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Study: Fasting for 72 Hours can Regenerate the Entire Immune System of Humans

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 9/13/2017 6:21 PM (GMT 0)
OK, the clickbaity title of this study is suspect and sounds way too good to be true, lol....but I was hoping to find out if anyone has experimented with fasting and/or has other legitimate studies on fasting and the immune system or at least about it's affect with UC?

I have read that resting the GI system is a good way to let it rest and heal.....anyone think it may live up to these claims?

ARTICLE LINK:

http://besthealthyguide.com/study-fasting-regenerate-entire-immune-system/
Posted 9/13/2017 7:30 PM (GMT 0)
i call bogus - but maybe i should read the article first ................... nah -
Posted 9/13/2017 7:30 PM (GMT 0)
Meh....many have tried fasting, and you don't think it was done in the olden days of this? The rest is more for a mental and emotional than healing. As far as resetting.....doubters.

Just an fyi....even with the colon and small intestine disconnected for bowel rest....the colon will still spew and purge even with no food going through.

Crohn's does better with gi rest and liquid intake considering its depth into the gastro tract wall .

q
Posted 9/13/2017 10:29 PM (GMT 0)
Went to the link read the article.

Was a bit confused as to how fasting and strengthening the immune system which in turn would increase the white blood cell count would help a patient with UC.

Being that the theory is that our immune systems are already overactive, our white counts go up and the white blood cells attack and destroy our mucosa.

Even so, that being said I do notice improvement in some of my symptoms after a 3 day fast. Of course this doesn't last long because I eventually have to eat some solid food.

Post Edited (newme22) : 9/13/2017 5:07:57 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 9/13/2017 10:46 PM (GMT 0)
This "study" has been all over the internet lately.

There are some kernels of truth to it, but the media (and blogs, and social media) have - as usual - blown it well out of proportion and drawn conclusions from it that simply aren't there.
Posted 9/14/2017 12:18 AM (GMT 0)
I've fasted (intermittent style) and thought it was helpful few years back. I thought it was taking work away from colon digesting but a "reset" also sounds plausible. When dogs get sick they don't eat much except grass. When I get sick I drink a lot (water, chicken broth) and dont eat much and it helps.

Because I do love eating regularly it surprised me that fasting was not awful.
Posted 9/14/2017 12:39 AM (GMT 0)
Paint me skeptical on the benefits claimed of fasting. Especially resetting the whole immune system.
Posted 9/14/2017 12:47 AM (GMT 0)
Yeah, that's one of the HUGE issues with the media reporting on things like this: To an immunologist, what does "resetting the immune system" even mean? It doesn't have any specific scientific meaning whatsoever.
Posted 9/14/2017 3:21 AM (GMT 0)
I was always huge on fasting. If I didn't eat, I didn't poop so much. it was fantastic. I've definitely gone without food for multiple days many times. it didn't reset anything for me sadly. Surgery did help.

besthealthyguide doesn't seem like the most reliable source ever.
Posted 9/14/2017 5:07 AM (GMT 0)
Yeah I've fasted numerous times, first for diverticulitis and then in hospital for uc. While I do think it helps to give the gut a rest I don't think it does much to reset anything
Posted 9/14/2017 10:00 PM (GMT 0)
Gut rest saved me from surgery, it works, period. Fasting in general is always a good thing in short duration. Most people won't consider it because they are loaded up with terrible food, soda, too much caffeine, loads of sugar and way too much red meat. First you have to break the bad dietary habits, then the true value of fasting might be better understood and utilized.

Post Edited (beatUC) : 9/15/2017 7:13:24 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 9/14/2017 10:16 PM (GMT 0)
Rubbish, beatUC. Anyone who ends up in hospital due to fulminant UC/Crohn's won't be eating anything, because they will be way too ill to eat. Like nssg and a few others said, not eating helped my symptoms (except with fulminant colitis where it made no difference), but it did absolutely sod all for the underlying disease. This carried on over some years, so it wasn't like I didn't give it a long enough try.

