This article originally appeared in Health Science Magazine.

In the world of our ancient ancestors, fasting occurred primarily by force, not by choice.  Humans would fast when resources became scarce, such as when Spring came late. The ability of humans to fast was a biological necessity born from the disproportionate use of glucose by the brain. Were it not for the biological adaptation we call fasting, our species would never have survived. During fasting, the body preferentially utilizes fat for energy and breaks down other tissues in inverse order to their importance to the body.
 
Today, the environment of scarcity has largely been eliminated in the industrialized countries and has been replaced by an environment of excess. Surprisingly, the physiological process of fasting, which once kept us from dying of starvation, can now help us overcome the effects of dietary excess from the consumption of “pleasure trap” chemicals including oil, sugar, and salt as well as highly processed flour products and factory farmed animal foods that have resulted in an epidemic of obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, autoimmune disorders and cancer.  We can use the natural process of fasting to counteract the effects of poor diet choices and to help make the transition to a health promoting diet.

Would fasting help?

In the past 30 years, I have witnessed the effect of medically supervised, water-only fasting in over 10,000 patients.  There is nothing that is more effective than fasting when it comes to treating the consequences of dietary excess.  Not every condition will respond to fasting. Genetic disorders and certain types of kidney disease, for example, may not respond. But many of the most common causes of premature death and disability respond, and often spectacularly.
 
Who benefits from fasting? The following are six of the most common conditions that respond well.
 
1. Obesity is primarily the result of addiction to the artificial stimulation of dopamine in the brain by the consumption of chemicals added to our foods, including oil, sugar, salt and dairy products. The answer to obesity is to adopt a health-promoting diet derived exclusively from whole natural foods including fruits and vegetables, raw nuts and seeds and the variable addition of minimally processed, non-glutinous grains and beans. When fully implemented, in conjunction with adequate sleep and activity, predictable, consistent weight loss will occur that averages 1.5-2 pounds per week for women and 2-3 pounds per week for men.
 
If your goal is to lose excess fat and you have trouble adopting a health-promoting program, a period of fasting may be of benefit. The protected environment of a fasting center provides a focused opportunity for intense education and the social support needed to escape the addictive forces of the dietary pleasure trap. The fasting experience functions like rebooting a corrupted computer. After fasting, whole natural food is once again appealing, making adopting a health-promoting diet more achievable. 
 
If your goal is to lose weight and escape the pleasure trap of processed foods, a period of fasting from a few days to a few weeks may be beneficial.
 
2. The dietary pleasure trap is insidious, and the con-sequences of poor dietary choices go beyond obesity.  Overstimulation by artificially concentrated calories can confuse normal satiety signals resulting in persistent overeating. Over time, this results in the degenerative diseases of dietary excess including high blood pressure and the resulting cardiovascular disease.
 
For people who have fallen into the dietary pleasure trap and developed high blood pressure, medically supervised water-only fasting has been shown to be a safe and effective means of normalizing blood pressure and reversing cardiovascular disease. In a study conducted at the TrueNorth Health Center in conjunction with Cornell University Professor T.Colin Campbell, the use of fasting for 2-4 weeks in patients with stage 3 hypertension resulted in reductions of systolic blood pressure of over 60 mm/Hg. This is the largest effect size of any study published to date.  At the TrueNorth Health Center we routinely see patients normalize their blood pressure and eliminate the need for medications.
 
If your goal is to normalize elevated blood pressure and reverse cardiovascular disease, a period of medically supervised fasting may be beneficial.
 
3. Diabetes is a condition that is increasing in epidemic proportions. Largely the consequence of dietary excess,  the resulting alteration of physiological functions such as high blood sugar levels and insulin resistance results in a cascade of consequences including blindness from retinal damage, heart attacks and stroke, reduced healing capacity, nerve damage, impotence, gangrene, etc. Fasting, along with a health-promoting diet and exercise program, can dramatically increase insulin sensitivity and bring blood sugar levels under control.
 
If your goal is to normalize blood sugar levels and avoid or eliminate the need for medications and their consequences, a period of fasting may prove beneficial. Most patients with Type 2 diabetes are capable of achieving normal blood sugar levels without the need for medications.
 
