# Anyone here try intermittent fasting?



## pukekonz (Nov 14, 2012)

Here is a good break down of IF here:

http://io9.com/5979523/why-you-should-starve-yourself-a-little-bit-each-day

What intrigues me about this is the boost in bodily repair mechanisms.



> Intermittent fasting, on the other hand, decreases the body's expression of IGF-1. And it also appears to switch on a number of DNA repair genes. Restricted feeding, says Longo, makes our body go from "growth mode" to "repair mode."





> Her tests on human subjects were not much different, which showed greater insulin-mediated glucose uptake. Her evidence suggested that fasting can increase HDL-cholesterol (that's the good kind), while lowering triacylglycerol concentrations. Fasting had no effect on blood pressure. She concluded her study by suggesting that fasting can modulate several risk factors that are known to bring about various chronic diseases.


Her plan is here: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/90/5/1138.abstract

Another good breakdown of various plans: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-fast-part-six-choosing-a-method/#axzz22OCmS5nh



> And there's more. In addition to Varady's study, other research shows that intermittent fasting can offer neuroprotective benefits. Studies on humans show that it can help with weight loss and reduce disease risk.
> 
> And incredibly, there may even be a link to cancer. Another study study by Varady and M. Hellerstein on mice indicated that both caloric restriction and alternate-day fasting can reduce cancer risk and reduce cell proliferation rates.


Seeing how bowel conditions could be considered a chronic condition, need some repair mechanisms to heal etc it's possible the alternate day fasting plan could provide a long term repair solution to IBS.

I am unsure what to start on, I am investigating 2 plans 1) alternate day fasting 2) food window style where you can only eat 8hrs a day and the other 16hrs no food is taken in.

I will continue researching the plans before I make the leap. It seems the 8hrs food window plan would be the easiest to manage but if I'm going to do this I want to follow the plan best backed by the most research.

I can't seem to find a study regarding IBS and intermittent fasting. I did see one anecdotal post on another site about a woman who intermittent fast for some time and it eventually resolved her IBS.

I'm interested to hear from anyone doing IF. Also, I would consider an attempt at IF to be at least 3 months before claiming "didn't work for me". It sounds like the body goes into a repair mode when fasting but I suspect this must be regular, consistent and allowed to happen for months in order to resolve a bowel issue.

A poster on another site here claims it is not good for the intestines:



> I am 64 and have irritable bowel problems. In my 30′s I regularly started a diet with a fast as this, I felt helped me over food craving. Fasting I was later told encourages stretching and stenosis in the intestines as it interferes with the continuous movement of waste solids through the intestines causing prockets of waste to sit in some areas and none in others and was most likely a strong contributing factor in the development of ibs problems.


Will keep researching

more: an interesting article on fasting and leakygut:

http://leakygutresearch.com/fasting/


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## pukekonz (Nov 14, 2012)

found an IBS fasting study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17078771



> Int J Behav Med. 2006;13(3):214-20.
> 
> Effects of fasting therapy on irritable bowel syndrome.
> Kanazawa M, Fukudo S.
> ...


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## Moises (May 20, 2000)

pukekonz,

Thanks for the very informative Kanazawa reference.

I speculated a couple of months ago, that a water fast of 14 days might be an effective (if not safe) treatment for SIBO.

The published research of Pimentel shows that 14 days on an elemental diet brings about major improvement in most IBS patients. But what about the minority who do not improve? My speculation is that they have bacterial overgrowth in the upper reaches of the small intestine. Therefore, the elemental diet continues to feed these duodenal bacteria.

If bacterial overgrowth is the problem, then complete abstinence from food should starve the duodenal bacteria, in the same manner that the elemental diet starves jejunal and ileal bacteria.

About 10 years ago I did a 7-day water fast. This was before I knew anything about Pimentel. To my great disappointment, I had no improvement during or after the fast. Once I read Pimentel's research, I realized that it might have been the case that 7 days just wasn't long enough.

I am now seriously considering attempting a 14-day fast. Fasts of this length involve serious risks and no one should attempt one without prior approval from a physician.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Here are the details of the fast from the fasting in IBS study.



> The FT was performed according to a previously re
> -
> ported method (Suzuki et al., 1979; Suzuki et al.,
> 1976). In brief, participants were subjected to 10 days
> ...


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## Moises (May 20, 2000)

Kathleen,

Thanks for posting that. Do you think they are saying that post-fast the person had 225 kcal in the first day?

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Pukekonz,

I've been becoming more and more interested in fasting as an IBS treatment recently. There is very little information out there, which is why your link to that abstract was a real gem. In an effort to learn more about the risks of fasting, I recently joined a forum on it (fastingconnection.com). A woman there just posted today that she had IBS for 20 years and now, after 3 weeks of IF, has had "amazing" improvements, though she does not consider herself cured. I have asked her to clarify what specific protocol she is using.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Sounds like they did a slow return to feeding so the first day was pretty light and then increasing calories each day until they got back to a regular diet.

The fast in Japan used IV fluids to lower the risks, I don't know if you can imitate that at home as easily. A lot depends on how long you stay off food. A day or two of water fasting isn't likely cause the problems that 10 days could.

The intermittent fasting protocols have you eat at least a little bit each day so they don't have as much risk as a 10 day water only fast.


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