Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- health:fasting [2019/07/06 13:25]
127.0.0.1 external edit
+++ health:fasting [2021/11/16 04:03] (current)
marcos
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Also see [[health:cancer |Anti-Cancer Effects of Fasting]]
-==== Long Term Fasting ====
+~~META:
+title = Intermittent Fasting or Time Restricted Feeding (TRF)
+~~
-Update 20190318:  I fasted for 9.5 days.  My visceral fat is significantly reduced, and I only have an inch to pinch of subcutaneous fat on my stomach.  I didn't have a weight scale, but I estimate 8 lbs lost.  I'm going to continue with intermittent fasting, and not eating late (as described [[health:fasting#intermittentfastingortimerestrictedfeedingtrf |in the section below]]).  I'm still not a fan of having breakfast so I'll see how things work for me. Previously my 8 hour eating window ranged between 2pm and 10pm.  Fact of life is that social eating happens mostly in the evening.  I'll find a healthy vs social balance.
+Also see [[health:cancer |Anti-Cancer Effects of Fasting]]\\
+Also see [[health:dieting|Most Effective Dieting Techniques to Lose Weight]]
+====== Fasting ======
+===== Intermittent Fasting or Time Restricted Feeding (TRF) =====
+Intermittent fasting, is where you set hours on a daily schedule, where you drink water, but do not consume calories.  In my practice, it has nothing to do with calorie reduction, just changing the schedule of when I eat.  I fast around 18-20 hours a day.  The best way to do this is to have some purpose in your life, such that you are too distracted by that purpose to bother with eating.
+There is a lot more on the internet about intermittent fasting than when I began practicing in 2012.  [[https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=2011-02-04%202019-03-04&geo=US&q=%22intermittent%20fasting%22 |It has grown in popularity]], so there are likely to be better articles than this one, especially since I never intended to write one when I was researching back then.  It's starting to be noticed by reputable institutions, such as [[https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/intermittent-fasting-surprising-update-2018062914156|Harvard]].  Not that reputable, but this article by [[http://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-health-benefits-of-intermittent-fasting |Healthline]] covers many health benefits with citations to valid research.
+My schedule for intermittent fasting had varied quite a bit.  Back then, I focused more on not eating for 16 hours than the 8 hour window.  I would go to bed anywhere from 10pm to 3am, which is not great for the circadian rhythm.  More about circadian rhythms [[health:circadian-rhythm |here]].  Until I learned about the following:
+"In humans, four pilot trials of TRF (4–10-hr feeding periods) have been conducted to date. Surprisingly, the results of TRF in humans appear to depend on the time of day of the eating
+window. Restricting food intake to the middle of the day (‘‘mid-day TRF’’ [mTRF]) reduced body weight or body fat, fasting glucose and insulin levels, insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, and inflammation. However, restricting food intake to
+the late afternoon or evening (after 16:00 hr.; ‘‘late TRF’’) either produced mostly null results or worsened postprandial glucose levels, b cell responsiveness, blood pressure, and lipid levels."
+[[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550413118302535 |source]]
+What I understand of the late TRF is that they were eating between 4pm and 10pm, then sleeping an hour or so after dinner.  Cellular maintenance and repair, including the digestive system, happens during early deep sleep cycles.  It takes about 8 hours for a meal to empty to the large intestine after consumption, 2 hours in the stomach, and 6 hours in the small intestine.  Digestion during the repair process does not seem at all optimal.  For best health results, you want your stomach and small intestine to be empty while sleeping.
+I don't like eating when I wake, and there are health benefits to working out in a fasted state, which means morning workouts make the most sense for me.  However, morning is when I like to be on the computer, because my mind works but I'm still groggy from sleep.  It seems unnatural to not eat in the evenings, as it's been so much of my practice to relax and reward myself in the evening, where during the day I'm too busy to eat.  Evening dinner parties is the norm, right?  It's ironic that my mother can't eat anytime before bed because of heartburn.  Update: It was actually easy to break this habit.  Even if I feel hungry, I find that sleep takes over rather easily, especially when taking melatonin, magnesium, and gaba a half hour before bed.
+I have gravitated to a preference of eating between 12pm and 6pm.  A start between 12pm and 2pm, depending on if I'm still busy at noon.
+==== Frequent Meals Promoting Muscle Growth is a Myth ====
+https://mennohenselmans.com/meal-frequency-science
+\\
+\\
+===== Long Term Fasting =====
+Update 20200129:  I don't know how long of a fast it would take, but an extended fast can lower your metabolism permanently, and even affect your epigenome such that the change is heritable.  Search for "Dutch Hunger Winter": https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/31/science/dutch-famine-genes.html  However, I suspect you would have to start running out of fat cells.
