A major key to a long and healthy life: fasting or a ketogenic diet

[RunningDeer]

I wanted to add a thanks for the thread, Paul, and for the book recommendations (post added below) from Carmody’s thread. The first book is the discussion in the OP video and linked already. I'm switching between the two.

I agree about living a quality life which includes: clear mental faculties, prescription free, less to no aches and pains, and flexibility of mind and body.

It’s easy to slip into fears of what the tricksters brew up for our wellbeing by way of the environment and all. Bruce Lipton’s books are a quick, easy read to get one back on track in terms of realigning one's beliefs. For new members, check out this thread that included snippets and quick links with the video for those short on time: "We deprogram our ability to heal ourselves,” says Dr. Bruce Lipton.

Posted by Paul (here)

Posted by Carmody (here)
Most importantly, gut health is mental health is bodily health. The three are very intertwined.

... and mitochondrial health, the other essential bacteria in the body, in addition to our gut bacteria.

Mitochrondria are our cells main energy source. They are apparently bacteria with their own, distinct, genetic history, that became adapted to living inside our cells, in a symbiotic relation. They provide cells with energy (ATP) much more efficiently than basic fermentation, in exchange for having "room and board" (nutrients, safe accommodations and other cellular services.)

• Life - The Epic Story of Our Mitochondria: How the Original Probiotic Dictates Your Health, Illness, Ageing, and Even Life Itself, by Lee Know Nd
• Tripping Over the Truth: The Return of the Metabolic Theory of Cancer Illuminates a New and Hopeful Path to a Cure, by Travis Christofferson

[thunder24]

Posted by TargeT (here)

Posted by thunder24 (here)
what is everyone trying to extend life for?

quality of life & life extension are two very different things .

agreed

paul i appologize for being terse...

[RunningDeer]

Posted by thunder24 (here)
agreed
paul i appologize for being terse...

Posted by thunder24 (here)
dealing with someone who is dying of lung, liver and brain cancer at the moment i can tell you...goodluck, and quit breathing the air its toxic, that might help extend it...

Going through this now, and no doubt it's brought up the journey with your Dad before and after his passing (IIRC). It's understandable that you have these questions and feelings.

Thunder, don't forget to take care of yourself, too.

[Ewan]

Posted by thunder24 (here)

Posted by TargeT (here)

Posted by thunder24 (here)
what is everyone trying to extend life for?

quality of life & life extension are two very different things .

agreed

paul i appologize for being terse...

FWIW I never read your post as terse, merely a funny quip. (Maybe it is my sense of humour that is askew. )

[ErtheVessel]

Thank you for this information, Paul.

I just wanted to add that I believe a lot of the craving for carbs and sugar comes from intestinal parasites. I think that as a modern culture we are massively infested with parasites and within the mainstream this is taboo to talk about. Supposedly we are too "clean" to have them in our modern culture.

As far as I can tell, most cultures until quite recently (maybe the last 50 years) integrated some kind of annual parasite purge with their diet. All animals have parasites - it is part of the circle of life. They must be purged.

In my own experience, the lower my parasite load, the more I seem to naturally crave what is being called the ketogenic diet. I used to eat sugar, chocolate and carbs constantly, but now have very little craving for any of that.

I know the topic of parasites is discussed in other threads, so I don't want to derail your important discussion on this diet, but I wanted to offer a perspective on why so many people intensely crave sweets and carbs. Maybe the parasites are demanding to be fed.

[DeDukshyn]

Posted by ErtheVessel (here)
...
I just wanted to add that I believe a lot of the craving for carbs and sugar comes from intestinal parasites.

In the case of Candida infection (a multi cell fungus), this is certainly the case. The fungus has a way of getting you to feed it. Weird, but not as weird as the "zombie ant fungus", thank goodness


(in case one is curious ...)
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...cience-brazil/

[DeDukshyn]

 

There are two nutrients that can mimic the effects of caloric restriction. Those effects are the activation of certain genes and the deactivation of others (350+ gene changes actually), something the body does when overall calorie intake is reduced (fairly substantially - by 40%+) in order to facilitate the reduced caloric intake, and still function properly. The result of this change in gene activation leads to:

1) longer life - this is the only proven way to extend the life of an organism by any measureable amount
2) Less illness -- age related disease are reduced, or their onset greatly delayed - better health into older age.

Those two substances are resveratrol and thermally stabilized oxaloacetate . There may be others, but these two are known as caloric restriction mimics - as they have the ability to change over 350 different gene expressions that also happen when calories are reduced by 40%+.

