Fasting for three days can regenerate entire immune system, study finds

a reply to: Indigent

because you take insulin.

i would never advise you to stop taking insulin....but if you test your blood sugar before taking it, you might find that eating under 60g carbs daily will reduce your insulin intake.

I've thought about doing the strict intermittent fasting diet. It's where you eat no more than 500 calories in 24 hours, every other day - then eat whatever you want every other day. On the fasting day, you eat very clean - no processed sugar or refined carbs. There was a study done that showed people who did this not only lost weight, but it eliminated or greatly improved existing conditions like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, etc. The weird thing was, they had two different groups who either ate fairly healthy on their "eating" days, or ate really bad stuff like fried foods and sugary deserts. It didn't matter. Both groups experienced the same benefits from the intermittent fasting. I would imagine it's because you are essentially detoxing your system on the fasting day.

Me and my then girlfriend the 3 day fasting diet about 2 years ago. It was super hard. If you dont have to go to work and you can just sit around for 3 days and not see anyone it would be slightly easier.

a reply to: RickyD
Hmmmmm...that may cause a problem or 2. I wonder if there is a drink and natural sugar combo that would sustain you for 3 days.

Glycogen (glucose stores in the body) last for approximately 2 days then your body flips into ketogenesis (fat burning for energy).

Hello all! I do Cell tower work, which involves climbing rigging and all sorts of fun stuff. The point is it's a very demanding job physically and mentally.

I also live a life style of Intermittent fasting, and for myself, IT WORKS!

I eat from, noon to 8 pm each day, If i start eating at 1 pm, I end at 9 PM. During the last few hours of not eating, My mind and body feel faster, sharper, and very clear. Normally I have a meal at noon, and then another meal around 730 PM, with the potential for a snack somewhere in between. Water is a huge part of my fasting life. Also tea with no sugar gets me going in the morning. I have gone up to 24 hours of fasting, sometimes eating isn't convenient with my work schedule.

I rarely get sick, however the last time I took a break from Intermittent fasting, I had horrible bout with some food I ate, which i believe would not have happened had I been on my fasting.

I have also found benefits from fasting such as consistent digestion, and bowel movements.

If you have health issues I recommend it, I have seen in another close to me vast health improvements from fasting, and this person has a high rate of something always being and issue, including Staph and other frustrating illnesses, Which have yet to be explained by doctors.


On a side note 16 hours no calories 8 hours eat all you want. I may try a 3 day fast, as not eating saves me money. Even when just on the normal schedule described above.

Best of luck anyone who does try this, if you get a bit hormonal give it a week or two, and your body will sort itself out.

Fasting is very old, people in ancient times did it for many reasons, the one that we remember the most is from bible accounts, remember the famous 40 days Jesus fasting, every religion encourage fasting.

But it seems that it has benefited people and has enhance humans body very much, regardless of religious links.

Is many ways to fast, from fasting for rejuvenation, to lower blood pressure, blood sugar and many other targeted reasons for it.

My mother used to fast every week for one day for weight control when she was younger.

I did it a few times, perhaps I should start doing it again just for wellbeing.

I have eliminated processed foods, carbs and added sugars from my diet, I have to say that I am doing great so hey it doesn't hurt adding a fast to the routine also.

originally posted by: g146541
a reply to: FlyersFan
Yeah 30 full days sounds overboard, 3 hours (shelter) 3 days (water) 3 weeks (food).
Well unless you drink beer like the monks I guess, I believe alcohol is off the table for muslims.
I may be wrong as I am definitely not a studied man in such cases.
But 30 solid days seems too much.
I guess they could juice though.

I like your statement about 3 hours, 3 days and 3 weeks. That goes well with the hierarchy of priorities of wilderness survival - shelter first, water second and finally food. Of course in extreme conditions 3 hours for shelter may be too much time, but it sounds like a good general "rule of thumb". Thanks, I'll remember that one and use it in the future.

ETA: I like the beer reference. The "what if you were stranded with only beer, how long would you survive?" question has been discussed with my friends and our conclusion was about one week then you died from the hangover.

Makes sense. Tare down the old foundation to create a new. After a while the bad energy in your system just lingers. Nice post!