+Update 20190318:  I fasted for 9.5 days.  My visceral fat is significantly reduced, and I only have an inch to pinch of subcutaneous fat on my stomach.  I didn't have a weight scale, but I estimate 8 lbs lost.
 Apart from all the benefits supported by research on fasting, one hope I have is to see long term weight loss occur in a short period of time.  There would be a certain satisfaction in seeing the benefit after a week or two.  I have a hypothesis that when you've increased weight, that you have permanently increased the number of fat cells you have, and that this number of fat cells does not decrease with loss of weight, and affects your body's appearance long term (for example, your belly is never completely flat again, even with a low [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_mass_index |BMI]]).
+" Liposuction reduces the number of fat cells in a person’s body, but studies show the weight lost is typically regained within a year. It isn’t known whether this regain occurs through the production of new fat cells or expansion of existing ones. " https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2017/02/17/are-fat-cells-forever
 My hope is that by long term fasting, I will achieve adipocyte apoptosis (fat cell death), but I have not found any research to support this hypothesis.  I haven't read all the research I've found in the last section below, as I don't want to make a huge investment in this.  I decided to just try a long term fast, since from what I've read, there is benefit to be had even if I don't get the particular result of "adipocyte apoptosis with beneficial body contouring".
@@ Line 11: / Line 49: @@
 Update: In mice that went through fasting and refeeding, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdominal_obesity |visceral fat]] was consumed at a faster rate upon fasting, and upon refeeding, subcutaneous fat recharged at a faster rate.[[https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12986-016-0159-x |1]]  That's a good start, and I wish I could find more support.  Even if visceral fat is the best type of fat to be losing, it would still be good to burn off [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_handles |love-handles]].  However, from this single mouse study, it appears it might be more difficult.
-Update: [[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5459503 |This article]] supports a lot of what I thought was true.
+Increasing adipocyte apoptosis through supplements:\\
+https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5459503 (Xanthene MI-401)\\
+https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/mnfr.201300503 (Calcium and Vit D)
 I'm also worried about regaining the weight, given a slower metabolism upon finishing the fast.  I assume slowly increasing *healthy* food intake will help with that.
-When you fast, your body enters a state called [[health:ketogenic-diet |ketosis]], where it burns fat as it's primary fuel source.  You can enter ketosis after just 12 hours of fasting, but apparently, it's not an on/off switch.  You can be in ketosis to a certain degree: "Fasting for just 12 - 16 hours can achieve ketosis, albeit at lower levels at about ~.05mM.7 But a 48-hour fast can boost ketone levels in the blood by 20x, between 1 - 2mM."[[https://hvmn.com/blog/ketosis/how-long-does-it-take-to-get-into-ketosis-and-keto-adapt |1]]
+When you fast, your body enters a state called [[health:ketogenic-diet |ketosis]], where it burns fat as it's primary fuel source.  You can start to enter ketosis after just 12 hours of fasting, but apparently, it's not an on/off switch.  You can be in ketosis to a certain degree: "Fasting for just 12 - 16 hours can achieve ketosis, albeit at lower levels at about ~.05mM.7 But a 48-hour fast can boost ketone levels in the blood by 20x, between 1 - 2mM."[[https://hvmn.com/blog/ketosis/how-long-does-it-take-to-get-into-ketosis-and-keto-adapt |1]]
 My previous experience with a long fast, I only drank water.  After 3.5 days, although physically fit, I found myself stopping to catch my breath while trying to climb two flights of stairs.  I was on my way to eat a banana.  Perhaps this lack of energy was due to insufficient vitamins or relevant small molecules.  People have mixed results fasting, feeling either energized or fatigued.[[https://www.reddit.com/r/fasting/comments/69r9qk/energy_while_fasting |1]][[https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-stay-energized-while-fasting/answer/Aurora-Clawson |2]]
@@ Line 57: / Line 97: @@
 Maybe some of the other herbs I take probably contain electrolytes as well, but I don't think they will add up to much given the above reference of 100g.  However, I do consume a small amount of food with fat, for those supplements that require fat for absorption.  This includes almond butter, which is [[https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3153/2 |high in phosphorus and calcium]].