Also, one must consider that a body creating energy as ATP also create free radicals that cause damage and the "aging" effect. You age slower, the less you eat / the less sugar you ingest and convert into ATP.

Both those substances can be bought from the supplement store, however resveratrol is quite unstable, and the efficacy in a supplement form is questionable. Where I work, we take extreme measures to guard against this rapid degradation (while manufacturing), using red colour lighting in all the processing rooms to cut out the light frequencies most responsible for the degradation, and then putting them in darkened capsules to add extra protection vs UV. Even then, I wouldn't buy it unless just made. Most of the resveratrol on the market is likely not even close to the potency claimed, due to this instability.

Unfortunately, one would need to drink several bottles of red wine a day to get a 'useful" amount of resveratrol from that

Oxaloacetate however, can be stabilized, but it's discovery as a CR mimic, is fairly recent, so research and studies are still ongoing, but so far it is looking pretty good. A thermally stabilized version is called BenaGene, and yes the company I work for sells it (although we didn't do the research, we just looked at the research, and safety, and decided that it was a novel enough product with some decent studies behind it (animal studies looked pretty good, human studies are still ongoing -- obviously these are long term). I can't get it for anyone so don't bother asking me I can however, provide info and a few research links if requested. There are other "me too!" brands, but I can't say whether any of them are thermally stabilized. Fun fact, I actually met the man who did all the animal studies - a bit of an odd fella, but a nice guy who's very passionate about his research.

Anyway, my point was just to bring up some interesting facts about caloric restriction, gene activation, and even how our nutrients can activate gene expressions in regards to overall health and longevity -- we really must take care with our bodies, the synergy between diet and gene expression, can be very powerful, either in appositive way or a negative way, as certain gene expression actually induce an increase aging and disease.

[Selene]

Okay, friends. I have been both fasting regularly (for overall health) and doing a ketogenic diet once a year-ish (to lose that famous fatal last five pounds) for the past 40 years. My normal daily diet for the past 30 years is what would be called Mediterranean these days: lots of fresh fruits, veggies, grilled fish, legumes, nuts, and very little wheat, dairy, refined sugars, meats or packaged brand-name snacks or fast foods. (Prior to that I was a vegan for ten years, long before the word had even been invented.)

At age 60+ (plus!) I have the medical stats of a healthy 20-something. No cholesterol issues, ‘perfect’ blood pressure, no insulin resistance, no arthritis, no meds of any kind…. No aging issues beyond the graying hair of someone twenty years younger. Whenever I go in for a routine checkup, if the medical tech or doctor doesn’t know me, they invariably do a double-take and confusedly check my chart with “Ummm… what year were you born..?” When I go through passport control, agents always look twice and I have to reassure them - yes, that’s actually me. (One French passport officer once handed me back my passport, bowed gallantly and said: “Madame, my congratulations…”)

So I am comfortable speaking from experience here.

Yes, both fasting and the ketogenic diet are absolutely wonderful and safe if properly observed. Yes, they are highly protective of your health. And ketogenic - relatively high protein and fats - diets can be observed for long periods if you can keep your carb intake down. Personally, I can’t – I love my fresh fruits and veggies too much, but that’s another mode, so I prefer another menu. It works for me.

There’s no “one size fits all” when it comes to nutrition. You must be guided by what feels best for your body. You must listen to your body’s health – not your mind or appetite or someone else’s opinion - and adjust accordingly.

Everyone’s body is unique. A unique combination of genetics, environmental influences, stress, food availability and intangibles. Your body decides; no guru or method can dictate.

Now, a few pointers:

I don’t know if this is you, Paul, or you are quoting someone here:

My personal immediate plans to adapt my diet:

Personally, I intend to do a one time fast of perhaps 5 to 7 days (I've never done a fast for more than a day before), and then switch to a ketogenic diet…. The conversion process takes 3 or 4 weeks, but apparently once one gets through the first few days of the week-long fast, the rest is easier.

Woah. Woah my dear friend. You’re going wa-a-a-a-y too intensely for comfort or lasting results here.

At your age (that’s anything over, say, 21 or so) digging into a major 5-7 day fast at the outset with no prior basic detoxing is simply a guaranteed way to fail painfully and give up any further progress in disgust and self-defeat.

Start simply with a series of one-day-a-week fasts before embarking on anything longer and more ambitious.

