Health benefits of fasting...

[Bawse]

I stumbled on this today enjoy...

Fasting for Health
Posted By Dr. Ben Kim on Dec 15, 2006

Historical records tell us that fasting has been used for health recovery for thousands of years. Hippocrates, Socrates, and Plato all recommended fasting for health recovery. The Bible tells us that Moses and Jesus fasted for 40 days for spiritual renewal. Mahatma Gandhi fasted for 21 days to promote respect and compassion between people with different religions.

For much of human history, fasting has been guided by intuition and spiritual purpose. Today, our understanding of human physiology confirms the powerful healing effects of fasting.

Fasting is a powerful therapeutic process that can help people recover from mild to severe health conditions. Some of the most common ones are high blood pressure, asthma, allergies, chronic headaches, inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease), irritable bowel syndrome, adult onset diabetes, heart disease, degenerative arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, eczema, acne, uterine fibroids, benign tumours, and systemic lupus erythematosus.

Fasting provides a period of concentrated physiological rest during which time the body can devote its self-healing mechanisms to repairing and strengthening damaged organs. The process of fasting also allows the body to cleanse cells of accumulated toxins and waste products.

Fasting gives the digestive tract time to completely rest and strengthen its mucosal lining. A healthy intestinal mucosal lining is necessary for preventing the leakage of incompletely digested proteins into the bloodstream, thereby offering protection against autoimmune conditions. A healthy digestive tract also helps to protect the blood and inner organs against a variety of environmental and metabolic toxins.

A fast that is appropriate for your situation will allow for you to experience some or all of the following:

* More energy
* Healthier skin
* Healthier teeth and gums
* Better quality sleep
* A clean and healthy cardiovascular system
* A decrease in anxiety and tension
* Dramatic reduction or complete elimination of aches and pains in muscles and joints
* Decrease or elimination of headaches
* Stabilization of blood pressure
* Stronger and more efficient digestion
* Stabilization of bowel movements
* Loss of excess weight
* Elimination of stored toxins
* Improvement with a wide variety of chronic degenerative health conditions, including autoimmune disorders

It is important to understand that the detoxifying and healing processes that occur during a fast are also active when a person is consuming food. A fast can be helpful for people whose conditions are not improving as quickly as they would like, or for people who have health conditions that require a concentrated period of healing to resolve. It is also important to understand that the most important part of a fast is how a person lives after the fast. Fasting can provide a clean and revitalized foundation upon which you can build and maintain a strong and well-conditioned body by consistently making healthy food and lifestyle choices.

What follows are answers to commonly asked questions about fasting:

Q. How do I know if I need to fast?

A: The answer to this question depends on your health status and goals. For many people, adopting an unprocessed, whole food diet, engaging in a sensible exercise program, acquiring restful sleep, and living in a relatively unpolluted environment will provide the necessary conditions to recover and maintain vibrant health. If a person is having a difficult time making necessary dietary and lifestyle changes, fasting can be a powerful way of accelerating health recovery. Fasting can also reset the sensitivity of the nervous system, providing an effective way of overcoming dependencies on caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, other recreational drugs, salt, sugar, and other stimulants. After fasting, many people marvel at how sweet romaine lettuce is, how refreshing apples are, and how wonderfully delicious baked potatoes are – without sour cream and butter! Many of us have been eating rich, salty, and sweetened foods for so long that we are unaware of how good foods taste in their natural, unprocessed states.

Some people choose to fast in the absence of overt symptoms of disease, knowing that a period of complete physiological rest can allow the body to rejuvenate itself from the toxins that build up in our tissues despite our efforts to live healthfully.

