Autophagy and Intermittent fasting.

[MikePollard]

There has been a lot of discussion if not excitement around the web regarding intermittent fasting.

Primarily it involves weight loss, and is a very effective and valuable tool (along with a LCHF (Low Carbohydrate, High Fat) to achieve this. However, there is more, much more to intermittent fasting that simply losing weight.

Before I go further there is one thing you might have heard - fasting makes you lose protein - lean muscle mass. If you believe this then you have to explain how a person, under controlled clinical conditions, survived for 382 days - a year and 17 days eating nothing whatsoever. You would also need to explain how a hibernating bear wakes up after seven and a half months, stretches and goes about replenishing his fat stores on intact muscles. This is a very important point and cogent to my argument that intermittent fasting probably is a potent weapon to keep prostate (or any other solid cancer) at bay and indeed may help with men with the condition.

When you start fasting and your body recognises that it is entering an unusual energy deficit HGH (human growth hormone) increases massively. This response is there to protect muscle and bone while you switch from burning carbohydrate to burning fat. For after a fast you need to be in good shape to get out and about (see bear above). In addition to this something wonderful happens, and it’s called autophagy.

Autophagy is pretty complicated but in essence it is a process whereby a scavenging process kicks in, and this is where it may crucially play a role in cancer prevention. Under artificial conditions of plenty (the western diet as opposed to our hunter gatherer ancestors) autophagy is never turned on and the junk DNA, damaged proteins and crucially pre-cancerous cells pile up. However when food, and more importantly protein, is scarce, then autophagy is turned on, and the useless protein above is recycled.

There is plenty of information on autophagy and intermittent fasting on youTube and I’d recommend Dr. Jason Fung as your start point if the above chimes.

Bottom line for me?

I understand the science and what I have described seems like common sense, is totally safe, costs nothing and might just give me an edge in the lottery of life.

[Darryl Partner]

I like the idea of occasional fasting, but I find myself with a headache that is relieved when I eat again.

[Bluebird11 in reply to Darryl]

Darryl, In the alternative health world where fasting has been part of protocols, there is a theory that by fasting a detox situation begins. When someone gets a headache usually it's thought to be this detox signal.

The way around this is looking at how to gently detox the body through exercise, good fresh air, water, good foods, including foods that will help detox - or cleanse as it is put. We like the old-fashioned, castor oil packs on the liver. These are even gentle enough for children.

The more there is a detoxing situation needed, the more gentle the detox should be, IMO. If a body is young and strong, they usually don't have to worry about a more strenuous detox.

Personally, I believe in doing things that support good healthy cells- without strong detox. The old fashioned good things for us work automatically.

For instance, a cold is not thought as a harmful thing. It is the body's way of releasing toxins. This is why they consider a fever response to be a good sign that the body is doing its work. The example of getting a cold, in the alternative health world shouldn't be shut down by meds. This is all said in moderation and balance. Each person knowing their bodies and being smart about what they do.

For those of us older, when we want to do a fasting cleanse or detoxing, it's important to do a gradual healthy way of releasing toxins out of the body.

Exercise and breathwork, small amounts of juicing, water, and slowly getting off foods that are counter to building good healthy cells.

Any good coach or Chinese Traditional Medicine (CTM) advocates, have the motto do no harm. Go slowly ...

I hope this helps with a look from the alternative side of healing.

On a personal note, my husband is doing a natural fast of not eating after 7, creating a balanced fasting system. (12 hours at a time) He loves food and has no problem with needing to keep weight on. But, for someone like me who is light weight and doesn't eat much, I can eat what and when I want.

Genie

[MikePollard in reply to Darryl]

If your diet is based on carbohydrate then you will be on a roller coaster of insulin and sugar rushes followed by crashes. This is the typical western diet of refined carbohydrate and fear of natural fats. Things change when you shift the emphasis to basing your diet on fats. My wife and I keep the carbs low and replace them with butter, cheese, oily fish, olives avocado, nuts, bacon, eggs etc. with NO snacking. Bread is an occasional treat. This is the perfect diet for anyone with T2 diabetes, however I am not diabetic and intend to remain so.

dietdoctor.com/diabetes

My last meal of the day, if I am fasting, typically is at 6pm and I usually go to 12pm or longer. I will not be hungry as I will be burning stored fat and my blood sugar will be stable.

Here's an intro to autophagy, see if it's worth a little effort:

youtube.com/watch?v=H5LCHc7...(Not working as expected?)

[GeorgeGlass]

good post. I do fasting as well.