The power of intermittent fasting

[Storm]

I read this interesting article at the BBC today.  It seems to mirror my experience with fasting as part of my previous religious background (Mormon, if you must ask).  Mormons fast one Sunday per month and donate the money they would have spent on food to charity.  Personally, I found fasting frustrating as a kid (very difficult), but more fulfilling as an adult.  That first meal after the fast was especially delicious.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19112549

I'm not very religious any more, however, I think fasting might have some health benefits due to caloric restriction.

[MediumTex]

It keeps the body alert and causes it to age more slowly, right?

Storm, since you are a former (or perhaps semi-former) Mormon, I hope we can come back to that topic some time and you can share your views from the rear view (or side view) mirror.

[notsheigetz]

I have fasted to the point of having religious/spiritual experiences. I think it probably has some similarities to NDE's.

[Gosso]

I have fasted to the point of having religious/spiritual experiences. I think it probably has some similarities to NDE's.

How long did you fast for?  Did you only drink water?

I find it interesting that almost all religions include some form of fasting.  I think over time it has turned into an annoyance, but there are likely many benefits, ranging from improved health to an enhanced connection with God. 

The longest I have gone is about 36 hours.  I definitely noticed the enhancement of my five senses, especially smell since I had decided to walk through a grocery store near the end of the fast.

[dualstow]

I had a great-aunt who fasted one month a day. She had a Jewish background, but I don't know if she fasted for religious reasons.
What I do know is that she lived into her late nineties and one day she died peacefully in her sleep with no apparent health problems.

[Reub]

Was she related to notsheigetz? 

[MediumTex]

I had a great-aunt who fasted one month a day.

She must have been a very clever person if she was able to fit an entire month of fasting into one day. 

[Ad Orientem]

Fasting in moderation is a good thing. Monks would probably disagree with me but I am not a fan of overdoing it. But then I again I am Russian Orthodox and the more observant members of the church will fast for about half the year. Lent is particularly severe. My personal pick for the hardest though is the Nativity Fast (pre-Christmas). Everyone around you is pigging out on cookies and all the various goodies at endless parties and office socials and you just sit there trying to live on bread and rice.

[blancalily]

Intermittent fasting has been shown to reduce the risk of cancer, increase longevity, improve brain health and aid weight loss.  Mark's Daily Apple has a good series on IF which explains the benefits and recommends several methods that don't seem so onerous to me.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-fast ... z22yup1sDN

[dualstow]

I had a great-aunt who fasted one month a day.

She must have been a very clever person if she was able to fit an entire month of fasting into one day.  :D

LOL one day a month! That post was made one of two recent days in which I didn't have my minimum 20oz of coffee. The other involved an attempted purchase at IKEA during which I repeatedly hit Debit instead of Credit simply because the Debit button matched the color of my credit card. Must have coffee.

Was she related to notsheigetz? 

I didn't know it was spelled like that, but if it means what I think it means then that is one rude member name. 

[notsheigetz]

How long did you fast for?  Did you only drink water?

I find it interesting that almost all religions include some form of fasting.  I think over time it has turned into an annoyance, but there are likely many benefits, ranging from improved health to an enhanced connection with God.  

The longest I have gone is about 36 hours.  I definitely noticed the enhancement of my five senses, especially smell since I had decided to walk through a grocery store near the end of the fast.

3 weeks is the longest I can remember with nothing but water. Never did the 40 days and 40 nights that Jesus and Moses went for.

At other times I went for longer periods eating only a few bites a day. Not technically fasting I suppose, but the results were similar.

I don't know about enhancement of the five senses but it does seem to make you aware of a sixth sense of seeing things clearly as you have not seen them before. I compared it with NDE's because unlike dreams it seems entirely rational.

[notsheigetz]

I didn't know it was spelled like that, but if it means what I think it means then that is one rude member name. 

For the record.....

Shkutzim (Yiddish)
a pejorative term used by Jews against non-Jewish men, especially those perceived to be anti-Semitic. The singular is sheigetz.[83]

[Ad Orientem]

There is a short article explaining the fasting discipline of the Orthodox Church.
http://oca.org/liturgics/outlines/fasti ... the-church

At one time Roman Catholics followed a similar discipline but it has been greatly relaxed in recent years.

[MachineGhost]

Intermittent fasting nowadays seems to be an offshoot of continuous calorie restriction that has the same health benefits.  I think most would find it easier to do the latter than the former.  Having to fight the hunger pains every time you want to fast is torture, though it does go away after 3 fasting days or so.  True hunger is reputed to be felt in the throat, not in the gut where the second brain is.

The longest I've fasted was 2 weeks with only fruit juice.  The "spiritual high" effect is from ketosis or your muscle and organs being broken down for protein.

There was some truth to Steve Jobs' insistence on not bathing.  When you avoid eating animals and its byproducts, your sense of smell and taste become much sharper, you give off none to a lot less body odor, your breath doesn't smell rank in the morning, and what comes out the other end isn't noxious.  The same effect occurs during extended fasting (although you don't defecate).  It's actually quite a enjoyable perk of being a vegan, strict vegetarian or a raw foodist.

[Storm]

I didn't know it was spelled like that, but if it means what I think it means then that is one rude member name. 

For the record.....

Shkutzim (Yiddish)
a pejorative term used by Jews against non-Jewish men, especially those perceived to be anti-Semitic. The singular is sheigetz.[83]

So essentially your nickname is "not-non-jewish"?  I salute you, good sir, for the double negative...



Also it seems like a pretty cool inside joke that only those who speak Yiddish will understand...

[Xan]

I had a great-aunt who fasted one month a day.

She must have been a very clever person if she was able to fit an entire month of fasting into one day. 

'That's three faults, Kitty, and you've not been punished for any of them yet. You know I'm saving up all your punishments for Wednesday week—Suppose they had saved up all MY punishments!' she went on, talking more to herself than the kitten. 'What WOULD they do at the end of a year? I should be sent to prison, I suppose, when the day came. Or—let me see—suppose each punishment was to be going without a dinner: then, when the miserable day came, I should have to go without fifty dinners at once! Well, I shouldn't mind THAT much! I'd far rather go without them than eat them!

-Alice, in Through the Looking Glass

[dualstow]

Sorry to continue this off-topic branch, but I have to ask-

I didn't know it was spelled like that, but if it means what I think it means then that is one rude member name.  8)

For the record.....

Shkutzim (Yiddish)
a pejorative term used by Jews against non-Jewish men, especially those perceived to be anti-Semitic. The singular is sheigetz.[83]

Ah, so I means what I thought it meant. Isn't that a little like having a username, not-{n-word}?

[Lone Wolf]

I'm not very religious any more, however, I think fasting might have some health benefits due to caloric restriction.

As a followup to the point on calorie restriction, a study on caloric restriction in rhesus monkeys just wrapped up.  Interestingly, it found that CR had no effect on average lifespan.

This doesn't dispute the practice of fasting, of course, but it could mean that any benefits fasting might carry are separate from CR.  Or not!  It's just one study, as they say.    Found it interesting, though, as talk of the health benefits of CR has been a big topic recently.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/30/scien ... d=pl-share