Q. How long should I fast for?

A. If you choose to fast to recover from acute illness, you can fast until you feel well enough to eat again. In the case of a chronic health challenge, the length of the fast is determined by the progress of the fast. The healing processes that take place during a fast are predictable. Blood levels of cholesterol and uric acid tend to elevate during a fast, a result of the body stirring up stores of undesirable materials and expelling them into the circulation to be eliminated from the body. Shortly after the fast, these levels tend to be lower than they were before the fast, indicating a cleaner system. ESR, a marker for inflammation, tends to decrease during the course of a fast. As a part of the detoxification process, some people experience vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, dizziness, skin rashes, and other uncomfortable symptoms. Fasting under the supervision of a health care professional who is trained to distinguish healing responses from harmful processes can be helpful in allowing a person to "ride out" uncomfortable symptoms of detoxification.

It is not uncommon for people to experience significant improvement in their health from fasting between 3 and 30 days. The idea is to fast as briefly as possible, but as long as is necessary to allow the body to restore health.

Q. Can anyone fast?

A. There are a handful of exceptional circumstances in which it is not advisable to fast. A small portion of the population has an inborn error of metabolism whereby they lack an enzyme that is needed to process fatty acids. Since fatty acids are needed as an alternate source of energy during a fast, it would not be safe for such a person to pursue a fast of significant duration. This disorder can be recognized early in the fasting process by a trained observer.

Intake of certain medications, certain liver and kidney disorders, states of extreme weakness or malnutrition, pregnancy, and certain types and stages of cancer are other examples of conditions that are not conducive to fasting.

Q. Can fasting cure specific conditions?

A: It's important to keep in mind that fasting is not a cure for specific health challenges. Rather, it is an opportunity to give the body a prolonged period of rest to do what it does best – heal and restore itself. The same healing mechanisms that are at work during a fast are also at work while a person is eating. The difference is that during a fast, all of the body's resources are channeled towards its self-healing and restorative mechanisms.

Conditions that tend to respond favourably to fasting and dietary modification include high blood pressure, asthma, allergies, chronic headaches, inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease), irritable bowel syndrome, adult onset diabetes, heart disease, degenerative arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, eczema, acne, uterine fibroids, benign tumours, and systemic lupus erythematosus.

Q. How much weight will I lose if I fast?

A. On average, a typical faster loses approximately one pound per day during a water-only fast. Initially, the loss may approach two or even three pounds per day for the first few days if the person is retaining significant sodium and water. This can decrease to approximately half a pound per day in the later stages of a fast. From day two onward, the body begins utilizing fatty tissues for energy, thereby conserving as much muscle tissue as possible, a mechanism called protein sparing.

Q. What is the difference between water fasting and juice fasting?

A. During a water fast, only water is consumed. During a juice fast, any variety of fruit and vegetable juices are consumed.

People detoxify and heal more quickly with a water fast than with a juice fast. This is because with a water fast, your digestive passageway and organs are able to rest completely, allowing for all of your energy to be used for cleansing and repair of damaged tissues. With a juice fast or a cleansing diet of fruits and vegetables, your body must use energy to digest nutrients, leaving less available energy for detoxification and healing. When a person's health condition is related to a weak or damaged digestive system, recovery may depend on fully resting the digestive passageway and organs through water fasting.

Another significant difference is that more fat tissue is burned during a water fast, as your body must rely exclusively on fat reserves to supply its energy needs after the first 1-3 days of water fasting. Your body stores the bulk of incoming toxins in your fat reserves. As these reserves are burned for energy during a fast, any stored toxins will be released into your circulation, to be eliminated through various eliminative channels like your urine and respiratory tract. This mechanism of detoxification also occurs with juice fasting, but at a slower pace.

All of this considered, both types of fasting can be used with effectiveness, depending on your circumstances and goals. If your situation and goals include wanting or needing to make significant gains in your health in a short period of time, water fasting may be the best route. If a person has a long history of taking extremely toxic drugs like certain chemotherapeutic agents, an intense period of detoxification through water fasting can cause damage to the kidneys. In this type of circumstance, juice fasting or a simple diet of organic vegetables and fruits may be the best first step to recovery.

