Posted on 06/06/2014 4:04:55 AM PDT by Olog-hai
I went to the link and a sound bite popped up. The fasting they talked about was not a fast devoid of all food, but a temporary reduction in calories. A person eats normally for 5 days, and then for 2-3 days, they drop their caloric intake to 500 calories per day.
In my opinion, if done correctly, it can actually be a boost to the system IF on those fasting days a person consumes only vegetables. Nice, garden fresh, organic veggies!
Do you know how many veggies you’d have to eat before you consume 500 calories worth??? Well, you wouldn’t be hungry during those fast days, and you’d be filling your body with good nutrition, vitamins, minerals instead of corn chips, snickers bars, and soda pop.
A person’s body couldn’t help but respond in a positive manner with an influx of goodies like that. Add a lot of fresh clean water to that diet, and you flush out garbage, and rehydrate your body.
Add some vigorous fun play to this, and you have a recipe for good health.
I think it just depends on how you handle it.
One size does not fit all. Some individuals may benefit by fasting while it may be the wrong thing for others. Only you know if it is benefical to your health.
First let me say this. As type-1 diabetic, I must eat several small meals each day. Fasting would upset the regimen which I use to keep my blood sugar under control.
As I am now an older person, I have observed many elderly people (my grand parents, older friends, etc.) before me tended to eat less as they aged, smaller portions and maybe once or twice per day. This seemed to me to be good.
Often the foods they ate were easy-fix, out of a can, or quickly prepared (freezer/microwave) rather than balanced and nutritious. Not so good.
I am a cancer survivor, and I lost 70 pounds in the month during which I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I worked 14 hour days and ate on the run, and I paid dearly for it.
The common denominator I observed among cancer patients was they lost weight and started to “wither” away. They lost appetite and ate little or the wrong things nutritionally.
I have noticed the key is appetite and nutritious food. Those with an appetite and who eat nutritionally balanced meals on a regular basis seem to me stay healthier or at least alive (some days I wonder) as they age.
Finally, I stress exercise (piddling I call it) as the most important element along with nutrition to me. Sometimes, when I don’t want to eat, but must (for blood sugar control); and want to sit around on the computer (Free Republic can kill a lot of time) all day; I go out and busy myself (exercise) about 4 - 5 hours each day in the garden and workshop and feel renewed.
If I were not diabetic, I would try fasting as it is mentioned in the Bible to be beneficial.
What about study methodology details? Any report of a “study” that leaves out the nuts and bolts of the methodology isn’t worth reading.
I assume these are left out of the story because
A) the writer is the typical lazy and/or semi literate, incapable of transcribing what he can’t understand
or
B) it has been left out because it doesn’t meet *real* standards of scientific research (99% of what you read about “studies” in general news publications)
Graduate students giving questionnaires to 25 college freshmen does not constitute science. Not for anyone but the EPA, anyway.
I can’t even imagine how bad my headache would be if I didn’t eat for 3 days! I am sure I would pass out from the pain.
It makes sense to me. One of the effects of being seriously ill is usually a loss of appetite. Maybe your body is telling you something?
My FORMER Internist insisted on medicating Cholesterol out of your body. He OD’d hubby on 80 mg Crestor, 40 mg is max for a Senior. Wanted us to go Vegan. We are in our 60’s 70’s. Not going to change the Paleo diet we like. I did concede to use olive oil and cooking sprays, no battered fried meats, they are now an occasional eat out treat. Breads, are the least things we eat.
He kept prescribing me drugs I could not take. Never looked at my side effect list which is a full typed sheet long. Or whether or not it influenced how the most important Hormone I take Synthroid, is effected. Drove my thyroid crazy. Finally had to find a ENDO to fix his screw up. 3 of my health conditions are MEDICINE CAUSED!
I always find the nurses stash of coffee.
I can understand the cynicism of some on this thread re science when we have dishonest scientists trying to feather their own nests with global warming dollars; but Valter Longo is a serious scientist and his papers on this and other subjects are excellent.
Click here for his pubs on fasting, chemotherapy and the immune system.
Ping...
Hey, I thought I pinged you!
I can believe this. I’ve tried it before. The first day or so was really rough. When I woke up on the morning of the 4th day I felt fantastic! I haven’t done this since I had my kids though, perhaps it’s time to do it again.
...and all you had was water, right?
Actually a bit of green tea with lemon, no sweeteners, and ice.
Or, 2 tsp of lemon juice to 1gal water, refrigerated. Sip on that throughout the day.
But nothing ‘substantial’ or otherwise calorific. People who ‘juice fast’ and consume apple, orange other ‘sugar’ juices are fooling themselves.
I used to fast 1 day every 2 weeks and 3 or 4 days once every month or two. I was much thinner then too. But my doc fussed at me for ‘unhealthy’ habits so I stopped. Teach me to listen to the doc...I don’t do that ‘unhealthy’ fasting now but weigh a bit more.
I have been juicing 20%fruits/80% veggies three times a day for six weeks and have lost 25 lbs. and feel wonderful. Lighter on my feet on my morning walk, sleep better, have more energy and my blood pressure is down within normal range. I will continue the juicing for as long as I need to in order to reach my goal of losing 60 lbs. total that I put on after major surgery a year and a half ago. My heart surgeon suggested the juicing because he said he does it a week out of every month and makes him feel recharged and controls his weight.
Anybody who is interested in the juicing fast or diet, watch Joe Cross’s “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” video at http://www.fatsickandnearlydead.com.
Well, as the evidence from these studies and others, fasting is much healthier than eating every day. Will you get back to it?
You didn’t eat for an entire week? Just water, I presume?
Take two to three thousand milligrams of vitamin C per day. You’ll be amazed at how it keeps colds and the flu away.
I’m seriously thinking about it.
I felt so much better when I was fasting at least once every couple weeks. It wasn’t very difficult to manage 24hrs once you sort of had it as a routine and knew what to expect.
I drank either iced green tea w. lemon in the summer or hot green tea w. lemon in the winter.
As I recall, I also took vitamin C and pycnogenol but didn’t take my B vitamins. I found the B on an empty stomach made me gag for some reason.
The only way I have ever been able to lose weight is to just stop eating. It works. If you don’t eat you will lose weight.
Yeah, what’s all involved in a fast? No calories whatsoever?
I probably should start one, feeling kinda fatigued from work and ready to quit so I can get some SLEEP!
I actually go a ‘waking day’ w/o food which probably amounts to 30+hrs of no food.
I drink tea with lemon (no sugar or sweeteners, even artificial ones) either hot or iced.
That’s it.
I haven’t done it in several years quite like that so I’m sure the first time back will suck. I’ll have to pick a time when I know I’m not going to be working in the 90F+ heat. I don’t want to pass out or anything :P
I used to restrict my fasting days to non work days. And I avoided any strenuous exercise then too. Basically they were Saturday/Sunday events when I was just doing light housework or going to Church.
If you have any blood sugar issues you will have to test test test during the day to make sure you don’t hypo. I might keep a hard candy around just in case my sugars go into the 60’s.
bump
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