Your body has now stored decades of accumulated crap, heavy metals, sequestered toxins and garbage that will be dumped into your bloodstream all at once and make you sick, sick, sick. This is simply unnecessary. You will absolutely hate every minute of a longer fast, and more. All the caffeine, sugar, cigarettes, alcohol, junk food and crap you’ve ever ingested will rebound. You will be physically hammered – and you don’t need that. No one is strong enough – I mean that. No one is. You don’t need that right now.

Be gentle with yourself. Your body is your best friend. Why hammer it now?

Much better and wiser to begin this welcome change with a one-day-a week cleansing fast, continued weekly, say, every Thursday for as many weeks or months that it takes to discharge these old poisons, until you can juice or water fast for a day – or two - without any ill effects. No headaches, no nausea or vomiting, no painful joints, no emotional blowups or brain fog, no diarrhea, constipation or tremors. Just nice, bright clarity and more and better energy, better skin, brighter eyes and a clearer mind. Wait for the clarity.

Once you’re good to go – then, of course, go for it. Do the 5-7 day fast next; you’ll be a pro. Evolve into your new diet, absolutely. You won’t be hampered by old issues; you’ll be in better control and awareness of your body and mind.

After all, you’ve spent – what? – 40+ years getting into this situation. Why do you expect to undo it in a week? That stuff is now stored in your bones – it will take time to chelate out.

No one should have to endure the physical horror of sustained detoxing in one go. A 5-7 day fast is for nuns, monks and devotees who are accustomed to doing the same four times a year at the turning of the seasons and for whom a week is no problem. It’s actually a very intense regimen, one that even I don’t do often.

I know: people selling the books and miracle cures want you to see “instant” and dramatic results – if you can do that – but please, don’t set yourself up for failure. Ease into this.

One day a week on a simple single-juice fast is a good way to start. Doesn’t matter what kind of juice – orange, watermelon, spinach, celery - just one ingredient plus water as needed. Drink all you want.

A few more hints:

• Don’t tell anyone what you’re doing when you fast. Just show up for work as usual, dress well, and carry a thermos of your juice like nothing. Be too busy for lunch out that day, maybe, if you’d rather. But don’t draw attention. Fast in silence. Go shopping.

• Expect to feel utterly crappy the first time, or two or three or more sessions. Just cope. It will get easier each time.

• And if by evening you can’t cope, have some vegetable soup or a salad on standby as a recourse. Don’t hit the burger bar.

• Congratulate yourself for whatever you’ve accomplished that day. Next Thursday, start again; it all counts for good.

• Be secure in the knowledge that once these accumulated toxins have left your body, they have gone for good. Period. It will never again be so difficult to detox. Whatever progress you make here is real progress. Start somewhere.

And then, yes, go for it! Your new life awaits.



All my very best wishes,

Selene

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by Selene (here)

I don’t know if this is you, Paul, or you are quoting someone here:

My personal immediate plans to adapt my diet:

Personally, I intend to do a one time fast of perhaps 5 to 7 days (I've never done a fast for more than a day before), and then switch to a ketogenic diet…. The conversion process takes 3 or 4 weeks, but apparently once one gets through the first few days of the week-long fast, the rest is easier.

Woah. Woah my dear friend. You’re going wa-a-a-a-y too intensely for comfort or lasting results here.

At your age (that’s anything over, say, 21 or so) digging into a major 5-7 day fast at the outset with no prior basic detoxing is simply a guaranteed way to fail painfully and give up any further progress in disgust and self-defeat.

Start simply with a series of one-day-a-week fasts before embarking on anything longer and more ambitious.

That was me, describing my personal immediate plans.

I understand that one's body and organ fats store toxins. It's sort of the body's way of "sweeping unwanted stuff under the rug", if it can't otherwise neutralize or excrete it.

If one goes on a fast, then fat is burnt, and any toxins that were trapped in that fat are released into the body. If more toxins are released this way than the liver, kidneys and other detox mechanisms can handle, then one gets sick. A variant of this is called the Herxheimer (Detox) Reaction.

Whether or not this will soon be a critical problem for me ... guess I'll figure that out ... I have reasons to suspect that I'll manage, one way or another.

Each person's situation is different.

[Napping]

"As best as I can tell, that wee bit of research, repeated by multiple researchers in multiple ways around the world, is not "seriously shaky" ... not even a wee bit shaky" <grin>.[/QUOTE]

The authors of this research are drawing long bows Paul, as you are.