Finally, a water fast is most effective when you are able to get a lot of physical and emotional rest. If your life circumstances don't allow this, juice fasting is a better choice.

Q. Won't my metabolism slow down during and after the fast, causing me to gain back more weight over the long haul?

A. Metabolic rate fluctuates according to our moment-to-moment physiological needs. When we are active, our metabolic rate speeds up. When we sleep, our metabolic rate slows down. In the same way, when we fast, our metabolic rate slows down because our physiological needs are lower than they are when we are consuming food and going about our regular activities. When a fast is broken and a person returns to eating and more activity, her metabolic rate increases to match her increasing physiological needs.

What does change during a fast is our digestive and assimilative capacity. Fasting provides an opportunity for our digestive organs to heal and make more efficient use of the nutrients in the foods that we consume. Weight gain or loss is always a simple function of how many calories we take in versus how many we expend. If your primary goal is to be at a healthful weight for your unique disposition, the optimal approach is usually to combine an unprocessed, whole food diet with a regular aerobic exercise and strength-training program.


link : http://www.drbenkim.com/fasting.html

cliffs: -fasting allows the digestive tract to rest and the body to cleanse itself of toxins
-can aid in controlling illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure
- fat loss
- metabolism slows down after about 3 days of continous fastin
- and comes right back when eating habits return to normal

enjoy guys.

p.s currently using intermittent fasting on my cut, and leaning out beautifully

[dizzay20]

con: u will be hungry

[syress17]

con: u will be hungry

i also suspect lose of LBM?

[Kalimist]

con: u will be hungry

Wrong. I'm never hungry fasting for long periods of time, it's only when i consume something i'll want to have more

[Bawse]

Wrong. I'm never hungry fasting for long periods of time, it's only when i consume something i'll want to have more

agreed, after a while intermittent fasting (i have a 5 hr eating window every day). I find psychological hunger had dissappeared as have cravings for junk, and food tastes so much better, no energy crashes during the day, and generally feel more focused.

I get fuller quicker too, which doesnt make it feel like i am cutting

go figure.

[Heatmiser]

agreed, after a while intermittent fasting (i have a 5 hr eating window every day). I find psychological hunger had dissappeared as have cravings for junk, and food tastes so much better, no energy crashes during the day, and generally feel more focused.

I get fuller quicker too, which doesnt make it feel like i am cutting

go figure.

Agree 100 percent - the less often you eat, the less hungry you are (within reason of course).

My wife and I find that a low-carb intermittent fast lifestyle is hands down the best hunger killer out there.

[ItsAboutForm]

Wrong. I'm never hungry fasting for long periods of time, it's only when i consume something i'll want to have more

agreed, after a while intermittent fasting (i have a 5 hr eating window every day). I find psychological hunger had dissappeared as have cravings for junk, and food tastes so much better, no energy crashes during the day, and generally feel more focused.

I get fuller quicker too, which doesnt make it feel like i am cutting

go figure.

you'll be hungry in the beginning, then you will lose most of your hunger because your body will start to eatting away at itself for energy (not just fat, but muscle too). don't be fooled... this isn't a good thing, even if you're cutting. ever hear of the eating disorder anorexia?

you'll get fuller quicker too afterwards as a result of your stomach losing some of its elasticity (which you will gain back when you start eating again).


here's another option for you guys -- instead of 'eating less to be less hungry', try 'excercising regularly, eating healthy, and not worrying about how much'. tested and true.

[Heatmiser]

you'll be hungry in the beginning, then you will lose most of your hunger because your body will start to eatting away at itself for energy (not just fat, but muscle too). don't be fooled... this isn't a good thing, even if you're cutting. ever hear of the eating disorder anorexia?

