dose they sell?

Markoff 6y ago

Is it really fasting though? That's having big lunch and just skipping dinner. Many people do this often unintentionally without calling it fasting at all. You should move at least to 36-40 hours, although even that I don't find particularly special.

dingaling 6y ago
> You should move at least to 36-40 hours That's dangerous internet 'advice' for anyone physically active. For example I can manage two hours before needing to eat again due to physical reaction.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
float4 6y ago
> Is it really fasting though? "In a physiological context, [...] a person is assumed to be fasting once 8–12 hours have elapsed since the last meal. Metabolic changes of the fasting state begin after absorption of a meal (typically 3–5 hours after eating)."[0] So yes, it really is fasting. > 36-40 hours, although even that I don't find particularly special Don't make such claims without sources. And for what it's worth: most people don't fast in hope of others finding it special anyway. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasting
- Markoff 6y ago
  TIL my father is pioneer of fasting eating for years just late lunch as single meal per day actually most of the population is fasting by this logic, if you sleep at least 6-8 hours and don't eat right before sleeping and immediately after waking up so sorry for considering this pretty stupid definition of fasting when 80-90% of population is fasting during sleep
brixon 6y ago
They are referring to intermittent fasting, not regular fasting. A lot of the intermittent fasting talks about the windows of fasting but they still eat everyday.

electrondood 6y ago

This is really interesting... I recently discovered my anxiety 100% vanished if I had a protein shake for breakfast, instead of fasting all day. For me I think it was a neurotransmitter deficiency from not having sufficient precursor amino acids.

wing-_-nuts 6y ago

>I've been doing a 16-20 hour fast since the lockdown and WFH, and to be honest I saw a significant decrease in my overall anxiety as a result. Anxiety I often offset with significant amounts of CBD (a $100/month expense). Ironic, because what I've noticed is my anxiety goes absolutely haywire after a long period without food. I can go with OMAD, but I have to be careful to have some nuts or something on hand if I need them