Fasting boosts stem cells' regenerative capacity

[antares4141]

Not always easy to do but seems calorie restriction can help people with GI issues.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-05-fasting-boosts-stem-cells-regenerative.html

 

[Richard7]

Interesting. And as usual they are looking for a drug to mimic the fasting biochemistry.

There are of course all the usual concerns too:

It is a mouse study. It might still work for people but mice are quite different to people.

I cannot remember where at the moment, but I know that in listening to podcasts on intermittent fasting I have often heard that mice loose a substantial proportion of their body weight on a 24 hr fast. That it is much more severe for them than it is for us.

So if it does work I suspect that we would need a longer fast.

And if it works for "people" it may not work for pwme/cfs

These reads like criticism (sorry) but it is kind of how I read all studies now - we are so verry different to "people" (and mice).

 

[antares4141]

No, I take pretty much all the studies I read with a grain of salt. This one I would like to believe cause it's something I could do to gain some control over my situation (through calorie restriction). So maybe I am a little bit more credulous than most.

 

[Richard7]

And I like intermittent fasting. I mostly just do two meals a day anywhere from 4 -8 hrs apart at the moment, but did some 40hr fasts in 2016.

But I do not know if the benefit is from lipid metabolism, ketosis or PoTS - I often have to go to bed after eating.

 

[blueberry]

I'd go steady with fasting and keep a really honest eye on your reaction to it. I started doing intermittent fasting and 5:2 in November last year, the initial results were amazing, the day after a reduced calorie day I felt better than usual and I really thought I had hit on something. It was also helping me reduce some of the extra weight I'd put on with ME. The benefits were short-lived but I pushed on with it, even though I wasn't noticing the initial improvement in symptoms and energy levels. I kept going because I was so hung up on what the bathroom scales were saying! If I'd been honest with myself, I would have admitted that by December I was no longer getting the improvements in symptoms and energy and that my overall ME picture was deteriorating. I had a massive flare/crash a few weeks ago, where I was bedbound again for the first time in months. I don't believe this was caused solely by the fasting, I'd also had some unexpected demands on my mental and physical energy, but when I took some time to take stock and reflect on the last few months I realised that the fasting had probably not been helping. This is just one person's experience, though. I believe fasting is a great tool on many levels when a person is healthy, but it didn't fit with having ME in my case.

 

[Wonkmonk]

I am wondering if the many positive effects of fasting or time-restricted feeding have to do with calorie-restriction or with the GI being empty.

If it's the former, eating just greens for a day might be a better option than fasting because greens contain electrolytes, micronutrients, vitamins and fiber.

But maybe it's not only about calories and the stomach has to be entirely empty for a prolonged timein order to give it a bit of time to rest.

 

[Pink]

I get horribly sick with fasting, although some days I'm so weak I barely eat. But it's not for everyone, for me it's just too dangerous.

 

[antares4141]

Actually my type of fasting would be calorie restriction. Eat lot's vegetables, and fruits, no processed sugars, 2 meals a day 5 hours apart, no food 6 hours before bed. Optimally. Many times fall off the wagon. Maintain a bmi between 23 and 24. How much it helps with cfs I don't know but overall it's recognized to help in all kinds of other ways. And I don't eat gluten. GI was in horrible shape 7 years ago before I did that.