Very wrong... you don't even begin to burn muscle until your fast drags out to a few days or more. Go check out leangains.com to learn the real world facts about intermittent fasting and muscle growth. The guy has trained hundreds of clients using IF and has guys getting down to as low as 6% while getting stronger. If eating several times a day was required to grow and maintain muscle, our proto-human ancestors would never have survived in the wild. If a person is super hungry when starting out its only because they are used to large blood sugar swings from typical frequent meals with lots of carbs. Has nothing to do with your body "eating itself for energy"

Being in caloric deficit means hunger - no way to get around it 100% especially if its a large deficit for faster loss. You can make that hunger a minor thing by dieting smart or a major deal breaker by dieting wrong. Frequent "well balanced" meals in a deficit is a prescription for a lot of hunger and blood sugar swings. No thank you.

[Bawse]

agreed.

[On Fire]

I get fuller quicker too, which doesnt make it feel like i am cutting

Why are you cutting? Your photo looks like a stick figure.

[BigD208]

I don't know about a complete fast, but I LOVE IF! Makes cutting soooo easy when I only have a 5-6 hour window a day to eat my 2300 calories. Sometimes I have to force myself to eat.....WHILE CUTTING!

[rocking_g_real]

How much of the original article as actually based on real research? Seems like a lot of unsubstantiated pseudo-science to me.

[Powerhouse4239]

Interesting read. But by "Water fasting", does that mean that you ONLY consume water for a period of days?

I mean i've done Juice fasting or regular IF fasting; which i do a couple of time a week now while cutting, but i can't imagine doing a water only fast for more than a day. Maybe it might be health beneficial to someone who is staying in bed the whole time recovering do to the "healing phase" and detoxification, but not for someone with an active life style and especially for us who do weight and cardiovascular training on a daily basis.

I can't imagine how much LBM, energy, strength, focus i would lose on a water only fast. I'm interested in reading more about this if anyone has any good links or info they can put down.

[pickupstix60]

How much of the original article as actually based on real research? Seems like a lot of unsubstantiated pseudo-science to me.

This. I stopped reading when he started quoting the Bible.


Start ignoring what your body tells you it needs because it's good for your "spirit"? Cool story bro.

[kmac27]

Fasting is a powerful therapeutic process that can help people recover from mild to severe health conditions. Some of the most common ones are high blood pressure, asthma, allergies, chronic headaches, inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease), irritable bowel syndrome, adult onset diabetes, heart disease, degenerative arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, eczema, acne, uterine fibroids, benign tumours, and systemic lupus erythematosus.

By help recover chron's and diabetes I would highly disagree with these. If that were the case more people would be doing so. I also have trouble with it helping all forms of arthritis and blood pressure.

I would like to see scientific sources for me to believe these ones.

[Fury22]

This. I stopped reading when he started quoting the Bible.


Start ignoring what your body tells you it needs because it's good for your "spirit"? Cool story bro.

Results speak for themselves. A lot of people are doing really well using fasting, even those who are trying to gain muscle & strength.

I do agree with you though, quoting the Bible and all takes away a lot of credibility and tends to piss me off.

HOWEVER, I think the idea of being good for your "spirit", while he places it in a religious context, is more related to the feeling of being more alert and awake while fasting. I wouldn't know as I've never done it, but just a thought.

[kmac27]

Results speak for themselves. A lot of people are doing really well using fasting, even those who are trying to gain muscle & strength.

I do agree with you though, quoting the Bible and all takes away a lot of credibility and tends to piss me off.

HOWEVER, I think the idea of being good for your "spirit", while he places it in a religious context, is more related to the feeling of being more alert and awake while fasting. I wouldn't know as I've never done it, but just a thought.

The bible has a lot of strong correlations to healthy living. Fish, wine and bread made in a certain way does do the body good. As well as how negatively gluttony produce negative results in people whether drugs, food, power, money, and most everything else.

Getting bigger wont necessarily make you live longer than if you didn't. The BMI was made on the principle of longevity, not health per say. The larger you become the less likely you are to live long into your 90's and even hundreds.