Its very hard to not eat anything when you are surrounded by numerous amounts of shops which sell food!

originally posted by: TruthxIsxInxThexMist
Its very hard to not eat anything when you are surrounded by numerous amounts of shops which sell food!

Eating on a regular schedule is just another habit we could benefit from breaking from time to time. The shops purpose is to sell your food, your purpose is to be healthy. Conflicting priorities in most cases.

I really hope you can all get this in your countries, it is on the BBC iplayer:

Eat Fast and Live Longer

I tried to pull it up on YT, but it has been broken down into small excerpts.

This 60 minute documentary explores the benefits of fasting, and the pitfalls.

Health fanatics have always told us that fasting bolsters good health.

This is good that science is supporting this.

One must always be careful.

I usually like to fast when I am doing less work, such as on vacation, or other times when strenuous work can be avoided.

Juicing fasts are also good or that new produce they have Nutribullet that breaks down fruit and vegetables in a liquid form

People on meds though be careful.

a reply to: Indigent

I've tried encouraging people to fast, but this stupid culture of consumption makes it tough. Maybe now it will be easier, especially in light of the situation with antibiotics.

Thanks for the thread.

Interesting, most people think of fasting as starvation and an express trip to the ER. Evidently we're incorrect there.
I've been considering implementing fasting as a last-ditch effort to get a better handle on my CFS/ME. I've done the varying degrees of exercise, I've tweaked my diet every which way possible, taken every feasible supplement (be it increasing what I do take, introducing new ones, etc) They all have worked to some degree or another, but they never last. Finding a working permanent balance has been nothing short of an uphill battle.

People like me are really wary of fasting, it's perceived as a drastic change the body might "hit the wall" with. Military folks might remember hitting the wall, so to speak, in boot camp. While the difference is it's what goes in the body for us and not the exertion, it's the same bodily stress effect that most CFS/ME people strive to avoid because of how much more pronounced & debilitating it is for us. Still, I'm very tempted to try a fast. I've tried everything else I can...

a reply to: Indigent

I have been without food many times, sometimes by choice sometimes not. The longest was 14 days.

You feel no hunger after the third day but you do feel great! if you move and do all your usual stuff, you stay fit, if you fast and don't move you lose muscle and feel really weak.

It seems all the religions recommend fasting and Jesus and prophets did fast also.

Somehow I knew that once purchasing health insurance became the law of the land, "breakthroughs" such as this would increase in occurrence. Expect more to come this year.

a reply to: Indigent

I'll have to try this. SnF!

a reply to: Indigent
The article says that fasting might be a good idea if you've had chemotherapy or something like that which has damaged your immune system (from the OP story):

“Now, if you start with a system heavily damaged by chemotherapy or ageing, fasting cycles can generate, literally, a new immune system."

Prolonged fasting forces the body to use stores of glucose and fat but also breaks down a significant portion of white blood cells.

But if you haven't had chemotherapy, why do you want to break down a significant portion of perfectly good white blood cells? This sounds like more of a bad thing than a good thing if you're already healthy and have a healthy immune system like me. I never fast and I seriously doubt any of you are healthier or have had less illnesses than me.

So if you've had chemotherapy, give it a try. But I've never had chemotherapy as I've never had any major illness, and hardly any minor illnesses, maybe a cold or a flu every 5 years. I don't see anything in the article that convinces me it's a great idea for a healthy person who hasn't had chemotherapy to do this fasting.

It says fasting destroys white blood cells, but in my case without chemo I have no reason to suspect there's anything wrong with the white blood cells I've got, so why would I want to destroy them and make new ones? To me this makes about as much sense as killing your dog and getting a new dog. If the dog is healthy, why do it? If the dog is terminally ill and suffering, then I can understand it.

originally posted by: Watchfull
I really hope you can all get this in your countries, it is on the BBC iplayer:

Eat Fast and Live Longer

I tried to pull it up on YT, but it has been broken down into small excerpts.

This 60 minute documentary explores the benefits of fasting, and the pitfalls.

Found it complete on Dailymotion.

Thanks for the film reference. Am going to watch it now.

And We Muslims for the love and mercy of God ,...do fast one entire month(ramadan), every year..and thus it seems he's raining his mercy(immune cure) to his believers!