-Update: I'm in 6 days into the supplemented fast.  I didn't stay on top of the recommended electrolyte intake.  I've felt weak but not with the severity I experienced in a 3.5 day water-only fast.  I can't conclude what favors the reduced weakness more: the 400 calories a day, the [[health:dietary-supplements |supplements]], or low dosages of electrolytes, but either way I'm able to function.
+Update: I'm in 6 days into the supplemented fast.  I had the electrolytes I was supposed to about two thirds of the time.  I've felt weak but not with the severity I experienced in a 3.5 day water-only fast.  I can't conclude what favors the reduced weakness more: the 400 calories a day, the [[health:dietary-supplements |supplements]], or the electrolytes, but either way I'm able to function: I don't have to stop halfway up a flight of stairs because I'm out of breath.
 Related articles:\\
@@ Line 77: / Line 117: @@
 Other people's experiences on 400 calories a day:\\
 https://www.quora.com/What-would-happen-to-my-body-on-400-calories-a-day
+\\
+\\
-==== Intermittent Fasting or Time Restricted Feeding (TRF) ====
+===== Link between Coffee and Hunger =====
-Intermittent fasting, is where you set hours on a daily, or weekly, or monthly schedule, where you drink water, but do not consume calories.  In my practice, it has nothing to do with calorie reduction, just changing the schedule of when I eat.  I fast around 16 hours a day.  The best way to do this is to have some purpose in your life, such that you are too distracted by that purpose to bother with eating.
+https://www.precisionnutrition.com/research-review-coffee-hunger
+\\
+\\
-There is a lot more on the internet about intermittent fasting than when I began practicing in 2012.  [[https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=2011-02-04%202019-03-04&geo=US&q=%22intermittent%20fasting%22 |It has grown in popularity]], so there are likely to be better articles than this one, especially since I never intended to write one when I was researching back then.  It's starting to be noticed by reputable institutions such as [[https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/intermittent-fasting-surprising-update-2018062914156| Harvard]].
+===== Research on Adipocyte Plasticity, Apoptosis, PPARa and PPARy =====
- [[http://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-health-benefits-of-intermittent-fasting | Another mainstream article]].
-My schedule for intermittent fasting had varied quite a bit.  I focused more on not eating for 16 hours than the 8 hour window.  I would go to bed anywhere from 10pm to 3am, which is not great for the circadian rhythm.  More about circadian rhythms [[health:circadian-rhythm |here]].  A valuable piece of information I just came across:
-"In humans, four pilot trials of TRF (4–10-hr feeding periods) have been conducted to date. Surprisingly, the results of TRF in humans appear to depend on the time of day of the eating
-window. Restricting food intake to the middle of the day (‘‘mid-day TRF’’ [mTRF]) reduced body weight or body fat, fasting glucose and insulin levels, insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, and inflammation. However, restricting food intake to
-the late afternoon or evening (after 16:00 hr.; ‘‘late TRF’’) either produced mostly null results or worsened postprandial glucose levels, b cell responsiveness, blood pressure, and lipid levels."
-[[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550413118302535 |source]]
-What I understand of the late TRF is that they were eating between 4pm and 10pm, then sleeping an hour or so after dinner.  I don't like eating when I wake, so I will opt for mid-day TRF, around 1pm-2pm to 7pm-8pm, giving myself 3 hours without eating before sleeping.  I'm not sure if that's optimal, but it suits my lifestyle better.  In effect I will narrow my eating window to 6 hours, where before it was around 8, where I just focused more on not eating for 16.
-==== Research on Adipocyte Plasticity, Apoptosis, PPARa and PPARy ====
 [[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4715375 |Loss of White Adipose Hyperplastic Potential Is Associated with Enhanced Susceptibility to Insulin Resistance]]\\
@@ Line 107: / Line 138: @@
 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22172945\\
 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23584726
+\\
+\\
-==== Long Term Weight Gain Caused by Binging ====
+===== Long Term Weight Gain Caused by Binging =====
 https://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20100825/short-term-overeating-has-lasting-impact#1
-==== More Research ====
+"...overeating impairs the ability of brain insulin to suppress the breakdown of fat in adipose tissue." [[https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121017153911.htm |1]]
+\\
+\\
+===== More Research =====
 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3652955\\
@@ Line 165: / Line 202: @@
 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1513228\\
 ‘Caloric restriction in C57BL/6J mice mimics therapeutic fasting in humans.’ - Mahoney LB, Denny CA, Seyfried TN. Biology Department, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA. 2006
+\\
+\\
-==== Visceral Fat ====
+===== Visceral Fat =====
 Based on my previous knowledge, I approve of this bulletproof article in the overall strategy of reducing visceral fat:\\

Life Hacks for Health

User Tools

Site Tools

Differences

Page Tools