Your going to detest this article, but it adds balance - and when you wade through more of the research, makes a hell of a lot more sense.

https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org...ersus-science/

Ah sucks to be the naysayer when its so much more satisfying to blame the evils of big pharma hiding the cure to cancer.

(I feel I'm arguing to a crowd that will refuse to see beyond the coverup, conspiracy etc etc on these health threads....I'm as open to conspiracy as anyone, but when you actually have a fair idea about a topic and are willing to invest reasonable energy in both ends of the argument without bias - this and some of the other health threads get very difficult to read.)

I'll stick to the esoteric stuff I have minimal knowledge about and enjoy contemplating...this stuff does my head in as a health professional....plus, I'm not great with conflict....lover not a fighter!

[Olam]

Posted by Calz (here)
I can chime in that I'm about 90% certain I cured myself of (male) breast cancer by this method.

I say 90% because I never confirmed getting or ridding myself of it ... why bother with western medicine as far as "maintenance"?

Couple years back I had pain and lumps in both breasts lasting several months.

I started with a 2 week fast (lemonade diet) and followed the advice in the book "The Cantin Ketogenic Diet" by Elaine Cantin.

After about 4 months I was fine. Have not noticed any reoccurrence since.

Nice to read you just now.
I did that myself , started with a 20 day lemonade fast and then jumped into keto mode.
Its been 3 weeks now and I can't say I am fully adapted yet but I feel great!.
I just can't wait to have my body go fulltime keto though as I have put back 4 pounds since the fast!
:-)

[TargeT]

Posted by Paul (here)
Whether or not this will soon be a critical problem for me ... guess I'll figure that out ... I have reasons to suspect that I'll manage, one way or another.

Each person's situation is different.

I've done some pretty extreme body hacking experiments on my self (lived in Alaska for 13 years... you get pretty bored in the winters).

I once did a month of 200-500 cal per day with H.C.G. (I.M.)... it's pretty crazy what your body can do; I even did some Jujitsu training during this period (though that turned out to be a bad idea.. haha I got exhausted super fast).

I took an ATP enhancer for a couple of weeks & turned into a human heater (but my body core temp was staying uncomfortably high so I quit due to comfort/concern).


I've done some extended fasts too, just water and tea for 7 days, I've tried all sorts of fun ways to kick my body into shape... but in the end I never changed my base habits, I'm trying to alter my base habits now & see how that does.


You never know until you try

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by Napping (here)
I'll stick to the esoteric stuff I have minimal knowledge about and enjoy contemplating...this stuff does my head in as a health professional....plus, I'm not great with conflict....lover not a fighter!

May your healing work succeed well, and perhaps you could throw a little bit of love to

• us big-pharma conspiracy theory lunatics,
• us Über-quack Dr. Mercola fans, and
• us sympathisizers of such rank quackeries, as homeopathy, acupuncture, reflexology, craniosacral therapy, Hulda Clark’s “zapper,” the Gerson therapy and Gonzalez protocol for cancer, and reiki.

Clearly we are in need of some love .

(above phrases and terms mostly quoted from your post and the post you linked to.)

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by TargeT (here)
I've done some extended fasts too, just water and tea for 7 days, I've tried all sorts of fun ways to kick my body into shape... but in the end I never changed my base habits, I'm trying to alter my base habits now & see how that does.

As the ravages of age have snuck up on me, I've found it much easier, the motivations much more compelling, to make dramatic changes in my diet.

I had no time for such nonsense, far less than you apparently have now, when I was your age .

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by Paul (here)
(above phrases and terms mostly quoted from your post and the post you linked to.)

For those who might be confused, my reply to Napping was sarcastic.

My honest position is that I have little patience with those whose basic arguments consist of

• a few, minimally substantiated claims on the topic at hand,
• rank ridicule of the rooters for the "alternative" viewpoints, and
• sympathy seeking for their own "poor, humble, caring" selves.

... very little patience .

[Jules]

Posted by thunder24 (here)
what is everyone trying to extend life for?

It is difficult to imagine wanting to live on and on in the world as it is at this time, so corrupt, poisoned, and not enough love. However if I was in a beautiful world with healthy challenges, love, and less of the evil I wouldn't mind enjoying that world a little longer. The truth is that whether I live for one more day or a thousand years, the only thing that I have that matters is now. To look around and be thankful for the good and do best I can do at this time until further notice is really all I can do. I hope things get better for you, as well as for humanity as a whole. Peace be with you.