Fasting is so overrated. It's one of those things which is difficult for healthy people to do, so it's developed a virtuous reputation for being good for you. It's not really. A day or two without food will hardly kill you, but by and large the bowels are happiest and healthiest having food/stool continuously pass through them. In fact, in the prolonged absence of faeces, the colon becomes inflamed and develops a condition known as diversion colitis. (No, you can't pass stool, but you can pass mucus and blood.)

Post Edited (NiceCupOfTea) : 9/14/2017 4:20:57 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 9/15/2017 12:02 AM (GMT 0)
I totally agree with beatUC. Being able to do fasting is not just about not eating for 72hours. It is not hard to fast for few days. What is really hard is to be in control of what's in plate every day/24hours. I know that this can be sensitive to say. Still, I really believe that way we eat shows the way we respect ourselves.

Also, speaking about "resetting the immune system". How about immunosuppressants? They shut down the whole immune system, aren't they?
Posted 9/15/2017 12:17 AM (GMT 0)

owleyes said...
Also, speaking about "resetting the immune system". How about immunosuppressants? They shut down the whole immune system, aren't they?

No, they don't.
Posted 9/15/2017 10:44 AM (GMT 0)
You still have a functioning immune system, just taken down a few pegs. I've been on them for 3+ years and i haven't been any more sick than my normal.
Posted 9/15/2017 12:15 PM (GMT 0)
I think the fasting is going to be yet another area where there will be differing results (obviously). My last doctor believed foods didn't affect the condition at ALL. My new doctor has a more inclusive opinion and does think food can influence healing, but isn't the 'golden answer' because a permanent cure eludes us still.

I think by eliminating sugar and junk foods ---and concurrently providing a kaleidoscope of veggie goodness and all manner of soluble and insoluble fiber and ----pro and prebiotics--- I have helped to alter my micro biome. Make it a more inhabitable environment.

Maybe even the mesalamine alters the micro biome by rendering some of the 'underlying imbalance' unable to colonize, thus allowing the other bacteria to live in peace and operate the way they are supposed to?

I think (for me) each is a piece to a puzzle. And I do believe that patience and willingness to change things and do some experimentation pays off. BUT I am one who has seen positive changes.........what if I was a non-responder to all these changes?

I guess I'd then feel like I wasted a bunch of time and energy......and there is no way for me to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that all of these things ARE what tipped the scales towards remission. But I do wonder. I had symptoms for 20 months that got worse and worse until I began changing things.
Posted 9/15/2017 2:53 PM (GMT 0)

beave said...

owleyes said...
Also, speaking about "resetting the immune system". How about immunosuppressants? They shut down the whole immune system, aren't they?

No, they don't.

You'd be dead very quickly if immunesuppressants literally shut your entire immune system down. (That's basically what happens to people with full-blown AIDS.)

Only a small part of your immune system is suppressed. Just enough to try and dampen down the overreactive response in the gut which leads to the IBD we all know and love.
Posted 9/15/2017 7:33 PM (GMT 0)

MarjieKay said...
I

I guess I'd then feel like I wasted a bunch of time and energy......and there is no way for me to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that all of these things ARE what tipped the scales towards remission. But I do wonder. I had symptoms for 20 months that got worse and worse until I began changing things.

So basically you improve since coming here.....?
And what were you not using consistently since then?