[Fury22]

The bible has a lot of strong correlations to healthy living. Fish, wine and bread made in a certain way does do the body good. As well as how negatively gluttony produce negative results in people whether drugs, food, power, money, and most everything else.

Getting bigger wont necessarily make you live longer than if you didn't. The BMI was made on the principle of longevity, not health per say. The larger you become the less likely you are to live long into your 90's and even hundreds.

I agree. While I'm not religious I do agree with many of the points of healthy living in the Bible (except for bread but that's not important here.

I just get turned off when I'm trying to read about health in an objective manner and I get the "well Moses did...." or "Ghandi fasted for religious tolerance". I personally don't care why Ghandi fasted or what Moses did. Plus using the Bible as a reason is pointless. I care about the health benefits, the tangible benefits, not getting closer to an imaginary man in the sky.

[ItsAboutForm]

Very wrong... you don't even begin to burn muscle until your fast drags out to a few days or more. Go check out leangains.com to learn the real world facts about intermittent fasting and muscle growth. The guy has trained hundreds of clients using IF and has guys getting down to as low as 6% while getting stronger. If eating several times a day was required to grow and maintain muscle, our proto-human ancestors would never have survived in the wild. If a person is super hungry when starting out its only because they are used to large blood sugar swings from typical frequent meals with lots of carbs. Has nothing to do with your body "eating itself for energy"

Being in caloric deficit means hunger - no way to get around it 100% especially if its a large deficit for faster loss. You can make that hunger a minor thing by dieting smart or a major deal breaker by dieting wrong. Frequent "well balanced" meals in a deficit is a prescription for a lot of hunger and blood sugar swings. No thank you.

Very wrong again. Your body goes catabolic (muscle included) in as short a time as only a few hours (happens when you're sleeping). Ever wonder why people drink casein protein for instance before going to sleep? Some guy trained hundreds of clients to large strength gains using intermitent fasting and this means that you must be right?... lol... where was the control group? Are you trying to pass that off as a scientific study? I think you have some reading to do.

[Fury22]

Very wrong again. Your body goes catabolic (muscle included) in as short a time as only a few hours (happens when you're sleeping). Ever wonder why people drink casein protein for instance before going to sleep? Some guy trained hundreds of clients to large strength gains using intermitent fasting and this means that you must be right?... lol... where was the control group? Are you trying to pass that off as a scientific study? I think you have some reading to do.

It's not just him but a lot of people are doing it on their own and seeing results. No, your body doesn't waste away or go catabolic to the point of losing muscle. It takes a pretty long time for this to happen. If that were the case people everywhere would be waking up significantly smaller. But they are not.

The only case I can see that happening is a person who is carrying a lot more weight and muscle than they could normally hold, possibly through artificial means. In this case, a lot more food would be needed and possibly more frequent feeding in order to maintain that much weight and muscle, as the body would most likely try to get rid of it in order to reach homeostasis and a natural body weight/composition.

[JKnockawitz]

[SwiftyX]

you'll be hungry in the beginning, then you will lose most of your hunger because your body will start to eatting away at itself for energy (not just fat, but muscle too). don't be fooled.

Because hunger craving have nothing at all to do with ghrelin and it patterning itself around normal feeding times and everything to do with your body eating muscle. Wrong.

Very wrong again. Your body goes catabolic (muscle included) in as short a time as only a few hours (happens when you're sleeping). Ever wonder why people drink casein protein for instance before going to sleep? Some guy trained hundreds of clients to large strength gains using intermitent fasting and this means that you must be right?... lol... where was the control group? Are you trying to pass that off as a scientific study? I think you have some reading to do.

You have some reading to do. I did my thesis on intermittant fasting. If you need studies to read I can give you an entire list. PM me. Otherwise stop spewing internet dogma as fact. IF ing is not magical and is not so far better than a normal dieting pattern that it needs to be followed. At worst it is on level with everything else, regardless of the bro knowledge you feel like spitting out.