4. Drug addiction has become the norm. Nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, and a plethora of prescription and recreational drugs dominate the lives of the majority of people living in industrialized society.  The supportive environment of a fasting center can be helpful in getting safely through withdrawal symptoms and more effectively establishing healthy habits while eliminating the perceived need for addictive substances.
 
If your goal is to escape addiction and live a life free of dependence on health-compromising chemicals, a period of fasting may prove to be beneficial.
 
5. Autoimmune disorders including Arthritis, Lupus, Colitis, Cohn’s disease, Asthma, Eczema, Psoriasis, and environmental allergies are becoming more common and more debilitating. One possible contributing factor to the aggravation of autoimmune disease involves gut leakage. The absorption of antigenic substances into the blood stream as a result of increased gut permeability appears to be a factor in the aggravation of these conditions.  Fasting can help to normalize gut permeability and ease the transition to a health promoting, low inflammatory diet.  Many of our patients are able to effectively manage the symptoms of autoimmune disorders, thus eliminating the need for medication.
 
If your goal is to eliminate the problems associated with autoimmune disorders, a period of medically supervised fasting may be an important component in a comprehensive program designed to save the quality and quantity of your life.
 
6. Exhaustion, both physical and emotional, has become increasingly common in our fast-paced lives. Feelings of fatigue and depression can compromise the quality of your life. Reliance on artificial stimulants compounds the problem. The lack of adequate sleep and exercise and poor dietary and lifestyle choices work together to interfere with  the ability of many people to enjoy their life or fulfill their potential. Fasting can give your body and your mind a complete rest.
 
If your goal is to “recharge” your system, fasting may help you accomplish your goals.
 
When properly utilized, fasting can be a powerful tool in helping your body do what it does best…heal itself. It is the answer to a surprising number of questions.
 
 

Type 2 Diabetes Associated with Increased Intake of Animal Foods.

The effects of diet and lifestyle on health are notoriously difficult to ascertain. In order to begin to tease out patterns, researchers measure many variables in order to account for confounding variables (ie, factors that also correlate to the thing being studied).

To further make research more difficult, huge numbers of people must be tracked in order to get enough data to make meaningful analyses.  The Health Professionals Follow-Up Study has followed 51,529 middle-aged (age 40–75 y at baseline) male health professionals. That’s more people than live in my hometown! Using data from the Health Professionals study, the researchers from Harvard University found a strong, positive association between a low carbohydrate diet high in animal protein and fat and incidence of type 2 diabetes.¹

The study used data from 40,475 participants who were free of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or cancer at the time they entered the study. Every four years, the biannual questionnaire mailed to the participants included a section that assessed dietary habits. Based on the responses in the questionnaires over 20 years, the participant’s diets were scored on their carbohydrate, fat and protein content.  The study also measured differences in protein and fat sources - whether they were of vegetable or animal origin.

After accounting for variables such as smoking status, family history, and body mass index that might also be associated with incidence of type 2 diabetes, the scientists found an increased risk of type 2 diabetes with a low carbohydrate diet high in animal protein and fat. However, a low carbohydrate diet high in vegetable protein and fat was not associated with onset of type 2 diabetes.

¹Am J Clin Nutr 2011 93: 4 844-850

This week, I was planning to write about recent research that found a strong, positive correlation between a diet including animal proteins and type 2 diabetes.  The study "Low-carbohydrate diet scores and risk of type 2 diabetes in men" was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. As I was reading through the articles, though, I found a number of articles in the current volume of the journal that support (albeit indirectly) a whole-food, plant-based diet. Here''s a few of the articles I found:

