Fun Fasting Facts
Reasons why we are so interested in Fasting!
Listening to experts in fasting, Dr. Jason Fung and Dr. Kurt Hong, my interest in fasting has definitely been re-kindled for a lot of reasons! The concept of fasting often feels overwhelming and near impossible to us foodies with an endless supply of available food and variety, but once you try it, the majority of people find it to be freeing and noticeably different for the better in the way they feel.
There are lots of benefits to therapeutic fasting and diet changes. Fasting can help improve and reverse dysfunctional insulin patterns and type 2 diabetes, as well as help people to lose weight and improve fatty liver. Fasting may also have impacts on autophagy (cellular cleanup) and longevity. I’m sure you have also noticed that when you are sick, you do not have the desire to eat. Fasting can be natural in our response to illnesses.
Long term weight loss is often so difficult but incorporating some fasting techniques can help significantly.
Fasting is working!
A recent message from one of our patients:
"I finished reading the book you recommended and something clicked. I decided to try fasting figuring it would be really hard. Funny thing is it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. After my first week of fasting, I realized I stopped waking up at night to eat, which is a habit I have been trying desperately to break for years. By my second day of fasting, I started feeling great. I am not sure why or how fasting is working but it is. I am down 15 lbs, and I am not stopping until I reach my goal. Thanks for thinking of me and getting me to read that book."
Fasting Physiology: there are different phases of fasting. From the time you eat until about 4 hours after, you are using exogenous glucose and insulin to supply the cells of the body. From around 4 hours until around 16 hours your body is using glycogen, and exogenous glucose and insulin levels have dropped. Glycogen is a large multi-branched polymer of glucose which is accumulated in response to insulin and broken down into glucose in response to glucagon. Glycogen is mainly stored in the liver and the muscles and provides the body with a readily available source of energy if blood glucose levels decrease. Glycogen naturally tapers and stops being available around hour 20, and Gluconeogensis begins to pick up. Gluconeogensis begins around hour 16 and carries through as an energy source for the remainder of the fast until you eat again. This is how the body switches from burning food to burning body fat. Once insulin drops your body will switch to using stored energy for glucose needs.
There are some predictable hormonal changes with fasting:
--Insulin goes up when we are eating and goes down when we are fasting.
--Adrenalin and Noradrenalin go up when fasting, and you can feel energized while fasting
--Cortisol goes up when fasting
--Growth Hormone (GH) goes up significantly when fasting. Doubles after day 1 and continues to rise with up to 5 days of fasting. (Having low levels of GH contributes to things like osteopenia and sarcopenia.)
Advantages of Fasting
Simplicity--its free, convenient, saves time, and is flexible
Doesn’t require changes to your diet, ie. way-of-eating
Alternate Daily Fasting should not have any significant impact on Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), whereas calorie restriction does cause a statistically significant reduction in BMR.
Fasting Myths:
· Your brain needs you to eat 130 grams of glucose per day- This is not true. The body will create glucose from ketones, etc.
· You can not fast for more than 24 hours- Not true. This has been proven many times with religious fasts.
· You will go into starvation mode and BMR will drop- Not true for fasting, but it is what happens with calorie restricted diets (ie typical dieting). You can drop your basal metabolic rate by the same amount that you reduce your calories. Also ghrelin hormone (the hunger hormone) goes up a significant amount with calorie restriction, while with alternating fasting or intermittent fasting, ghrelin only goes up a little and is not considered to be a significant amount.
· Hunger becomes a monster- Not true, the hunger will come in waves and will pass and as you get past 48 hours of fasting, the hunger waves seem to go away. We also see cravings decrease or even go away
· You will burn muscle- Not true. Another amazing point with fasting is that when you are doing these therapeutic fasts, and your body is using fats and ketones for energy, you will not breakdown proteins, so muscle wasting is not a concern.
Contraindications to fasting: breastfeeding, pregnant, children, history of eating disorder, and underweight or malnourished.
IMPORTANT: Medications may need to be adjusted so if you are on medication, you need to have these evaluated by your doctor before beginning fasting. We advise that everyone discuss with their health care provider if fasting is right for you BEFORE starting a fasting regimen. It is prudent to evaluate a few nutrient levels (for example: iron and B12) along with some other screening labs beforehand.
Intermittent fasting regimens (this is flexible):
16 hours fasting/8 hours eating
18 hours fasting/6 hours eating
24 hours fasting, 2-3 times a week
36 hours fasting, 2-3 times a week
Tips for Fasting:
It takes about 2 weeks to get your body acclimated.
Staying busy helps
Using coffee or green tea or black teas during the fast can help
Using sparkling water but it can't have artificial colors are sugars.
Amazing case study presented by Dr. Jason Fung
*69 yo man with a 35 year history of Type 2 Diabetes, on insulin for 11 years.
* Taking 160 units of long acting insulin and taking metformin
*Body Mass 28 at baseline (overweight)
*Under the supervision of his doctor and with medication adjustments, he began intermittent fasting 24-36 hours 2-3 times a week.
*Within 1 month, he was off of his insulin, and his weight also gradually came down
[Note: Do not do this without consulting with your doctor.]
Fasting is getting a little trendy but unlike other trends, fasting is unlikely to become a fad like the low fat craze, eating 6 times a day, low fat vegan, keto, etc. Fasting is associated with purification, and it has been naturally occurring since ancient times.
NOW MORE THAN EVER is the time to stay (or get) healthy! The healthier your body is, the less likely you are to get very sick! You will not find another team more committed to increasing the health of our community. We know the value of true health and how it is obtained.
For more information about some of the cutting-edge approaches we offer, and how we, as Functional Medicine practitioners, help people where the conventional system fails, visit Institute of Functional Medicine.
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If any of this sounds exciting to you, please make an appointment at Mint Health so you can find out if these treatments would be a benefit to you!
Sincerely,
Renee and the Mint Health Team