[aelio]

It takes up to 72 hours roughly for catabolism to have any meaningful effect.

And quoting the bible for health is dumb, life expectancy back then was like high 50's.

Also eat what works for you not what some magical space bible doctor preaches, if you like fasting then fast, I personally would go effing crazy and I already eat a very healthy diet so don't preach the "you are hungry cause you eat junk food brah" garbage to me.

[TehMan]

i do eat stop eat...2 days out of the week i fast for a 24 hour period...i love it

[ItsAboutForm]

It's not just him but a lot of people are doing it on their own and seeing results. No, your body doesn't waste away or go catabolic to the point of losing muscle. It takes a pretty long time for this to happen. If that were the case people everywhere would be waking up significantly smaller. But they are not.

You don't get my point. I'm saying that a workout program that shows success (and mind you, these programs largely only report on their successes and not their failures) cannot be passed off as a scientific success. It's a business, not a study. Yes, your body does go catabolic to the point of losing muscle while you sleep. Just because you look in the mirror or don't wake up, get on the scale, and see a big difference, doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Sorry, bodybuilding.com itself has a few self-stamped articles describing the fact.

Because hunger craving have nothing at all to do with ghrelin and it patterning itself around normal feeding times and everything to do with your body eating muscle. Wrong.

You brought up ghrelin and then sarcastically suggested that it has no connection... did I mention it at all? No. Good try though. Of course, there's no other factors here (sarcasm).

You have some reading to do. I did my thesis on intermittant fasting. If you need studies to read I can give you an entire list. PM me. Otherwise stop spewing internet dogma as fact. IF ing is not magical and is not so far better than a normal dieting pattern that it needs to be followed. At worst it is on level with everything else, regardless of the bro knowledge you feel like spitting out.

Wait, you did your thesis on intermittent fasting and you can't even spell 'intermittent' correctly? Somehow I have a hard time believing you. Either post your thesis or a link to it, or it didn't happen. I hope it is real and that you do post it so that I can tear it apart. You can call what I'm saying internet dogma, or bro knowledge, all you want. Sadly for you, that doesn't make it wrong. Show me some scientific studies that show intermittent fasting will give you these strength gains or muscle increases versus a control group, that means VERSUS THE SAME VARIABLES WITHOUT INTERMITTENT FASTING. Otherwise you're doing nothing but "spewing" bro science yourself, because you have no legitimate data to back yourself up, only links to some guy's money-making scheme.

Whether you like it or not, your body goes catabolic within only a few hours of not eating. By fasting, you're allowing your body more time to be catabolic. Do you really think that you just magically gain energy while you're fasting? Do you not realize where it's coming from? I'm not saying that you're going to go to sleep and wake up smaller, but I am saying that while you were sleeping, your body has begun to break down muscle. This is the reason people add a scoop of whey to their breakfast. This is the reason people drink a casein shake before bed. Are those practices bro-science too?

[dee9t]

I've recently been fascinated by the great results I've been having with intermittent fasting combined with low carbing. Here is my theory: catabolism of LBM occurs faster in people with higher blood sugar and greater insulin responses, leading those people to lose LBM earlier and at a larger rate than IF LC'ers whose bodies can switch into ketosis more readily during periods of fasting. In the past when I would fast or practice extreme calorie restriction without LC'ing, I could actually feel the soreness of muscle deterioration, but since I've been LC'ing, my body switches to fat lipolysis in less than 24 hours (via ketostix) and never have I experienced that same muscle soreness.

These are just my personal observations. Any input is welcome, as i would like to know if this is beneficial in the long run.

*btw, by LC'g, I do NOT mean high protein, as thought by many, but high FAT. And not in the form of the traditional cheeseburger-no-bun diet, but fat from oils, avocados, nuts, flaxseed, oily fish, etc. Atkins has surprised me by being an extremely healthy way of life.