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by Paul (here)
On a side note ... one might wonder if we went heavily ketogenic in our diet and metabolism, then why could we not live forever?

There's at least one other, separate, process that limits our body's lifetime. As explained in Can Science Make Us Immortal? and Are Telomeres The Key To Aging And Cancer?, the telomeres which protect the ends of our DNA get shorter each time a cell divides. Eventually, the telomeres get too short, and too much DNA is lost.

Here is a series of three articles, posted apparently back in 2010 (from the date on the one reply comment), that gives substantial more detail into the aging process, involving the main actor of this thread, mitochondria, not DNA chromosomes telomeres.

The articles use, with comfortable familiarity, many technical medical terms, so they are slow reading for most of us, myself included.

Here is the conclusion, at the end of the third article:

===========

Autophagy, the body’s mechanism for the removal and recycling of cellular waste, is key to rejuvenation, especially in the mitochondria, and is allowed to proceed only in the postabsorptive state, in which insulin signaling ebbs to its lowest (basal) level. With age, ROS-induced aberrant triggering of the insulin signaling mechanism in the postabsorptive state inhibits autophagy, preventing maintenance of plasma cysteine and intracellular glutathione levels throughout the night and early morning hours, and initiating a vicious cycle of progressively increasing oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. Since accumulation of cellular waste, decreased cellular glutathione concentrations and increased oxidative stress are common hallmarks of aging in a broad range of species, while lowered insulin signaling that promotes autophagy, whether resulting from genetic mutation or caloric restriction (with adequate nutrition), has been shown to extend lifespan in virtually all species tested to date, it seems likely that human life- and health-span may be extended by a protocol designed to re-establish youthful levels of mitophagy and postabsorptive cysteine concentrations, such as the one proposed by Dröge and outlined in this article.

===========

Here's my "broken English" translation of that conclusion, into something I can understand better:

===========

A key to a long and healthy life is cleaning up (autophagy) of cellular waste, especially in the mitochondria.

This cleaning mostly occurs when the body has not eaten for a few hours (postabsorptive state), when insulin levels are low. However high insulin levels aren't the only thing that inhibit this cleaning. The presence of too much oxidized and damaged (ROS stands for Reactive Oxygen Species) tissue also inhibits this cleaning.

This can create a viscious cycle ... with too much damaged tissue, the damaged tissue inhibits the body's self-cleaning of that damaged tissue. (Sounds like my desktop ... too much clutter gets in the way of cleaning up the clutter.)

Both insulin and damaged tissue suppress the levels of cysteine in the blood (plasma) and glutathione within the cells (intracellular), which can prevent cleaning up waste that would normally occur at night and in the early morning hours, or otherwise after not eating for a few hours or more.

In virtually all species tested, lowering insulin levels, between meals, extends lifespan, while increasing oxidative stress and lowering intracellular glutathione levels shortens lifespan.

Therefore it seems likely that human health and lifespan may be extended by improving the cleaning up of oxidized tissue, such as by raising cysteine levels in the blood while resting, hours after haven eaten, when insulin levels are also (should also be) low.

===========

The third of these articles (Part III, below) further reports that relatively small doses of N-acetyl cysteine (200 mg NAC, three times a day, for a total of 600 mg/day, for 8 weeks) reduced the insulin receptor activity (that suppresses cleaning up).

===

As a result of reading these three articles, which seem to fit well with the other results reported in this thread, I have just ordered CoQ10 + Alpha Lipoic Acid + Acetyl L-Carnitine HCl (Vitacost), which I intend to take three times a day, on rising with my morning glass of mineral water, mid-day, and before going to bed. Each dose contains:

• Acetyl L-Carnitine HCl -- 250 mg
• Alpha-Lipoic Acid -- 250 mg
• Coenzyme Q10 -- 200 mg

I'm also going to take Acetyl-Glutathione (Vitacost) for a month. It is the first convenient oral form of glutathione that I have found. When I had a health problem a few years ago, I took a few rounds of glutathione added to coffee enemas (inconvenient), and in homemade liposomes (of uncertain effectiveness). Most oral forms of glutathione are both (1) expensive and (2) useless, as the stomach acid destroys them. It's really the glutathione levels inside the cells that matter, not the levels in the blood or outside the cells (in the inter-cellular fluids), and there is risk that supplementing glutathione will suppress the body's own production of it, leaving one with excess glutathione where you don't need it, and even less glutathione where you do need it. But a short term regimen of glutathione can be (as best as I can tell) a useful boost at times.

