Fasting can regenerate entire immune system, study finds

[cali]

According to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Southern California, fasting can trigger stem cell-based regeneration of an organ or system.

Valter Longo, Professor of Gerontology and the Biological Sciences at the USC Davis School of Gerontology, and his colleagues say this finding is nothing short of remarkable. Although diets involving fasting have been criticized by nutritionists for being potentially dangerous, this finding suggests that starving the body can give stem cells the jump start they need to begin producing new white blood cells that are critical to fighting infection.

The new discovery could be especially beneficial for those with a compromised immune system, such as patients undergoing chemotherapy treatments for cancer. Fasting can also potentially assist the elderly whose immune system continues to weaken with age, which makes it more difficult for them to fight off infections.

<snip>

“When you starve, the system tries to save energy, and one of the things it can do to save energy is to recycle a lot of the immune cells that are not needed, especially those that may be damaged,” Dr. Longo said in a statement. “What we started noticing in both our human work and animal work is that the white blood cell count goes down with prolonged fasting. Then when you re-feed, the blood cells come back.”

<snip>

http://dailydigestnews.com/2014/06/fasting-can-regenerate-entire-immune-system-study-finds/

This makes intuitive sense to me and fits how I eat: I ignore all the stuff about breakfast being the most important meal of the day. I have coffee with maple syrup and haf and half when I wake up. I drink 4 0z of a fruit and veggie smoothy and 4 oz of V8 sometime in the a.m. I generally skip lunch and for dinner I usually have brown rice and a stir fry or curry or a piece of chicken or fish and salad. Eating much more than that during the day makes me feel tired and bloated. I do a modified fast about once a month, drinking lots of cayenne/maple syrup/lemon juice in hot water with a small low cal dinner. I have a lot of energy and feel better eating this way.

[DJ13]

1. Oh good, now the GOP can claim their pro-poverty attitude is good for people

K&R!

[Gravitycollapse]

2. Wait, what part of this article suggests breakfast isn't the most important meal?

[mainer]

3. Maybe that's why you lose your appetite when sick

The body's trying to juice the immune system.

[cali]

4. that makes sense

[blkmusclmachine]

5. ,

,

[randome]

6. This sounds right on target.

I take issue with the word 'fasting', although it's accurate. Most people wrongly think this means not eating anything. It doesn't need to. It means what I call 'minimization'. Eating very little.

FWIW, I've already adopted this for myself. Breakfast for me is a small glass of OJ and a small bowl of organic cereal with milk. Lunch, some fruit and some vegetables. Dinner, maybe some cheese on flax seed crackers, some homemade granola.

That's it. Since starting this in October, I dropped 35 pounds and feel more energetic and clear-thinking.

We are addicted to our taste buds. When you stop eating for taste, a different world opens up.

Coworkers still can't get over the idea -it's almost an insult to them- that I won't stuff my face with donuts and cake and other goodies that they offer almost every day.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Where do uncaptured mouse clicks go?[/center][/font][hr]

[cali]

8. what? stop eating for taste? Never ever ever

I love to cook. I love to eat- just in moderation and healthily. That doesn't mean that I don't eat delicious food and enjoy it. I do. And I take great pleasure for preparing treats for friends. The night before last I made a celery root and potato gratin with caramelized onions, white wine, herbs from the garden and aged gouda. I also had a green salad. the night before that I had a veggie tart. Oh, and I don't think of donuts (unless they're homemade cider doughnuts and cake (unless it's something I make0 a "goodie".

[Laelth]

9. Hmm ...

That trip to Vermont I was considering is sounding more appealing all the time ...



-Laelth

[Happyhippychick]

11. Can we discuss your veggie tart?

I've been looking for a recipe. And that celery root dish sounds heavenly! Do you post recipes somewhere?

[cali]

13. I would be happy to give you my veggie tart recipes

I have made hundreds of them and lots of variations:

First the crust. Do you have a food processor? Good. It makes life much easier. (for 2 large tart shells, freeze one ball of dough if you don't want to make two tarts, or halve the recipe)

3 cups flour- you can use half whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut up
up to 1/4 cup icy cold water

put flour and salt in food processor and whirl for a sec
add butter a few pieces at a time until all gone
add water- first 2 tbs than another until dough forms a ball- but give it 30 secs or so before adding more

divide into 2 balls. wrap and put in fridge for thirty minutes
roll out on floured surface, place into tart shells, etc- prick bottom with fork

Blind bake at 400, lined with parchment and pie weights or beans or small stones, for 15 minutes, remove parchment and pie weight, turn oven to 350 bake 10 more minutes

Filling(s)

All my veggie tarts start with a layer of caramelized onions. I 4 or so large ones thin and place in a large skillet with 2 tbsp of olive oil and a little salt and pepper. Cook on medium high, stirring, for 7 or 8 minutes, reduce heat to low and cook for 20 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Let cool.