q
Posted 9/17/2017 1:02 PM (GMT 0)
I used fasting as another strategy in my treatment arsenal when trying to pull myself out of a flare as I can't tolerate steroids or immunosuppressants. I don't do 72 hours because I find that my energy drops off dramatically already and as I work full-time I still need to function. Instead I don't eat at all during the day and will have one steamed piece of salmon for dinner. Sometimes I will have this for weeks if needed (with a ton of probiotics and mesalazine) but I believe it works. I definitely notice that my frequency goes down during this time and it also rids me of that awful sick feeling I have after eating. I believe that it shortens my flares.
When they say "resetting the immune system" I believe they must be referring to switching the T cell subsets from an activated state to a naive state, which are then not as prone to attacking our body. However, I didn't read the study so I'm not sure, but that's what immunologists usually mean with regards to the immune system, you can switch phenotypes, I know some anti-inflammatories do this in MS for example. Immunosuppressants also do not switch off your entire immune system, but they do dampen your entire immune system, which is why people are more prone to serious infections elsewhere in the body, they are not specific for the GI tract, with the exception of vedolizumab (apparently).
Posted 9/18/2017 4:58 PM (GMT 0)
Nowadays my UC is kept in complete control by being on the SCD diet. I do take some drugs as a precaution but I doubt they are doing anything, because I have tried coming off of them and it makes no difference. On diet - no flare, off diet - flare symptoms begin. Been like that for over 10 years.

However, before I knew about the diet, I would have flares and didn't know what to do. So I would just starve myself for 3 or 4 days consecutively, lose about 20 pounds in the process and then things would get back to normal. But it would only last about 6 months before a flare would come back. I've never tried starving myself since I discovered SCD, but maybe it's time to give it another try and see if it at least allows me to get off the diet for some period of time.

My bet is it probably won't work anymore since I'm too far along now, but we'll see.
Posted 9/18/2017 8:55 PM (GMT 0)
How long does gluten stay in the system? 3 days? Not that I'm saying the problem is necessarily wheat, but this could indicate why fasting for 3 days helps the immune system. Don't eat anything for 3 days and you're bound not to eat the offending protein as well. The problem is this is casting a very wide net so we're not sure what the offending protein is unless we just do an exclusion diet instead, which makes more sense to me. UC as well as most bowel disease is autoimmune, so "something" has primed our immune system to attack. Even healthy, natural Paleo food can cause damage to the colon if taken to excess (e.g. sulphur). I don't think that sulphur though is the cause of autoimmunity. A lot of people here vouch for the SCD diet. I also do best on no grains at all. Once the immune system recognises certain PAMPs in wheat as immunogenic, they also see the same patterns in all grains, as they're quite similar. I'd like to ask the people on SCD how they find the willpower to stick to this diet. I'm constantly hungry without grains and can't eat too much protein either. And I can't tolerate nuts or legumes so a healing diet is very difficult for me.
Posted 9/19/2017 10:58 AM (GMT 0)
Connor77, I agree with what you say that it doesn't fix the underlying problem, at this stage nothing does, but the most we can hope for is induction of remission.
To my mind, B cells aren't our main problem though, it's mainly the T cell response? Correct me if I'm wrong.
Posted 9/21/2017 6:17 AM (GMT 0)

brucen36 said...


However, before I knew about the diet, I would have flares and didn't know what to do. So I would just starve myself for 3 or 4 days consecutively, lose about 20 pounds in the process and then things would get back to normal.

You lost 20 pounds in 4 days? That's incredible. How many calories do you normally consume every day to maintain weight?
Posted 9/21/2017 9:20 AM (GMT 0)
I find eating after getting really hungry like tummy rumbling hungry, I have extreme pain afterwards so I cant imagine fasting for 72 hours and then eating after.

I also, like Connor, believe UC is caused by an unknown bacteria (think about the discovery of H Pylori and peptic ulcer and gastritis). This in turn makes it seem like an auto immune disease because your immune system is trying to get rid of the bacteria. Explains why probiotics help some people, same with antibiotics.
Posted 9/21/2017 3:06 PM (GMT 0)

Casey_LB said...

brucen36 said...


However, before I knew about the diet, I would have flares and didn't know what to do. So I would just starve myself for 3 or 4 days consecutively, lose about 20 pounds in the process and then things would get back to normal.

You lost 20 pounds in 4 days? That's incredible. How many calories do you normally consume every day to maintain weight?

I don't know how many calories, probably at least 2000. When I say 4 days, I only drank water and nothing else. Weight falls off fast. I had done that several times in the past.
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