Fasting, Immunity and Ketosis

I don’t think anyone can dispute the benefits of fasting in this day and age amidst study after study touting the advantages it has on our health and human dis-ease. From potentially renewing stem cells to reversing or improving chronic conditions, fasting is something we all should investigate.

So we thought we would do a bit more analysis and share that knowledge with you. Fasting, in general, has been associated with a wide array of health benefits, not just weight loss, but improved heart health, blood sugar control, brain function, and cancer prevention to mention a few.

According to a recent study in Cell** testing in both mice and humans revealed that extended periods of fasting reduced white blood cell count considerably. This creates a change of the signaling pathways of hematopoietic stem cells, which gives rise to new blood and immune systems.

Intermittent Fasting-
Involves eating patterns that cycle between periods of eating and fasting and according to the Harvard Health Blog new research is suggesting that not all intermittent fasting approaches are the same, and some are actually very effective, and sustainable, especially when combined with a nutritious plant-based diet. Intermittent fasting can also be a great transition into water fasting and combined with fruit juice fasting.

Dry Fasting-
Dry fasting eliminates all food and liquid. There are two types of dry fasting, hard and soft.

With a soft dry fast, you can brush your teeth, floss, and shower without disrupting your fast.

With a hard dry fast, there is no exposure to any water for the duration of the fast. This means no showers, no brushing your teeth and no using any skincare products. It is important to note that dry fasting can be dangerous and should not be undertaken without extensive research or supervision.

Water Fasting-
Water fasting Is just what it says, and it involves consuming only water while on a fast, distilled seems to be the water of choice. Most people will drink from 2 – 3 liters of water a day and stay on the fast anywhere from 24 to 72 hours or more depending on overall well-being.

Fruit Juice Fasting/Cleansing-
Fruit juice fasting is lesser well known but highly beneficial in its own right. It involves consuming freshly made fruit juices, which can be done with various juices like citrus, watermelon or grapes which seem to be the most popular. Many people, once aware of the benefits, prefer this type of fast because the fruits are hydrating as well as astringent in the body. That is of course once they get over their fear of fructose. So juice fasting mixed with “intermittent fasting”, dry fasting or water fasting could take you into ketosis for a short period of time but the goal is to cleanse the body, rest the digestive system and let self-healing begin. Fruit juice fasting will clean the lymphatic system, which has long been overlooked by the allopathic medical community.

More On Understanding Sugars!

Keto Diet Fasting-
The ketogenic diet is a fasting-mimicking diet and some physicians are touting the benefits, but is it the diet they are pushing or the fasting benefits themselves?

With so many studies about the benefits of plant-based diets* and with The World Health Organization classifying processed meats (which includes ham, bacon, salami, and hotdogs) as Group 1 carcinogens (known to cause cancer) it makes you wonder why doctors would suggest their patients fast or diet this way… not to mention the high levels of saturated fats being consumed.

*Vegetarian Dietary Patterns and Cardiovascular Disease-

“Plant-based diets are the only dietary pattern to have shown a reversal of CHD. Additionally, evidence suggests benefits of vegetarian dietary patterns in both the prevention and the treatment of heart failure and cerebrovascular disease.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29800598

What are Ketones and what is Ketosis?
Ketosis – Ketosis is a metabolic state in which your body uses fat, rather than sugar, for energy. Your body shifts into ketosis when your blood sugar is low, and the glycogen in your muscles has been depleted.

It’s important to note that as ketones are produced, the acidity of the blood also increases. For most people, this isn’t an issue. For some people, like those with type 1 diabetes who don’t produce insulin, it can lead to ketoacidosis, a serious condition that can prove fatal.

Let’s take a look at a few studies that show the benefits of fasting:

—
**Prolonged Fasting Reduces IGF-1/PKA to Promote Hematopoietic-Stem-Cell-Based Regeneration and Reverse Immunosuppression

“Immune system defects are at the center of aging and a range of diseases. Here, we show that prolonged fasting reduces circulating IGF-1 levels and PKA activity in various cell populations, leading to signal transduction changes in long-term hematopoietic stem cells (LT-HSCs) and niche cells that promote stress resistance, self-renewal, and lineage-balanced regeneration.”

https://www.cell.com/cell-stem-cell/fulltext/S1934-5909(14)00151-9
—
Dietary Intake Regulates the Circulating Inflammatory Monocyte Pool

Caloric restriction is known to improve inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. However, the mechanisms by which reduced caloric intake modulates inflammation are poorly understood. Here we show that short-term fasting reduced monocyte metabolic and inflammatory activity and drastically reduced the number of circulating monocytes.

https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(19)30850-5
—
Impact of Intermittent Fasting on Health and Disease Processes

“The cellular and molecular mechanisms by which intermittent fasting improves health and counteracts disease processes involve activation of adaptive cellular stress response signaling pathways that enhance mitochondrial health, DNA repair, and autophagy. Periodic Fasting also promotes stem cell-based regeneration as well as long-lasting metabolic effects.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5411330/
—

So what’s best? While there’s more than one way to peel an orange so to speak…, as far as fasting is concerned, this is ultimately all about the body healing itself!

Fruit juice fasting along with intermittent, water fasting exhibit the most benefits. When your ph starts to change, when your immune system begins to improve, when you start flushing out the lymphatic system and get your kidneys filtering, your self-healing mechanisms kick in, and now all that energy previously used for digestion can be reserved and devoted to restoring the body to homeostasis.

“If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health.” -Hippocrates