Cook in same saute pan whatever vegetables strike your fancy- summer squash and zucchini or fennel or... what you've got in the fridge. whatever. season as you wish.

Choose your cheese: Cheddar or gouda or blue or parmesan or or or... Grate a cup. Now you can just put the onions and then the veggies in the crust and sprinkle with cheese, put in a 350 oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or you can beat 1 whole egg with 1 yolk, add 1/2 cup milk or cream and the cheese and pour the mixture onto the veggies in the tart. This takes longer in the oven and I start it at 400 for fifteen, turn it down to 350 and bake until just set and turning golden- about another 20 to 30 minutes.

Have fun and enjoy.

[Happyhippychick]

14. Drool! Thank you, you are my hero!

I adore savory pie type things and this sounds delicious!

Thanks again!

[randome]

12. I hear you.

But you need to be aware that the more cooked food you eat, the more carcinogens you are flooding into your body.

Eating 'healthy' is for some -not saying you- just another way to keep downing large amounts of food. "Sure, I ate 10 pounds of salad yesterday, but that's good for me!"

I didn't have anything remotely considered a 'dessert' for about 7 months. Then I finally relented and let myself have some leftover chocolate chip cookies. Strangely enough, I didn't feel like I had actually missed anything.

Once in a while, I will have a pizza or take my daughters out to Chili's or somewhere and that's the only time I 'indulge'.

I am not saying I'm more 'moral' or 'better' than anyone else, just pointing out that a minimized diet is definitely a permanent part of my life now. Like exercise, it isn't something you do and be done with. It's how you change your entire life.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Where do uncaptured mouse clicks go?[/center][/font][hr]

[cali]

15. I don't eat very much- as I explained. and when I indulge it is NEVER the sludge at

corporate places like Chiles. If I have a pizza, I make it from dough-

I rather suspect my diet is healthier than yours. I started it for my complex regional pain syndrome- and that also involves exercising 45 minutes minimum every day, not to mention the specific exercises for my leg and foot.

I don't feel like I miss a thing: I've reduced my level of pain, lost 15 pounds, and have a ton of energy- off now to plant celery root, the rest of my tomatoes and lettuces.

[randome]

18. Sounds like you have the right balance for yourself, then.

I apologize if you thought I was criticizing you. I wasn't.

I agree about Chili's, too. My daughters are still growing, however, and they need to gain a little weight, so I find it impossible to keep them from eating what they want. I also don't want to make them paranoid about weight gain, of course.

But for me, eating as little cooked food as possible (although I suppose the baked granola qualifies as 'cooked') and adhering to a minimalist diet works best.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]"The whole world is a circus if you know how to look at it."
Tony Randall, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964)[/center][/font][hr]

[monmouth3]

7. I am so glad to see info on this posted. It has become apparent to me that I must lose 50 pounds.

My younger son has been very helpful in the grocery store shopping...No bread, no sugar, no carbs (at least for the present time). I've noticed since I started this I'm just not hungry all of the time and I no longer live to eat. Chips, soda, etc. were my comfort food. No longer. Thanks for this OP, very instructive and interesting.

[Laelth]

10. k&r for exposure. n/t

-Laelth

[NightWatcher]

16. I've got 2 auto immune diseases and low white blood cells from chemo

My immune system is over active and attacks my joints and internal organs.

So according to this article, I need to start eating and never stop.

I'll brb there's a new Krispy Kreme in midtown.

[Silent3]

17. The article talks about "fasting for two to four days every six months" and...

"In a pilot trial, the researchers learned that prolonged fasting (72 hours)...". This story says nothing that would support skipping breakfast or lunch.

