If under-eating is so harmful for our body, why is fasting (both short and long) very beneficial for body healing?
I'd like to receive a scientific response.
Thanks in advance!
Are you actually talking about water or juice fasting?
Permalink Reply by blueyesvegan on I'm talking about water fasting!
I read a study somewhere where a group of scientists starved earthworms, as soon as the worms began to lose weight they would feed them again, and then starve them again etc etc. The starved earth worms lived 2.5 times longer than the regular earth worms.
Right before I read that study I had read about a woman who claimed that she stayed young looking by having a slow metabolism. She ate fruits and vegetables but not a lot of them so she was normal weight... She said that if your metabolism is too fast then you will damage your body? I can't fully remember. I would think that a fast metabolism would be preferable over a slow one. But obviously starving the earth worms slows down their metabolism, maybe this is linked?
Either way, I'm all for eating what you feel you need and exercising.
Permalink Reply by Perry Fullerton on In the book Eat Stop Eat by Brad Pilon he refers to quite a few studies that show fasting's effect on muscle loss and metabolism. Here are some of the main points:
"In one study, researchers found that the when they made people fast for 3 days, their metabolic rate did not change.
In another study by a different group of researchers, people who fasted every other day for a period of 22 days also had no decrease in their resting metabolic rate.
In addition, people who were on very low calorie diets and on a resistance exercise program (i.e. lifting weights) did not see a decrease in resting metabolic rate, and these people were only eating 800 Calories a day for 12 weeks!
Research on men and women undertaking a very low calorie diet found that even with a 12 week long diet consisting of only 800 Calories and only 80 grams of protein per day, the people in the study were able to maintain their muscle mass as long as they were exercising with weights three times per week.
In another study, men restricted their caloric intake by eating 1,000 Calories less per day than they normally ate for 16 weeks. They took part in a weight training program 3 days a week and were able to maintain all their muscle mass while losing over 20 pounds of body fat!
In yet another study, women undertaking a reduced calorie diet for 16 weeks were also able to maintain their muscle mass by training with weights three times per week."
So apparently as long as we do resistance training and don't fast for longer than three days we will not alter our metabolism or our muscle mass. Just an FYI for those interested.
Permalink Reply by blueyesvegan on 80 grams of proteins aren't few!
Permalink Reply by Perry Fullerton on True. Although 800 calories a day is extremely low as well, even for daily intermittent fasting. Bert Herring, who wrote the Fast-5 Diet recommends twice that amount for someone who would normally consume 2400.
I've been doing daily intermittent fasting for 37 days now and have actually noticed muscle gains. Now I haven't taken measurements however I do feel like I'm looking bulkier and my pull ups and push ups have increased. (maybe because I weight less though?)
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