Fasting for Health

 
Fasting is currently in style [1]. It is being promoted not only for weight loss, but also for all sorts of health symptoms and illnesses. Does fasting actually work? If so, what kind of fast is best? Fasting is one example of a topic where ‘experienced-based medicine’ is ahead of ‘evidence-based medicine.’ There isn’t much science out there to tell us the answers to our fasting for health questions.

 
I have tried many kinds and durations of fasts over the years, even before fasting was popular. This article summarizes my ‘experience-based medicine’.

Summary First: Fasting for Health Results

Below is a quick-skim summary of which type of fasting worked the best for each health issue. Three “XXX” means best, two “XX” means second-best, and one “X” means third-best.

What about cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and longevity? I don’t have cancer, diabetes, or Alzheimer’s, thank goodness. Mark’s article “Health Benefits of Intermittent Fasting ” is a great summary of the evidence-based medicine on this topic. Still, there is more science needed to determine how much benefit fasting provides, and which kind of fast is optimal. In the mean time, I hope more people will publish their own ‘experience-based medicine’.
 
The next section gives more details about how I define a fast. The remainder of the article are my comments on fasting for each health issue in the table.
 

How to Fast

The article “Fasting To Heal Leaky Gut” details my approach for fasting, especially longer fasts. For shorter fasts, I have found skipping as many breakfasts as possible gives the best results. My theory is that our bodies tend to work on detox, autophagy, and excretion over night, so not eating in the morning helps to extend this period. After skipping breakfasts, I prefer to skip dinners for the same reason. This is why I have noted in the table to re-feed after a fast at lunch.
 
Looking beyond the food part of fasting, I tend to keep my life and schedule the same. I still work, exercise, meditate, eat real food on re-feeding days, and sleep well. I might do some extra skin brushing, sauna, or other self-care.
 

Healing Leaky Gut

The shorter fasts didn’t help much for leaky gut. Dysbiotic bacteria, yeasts, viruses, and fungi tend to be stubborn. It takes quite a bit of time and consistency to shift the balance. In addition to fasting, I recommend taking supplements for healing leaky gut. I pick the supplements based on what cultured well against dysbiotics on a microbiology stool test. If healing leaky gut is the goal, click over to the Gut tab and go through the list of items there too. It would stink to do a long fast and miss something relatively simple like a hernia or stomach acid.
 
Many other symptoms- including many not listed in my summary table- tend to improve with a longer fast. Some examples include inflammation, pain, skin issues, energy levels. My theory is that a healed leaky gut causes a better-functioning immune system, which causes many other chronic infections (e.g. bacterial, viral, dental) to die down.
 

Autism

One could argue that autism has the same “XXX”’s in the table as leaky gut because of the role we know the gut plays in autism. This is probably true.
 
Autism symptoms are typically caused by the need for better detox and drainage. Fasts seem to help shift the body to increased excretion of built-up toxins. Some people call this cellular autophagy. I agree, but I think there is also a drainage pathway- or larger system component – contributing to enhanced detox that makes fasting so effective for autism.
 

Weight Loss

Slow, steady, and consistent works best for me when it comes to weight loss. Two 36-hour fasts per week reduce both my stomach and appetite, which means I eat less even on days when I am eating. For maintaining weight-loss, I like Intermediate Fasting (IF) where breakfast is skipped every day and dinner is light.
 

Lyme Disease

The best defense we have against Lyme Disease is our own immune system. The best way to increase immune function is to heal leaky gut. The fastest way to heal leaky gut is by longer fasting and supplements to help push down dysbiotic bacteria, viruses, yeast and fungi. I think this is why longer fasts are so effective for Lyme.
 
Unfortunately the shorter fasts didn’t seem to help much with Lyme. One could try a 5-7 day fast, but for those who really want to get Lyme under control and move on with their lives, I’d go for the full 30 day monty.
 

Parasites

Dr. Simon Yu wrote an interesting article about a guy who balanced his acupuncture meridians with a 40 day fast. To be honest, I haven’t ever fasted for 40 days. I haven’t noticed any benefit to parasite infections with any of my fasts, including the 30 day fasts. This is why the parasites row in the table is blank. My guess is that the parasites start to become more systemic during a fast – feeding more off of our tissues and organs rather than the food we eat.
 

Allergies – Chronic

Chronic allergies seem to be correlated to leaky gut. Healing leaky gut takes a longer fast. This is tough, but the freedom from allergies is worth it! I would also recommend clicking over to the Gut tab and going through the list of items there too.
 

Allergies – Seasonal

Although seasonal allergies are also correlated to leaky gut, I’ve found the level of leaky gut correction needed isn’t as bad for seasonal allergies. Often a shorter fast tune-up is enough for seasonal allergies.
 

Brain Fog & Mental Clarity

My experience is that brain fog is often a detox or drainage issue. Giving the body a rest from food can help it focus on detox and drainage. Why a 3-day fast for brain fog? My experience is that cognitive issues get worse at around 24-36 hours. Crystal clarity of mind typically appears at day 3 for me. Along with the clarity of mind, I typically experience increased energy.
 

Chiropractic Issues

Spinal discomfort and chiropractic issues tend to clear up for me around day 3 of a fast. Why? I honestly don’t know. Perhaps more blood flow to the spinal area instead of to the digestive tract? Perhaps increased detox and drainage help with toxins that are causing the chiropractic issues? Bacteria, viruses and fungi like to hang out in joints… Perhaps the increased immune function that helps lower the bacterial and viral counts helps the joints feel better? Hopefully someday science will tell us the answer here.
 

Gallbladder Liver Flush

I find that gallbladder-liver flushes are much more effective after a fast. Three days of fasting along with the appropriate supplements sets me up for a productive (!) flush. Details about the supplements can be found in the Gallbladder section.
 

References

[1] Barna, M. “The Science Behind Fasting Diets,” Discover Magazine, January 2, 2019.

[2] Collier, R. “Intermittent fasting: the next big weight loss fad,” CMAJ, May 14, 2013.

[3] Gabel, K. et al “Safety of 8h-time restricted feeding in adults with obesity.” Appl Physiol Nutr Metab, Jan 2019.

[4] Marinac, C. et al “Prolonged Nightly Fasting and Breast Cancer Prognosis,” JAMA Oncol Aug 2016.

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Last Updated: Mar 23, 2023 @ 4:06 pm

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