[BrotherIvan]

19. There's a difference between intermittent fasting and true fasting

Eating less or skipping breakfast is intermittent fasting and gives the body time to digest. But the true benefits seen in the article with improvements in many markers must be complete fasting. Digestion turns off the internal cleansing system. It's true that not eating all the time is what we evolved to do and is far healthier. Imagine hunting/gathering and then preparing 5-6 meals a day. You wouldn't do anything else. Most primitive peoples eat perhaps once or twice a day. They might snack on a handful of berries or jerky, but that's about it.

Native American warriors used to fast and sweat before battle. It takes a while for the body to become used to fasting, but the more you do it, the faster the cleansing switches are activated. Plus, when one first starts fasting/cleansing often there is nausea, headaches, weakness, ears ringing, etc. The more one does it, the easier it becomes. Liquid fasts are a good way to begin as it slows down the fasting process a bit. Some people recommend juice, but that is too much sugar really. One of the most successful fasts is the Russian milk fast (raw or very good organic milk) as it supplies minerals nutrients and is easily digestible. That was a very popular treatment for cancer and can easily be done for weeks.

Fasting is very interesting and I never felt better than when I used to fast 24-36 hours once a week. It was hard at first and you realize how much eating is a source of entertainment and pleasure. But for a day, it's no big deal and the results are amazing. I eat twice a day, basically intermittent fasting, and while my blood sugar is much better and it just feels more natural, it is nowhere near the benefits of true fasting.

[cali]

20. I too like the benefits of fasting.

I try (and I'm pretty successful) to fast once a month for two days. I don't know if it qualifies as a "true" fast, but all I have is: day one: a hot drink made of water, cayenne, lemon juice and maple syrup, day two: the same plus homemade broth of some sort. Oh, and water. I feel more grounded at the end of the fast and my energy level is boosted. On days that I fast, I meditate more and still engage in exercise, but tailor it to the fast- and I do "me things" that give me pleasure, like a craft or gardening projed.

[BrotherIvan]

21. That sounds like a great idea.

The first time I did it, I was surprised at how spiritual it felt. I couldn't believe that I had never gone without food for days and it made me think about my hungers and how silly they were. Being somewhat hypoglycemic, I sometimes panic when my blood sugar gets too low. The funny thing is, fasting resets your hunger and you actually eat less. It's a great way to reconnect with your body. I truly recommend it all adults as part of a health regimen. One or two days a month is perfect. Maybe a 2-3 day one in spring for spring cleaning. If it's very cold, don't fast. If you're feeling sick, sometimes that's the first thing you should do. If you're rundown, don't fast. Your version with a little juice or broth makes it much smoother. Water fasting is a little too much until you're pretty used to it, then it's not so bad.

So many naysayers screaming about the dangers of fasting make me laugh and show how messed up we've truly become in the first world in our relationship to food. If humans died or were harmed from not eating for a mere 24 hours, the human race would have died out long ago. And the myth of "starvation mode" comes from restrictive long-term dieting but more correctly should refer to how so many first world peoples are well-fed, but starving for nutrition. As our foods get more and more vitamin and mineral deficient, we have to eat more and more.

If you want to read a book that will blow your mind with pictures of the most convincing argument I've ever seen that nutrition is inextricably linked to health, check out Nutrition & Physical Degeneration, by Weston A. Price. Or just google it and look at the pictures. It shows the amazing health of primitive people living on fresh, native foods compared to the significant changes in health in a single generation by changing to modern foods. People living on their native foods had perfect teeth with little or no cavities, which is an indication of the strength of the bones as well as high immunity to infection. Tuberculosis was called "The White Plague" at the time and was wiping out people all over the globe, but those living on their native diets had high immunity. He argues for a very balanced diet with an emphasis on acquiring minerals, and the most important to modern day, fat soluble vitamins which have been lost since we substituted vegetable oils for animal fats. It's very, very interesting. Most of the people he studied were coastal people who got most of their protein and fat from fish and seafood, highly prizing fish eggs and fish livers (like cod liver oil) also some mountainous groups that got most of their nourishment from lots of raw dairy and dairy fat. I could go on and on, but it so illustrative that humans are animals just like any other, and that we have a particular diet that we need in order to stay healthy. We have completely lost our connection to our health and we are greatly paying a price. It's very difficult and time consuming to stay healthy in today's modern world. I wish there was some way we could see that all the money we plow into healthcare, dental care, orthodontia, infertility, etc. could be saved if we stopped listening to the big corps and relearned the wisdom of our ancestors who spawned thousands of generations of healthy people.