Fasting, autoimmune diseases and inflammation

Wow 2 days, great job! To be clear though can you please clarify what the definition of fasting is in this context? Is fasting total food starvation with water being allowed?

For me fasting is basically no food whatsoever. I drink water, sparkling mineral water, instant coffee with one aspatamine tablet and a splash of lactose free low fat milk (I allow myself one or two a day whenever I get hunger pangs as the coffee seems to get rid of these). I usually have a cup of hot water flavoured with a teaspoon of powered chicken stock each afternoon. And I reward myself in the evening with a cup of hot cocoa with two aspatamine tablets and the splash of milk. So as you can see, not quite total starvation, but as near as I personally can get and still feel comfortable. Today is day three and although I am still having to take ibuprofen first thing in the morning, today I went out and lugged home a bag of groceries. Considering last Saturday I could not move without pain, I think the fast is working. That is what keeps me going. There is a lot about fasting on the internet and YouTube, and I think much of it is about very short time frames, or like Micheal Moseley's diet, just severe calorie intake. But the few things I have read about autophagy suggest that it is the body's response to starvation, so I think that starvation means exactly that. Surprisingly, it is a lot easier to completely starve than to eat only a little or for a limited time each day. I sleep well, too, better than normally. I hope that by tomorrow I will be off the ibuprofen. I am already off the paracetamol. I take the former for its anti-inflammatory power, that is why I am still on that one. I plan to go to my disco dancing class on Thursday, so you can see how optimistic I am. wendyloish

Thanks, I'm going to give this a try. I can certainly relate to your optimism for something that you're seeing start to work, I've had similar success with pain reduction. A couple of months ago I started to blend a power mix of vegetables. fruit, seeds and turmeric for breakfast every day. I've solidly stuck with this on a daily basis and the results have been remarkable, I'm now longer taking any painkillers after years of Ibuprofen dependence. I've yet to see a marked improvement in my skin but when I've had such an improvement, I have real enthusiasm to keep going continuing to improve things where I can. A fast sounds like a decent option to shake things up again.

My first fast, a year ago, my younger son went on it with me. A sort of moral support. I lasted 5 days and felt amazing at the end of it. However, my son, who is in his 30s and reasonably fit and trim found that he felt awful after only a couple of days. He lasted 3 days. So I think it should be a question of listening to your own body and what it is trying to tell you. One thing, though, the main improvement that I have been able to get out of fasting and FODMAP is removal of pain and decreased back and joint inflammation. My fingernails are great now, but my toe nails are not 100%. For a long time the psoriasis in and around my ears lingered on, but, after a whole year on the anti-inflammatory diet it is finally gone. However I still get outbreaks triggered by heat, and recently we have had temperatures here of over 40 degrees. So I cannot say I am psoriasis free, even now. I should mention that I do still take my vitamin D tablets, along with vitamin E and vitamin C (I have high blood pressure and these two together help to limit brain damage in case of stroke). I hope the fasting works for you. Even 24 hours can trigger the autophagy. I just aim higher. wendyloish

The four days are up and I am eating again. And I can report being pain free, with my mobility restored. Last ibuprofen I took was late last night, and it is now after 5pm here. My conclusion, the fast worked and the inflammation has subsided. But it did take four days. My first fast, last Easter, I checked with the doctor beforehand, but now I have the confidence to go it alone. Good luck if you try this for yourself wendyloish