On Dec 9, 2015, I quipped to some of the other moderators that I was "eating chocolate and sugar, on my new high carb diet". That diet was a failure. If I had wanted to explore the progression to pre-diabetic, then to diabetes 2, failing health and an earlier demise, then I suspect it would have done the job ... but I'd rather not travel down that path. Those mint chocolate honey patties from Heavenly Organics sure were yummy though <grin>.

===

Here are links to the three articles in this series (put your thinking cap on before tackling them):

1. Beyond the Mitochondrial Tune Up: Part I: Delaying the Mitochondrial Decay of Aging
2. Beyond the Mitochondrial Tune Up: Part II: The Methylation – Transsulfuration Connection to Mitochondria
3. Beyond the Mitochondrial Tune Up: Part III: Restoring Mitophagy – the Key To Mitochondrial Rejuvenation

[Napping]

Fighting for the same cause Paul, just through different lenses. The difference is, I always consider your lens, whereas you threw mine out with the bath water years ago. Your heart's in the right place, but steering people from best practice was my only concern. Ultimately most people faced with potential life ending cancer wil do a little more than reducing their carb intake I would hope, even you. Carry on.....

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by Napping (here)
Fighting for the same cause Paul, just through different lenses. The difference is, I always consider your lens, whereas you threw mine out with the bath water years ago. Your heart's in the right place, but steering people from best practice was my only concern. Ultimately most people faced with potential life ending cancer wil do a little more than reducing their carb intake I would hope, even you. Carry on.....

We disagree as to what constitutes best health care practice. We also disagree as to what constitutes best rhetorical practice in discussions by well intentioned people on a forum such as this. I could explain further what I mean by that second disagreement, but that would get us further off the topic of this thread, and I doubt it would be of any use for me to do so.

===

Back to the topic of cancer, one of the illnesses that we're less likely to get on a ketogenic diet, I enjoy listening to Dr John Bergman talk on this and other health topics. He's got lots of clinical experience, a delightful sense of humor, and keen insights into how both our bodies, and our medical profession and their (no longer our) government, work.

Here are some of Bergman's talks on such topics. I added the length in minutes and seconds to my title for each one. Feel free to start with the shortest one to see if he tickles your interest. Be prepared to end up listening to several of his videos.

Cancer Revolution, Health Renaissance (49m02s):

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=NqUUlhdd1Vk

How to Heal from Cancer & Prevention (40m23s):

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=IjhbxT0T9Sk

Woman's Cancer Revolution, Health Renaissance (48m44s):

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=YYj4OoPpBi4

The first two videos above were previously posted on Avalon by OBwan here.

===

This thread is fundamentally about ketogenic diets and the metabolic (not genetic) reasons that they work. The reason that ketogenic diets work, and the causes for the dominant chronic illnesses of our time, are both found more in our mitochondria (metabolism) than in our DNA (genetics).

A key application of this research and clinical work is in understanding, avoiding and treating the major chronic diseases of our time, such as cancer, heart disease, coronary disease, Alzheimer's, diabetes, autism, and so forth.

Dr John Bergman, the one in the above videos, is more of a clinician than a researcher. He is focused on getting his patients well, not on the theoretical underpinnings or on experiments on rats in a laboratory. So far as I have seen, he does not go into depth to explain the basis for his methods in the metabolism of mitochondria or other such scientific research.

The research and clinical work both lead me in the same direction here ... and as might be expected, different people are choosing to take leading roles in each such approach. The researcher endeavors to explain how and why it works as it does, and to suggest new approaches. The clinician endeavors to heal his patients, choosing whatever approaches he can obtain, based on what works best.

Personally, I approach this discussion more as a researcher, and my personal health more as a clinician ... a clinician with a clientele of one.

[DeDukshyn]

A note on fasting / detox ...

When fasting, drink 10-20 cups of clean fresh water per day. Food is usually about 90% water, once you break it all down into molecular components. Even a dry piece of bread is about 70% water. Thus one does not realize how much water one gets from their normal food diet. When fasting, you are cut off from this water source, and you really have to drink a lot more water, especially if during the process your body switches to aerobic energy, which assists in the fat burning process, that fat burning will release toxins that will require a very well hydrated system to remove effectively.

A high end multi, and maybe a little milk thistle, calcium d-glucarate, or SGS (sulphoraphane) supplementation to maximize detox effects will be very helpful, and reduce the stress on your liver. Also remember that detox really only happens at the cellular level, hence the supplements I recommended.