• A high-fat diet impairs cardiac high-energy phosphate metabolism and cognitive function in healthy human subjects. The American journal of clinical nutrition Vol: 93 Issue: 4 ISSN: 0002-9165 Date: 04/2011 Pages: 844 - 850.
• This was a small study (n=16) of young males that compared a high fat diet (75 +/- 1% of calories) to a standard diet (23 +/- 1%). The researchers measured cardiac functions and cognitive functions. They found that the high fat diet decreased a major biomarker for cardiac function. They also found reduced cognitive abilities from the high fat diet. The real question to me is how did anyone manage to consume a diet with 75% of calories from fat...I can see why they had to use young males in the study.
• High-protein, reduced-carbohydrate weight-loss diets promote metabolite profiles likely to be detrimental to colonic health: The American journal of clinical nutrition Vol: 93 Issue: 5 ISSN: 0002-9165 Date: 05/2011 Pages: 1062 - 1072
• This study followed 17 obese men and put them on both a high protein, moderate carbohydrate diet and a high protein, low carbohydrate for 4 weeks at a time. The researchers concluded: "After 4 wk, weight-loss diets that were high in protein but reduced in total carbohydrates and fiber resulted in a significant decrease in fecal cancer-protective metabolites and increased concentrations of hazardous metabolites."
• Diet, vegetarianism, and cataract risk: The American journal of clinical nutrition Vol: 93 Issue: 5 ISSN: 0002-9165 Date: 05/2011 Pages: 1128 - 1135
• I found this study one of the more interesting because they had a large sample size (n=27,670). The results they published: "There was a strong relation between cataract risk and diet group, with a progressive decrease in risk of cataract in high meat eaters to low meat eaters, fish eaters (participants who ate fish but not meat), vegetarians, and vegans."

The last study in the list is just part of the growing body of large-scale evidence supporting the hypothesis that a whole-food, plant-based diet will lead to better health outcomes that a diet rich with animal foods and processed products. Hopefully I''ll get around to a more in-depth analysis of the type 2 diabetes study next week.

Metabolic syndrome is a group of risk factors associated with stroke, diabetes, coronary heart disease. One of the primary indicators of metabolic syndrome is extra weight around the waist. The indications of metabolic syndrome are any three of the following: blood presssure greater than 130/85 mmHG, fasting glucose greater than 100 mg/dL, large waist circumference (40+ in for men, 35+ in for women), HDL cholesterol under 40 mg/dL for men or 50 mg/dL for women, or triglyercides greater than 150 mg/dL. A diagnosis of MetS indicates that you are at much greater risk of stroke, diabetes, and coronary heart disease.

Researchers at Loma Linda University found that a vegetarian diet was associated with a lower risk of metabolic syndrome.  The study, published in March issue of DiabetesCare, analyzed 773 subjects in the Adventist Health Study 2. Subjects self reported their dietary habits via a food questionnaire (vegetarian, semi-vegetarian, or non-vegetarian).  This data was used to determine association between diet and risk factors (HDL, triglyercides, glucose, blood pressure, and waist circumference).

When compared to the non-vegetarians, vegetarians had lower means of the risk factors, except for HDL, and they had lower risk of Metabolic Syndrome.

Research by doctors and scientists at the Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City, UT revealed metabolic changes during fasting that could be linked to better health. The most recent study confirmed their finding from an earlier study that was published in the October 2008 Journal of Cardiology. The original study found a correlation between the fasting behavior of members of the Latter Day Saints church and reduced risk of Coronary Artery Disease.  The study says,

The most recent study has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal (at least that I have found), but several news sources picked up the press release from the Intermountain Medical Center. According to the press release:

The results of these studies is no surprise. At TrueNorth we've fasted thousands of people over the past many years, and heart disease is one condition that consistently responds to a fasting protocol. For more information about the research on fasting that we've done, click here.

Forks Over Knives is a new feature length film that will change your mind about what you eat.  The film follows Dr. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn as they expose how what we eat affects our health. The work of these two researchers has been truly groundbreaking in the field of diet and health.

Go ahead, say it out loud: sar-co-pee-nee-uh.   The word may make you blush a bit, but it's merely the fancy medical term we use which means a loss of muscle tissue.  Once you learn about age-related sarcopenia I think you'll agree that it's something you really do want to prevent, or at least minimize.

The Process of Aging

In our modern, sedentary society, as we age through the decades a steady degradation is generally noted in the body:  we tend to get progressively fatter, even though we may actually eat fewer calories than we used to.  We get weaker and routine physical tasks become more challenging and ultimately impossible.  We stumble and fall more often, get injured more frequently and don't recover readily.  We run out of steam earlier in the day.  We eventually become truly frail, fragile and fearful of activity.  This is not a pretty picture, but it is indeed a valid generalization of the aging journey for too many of us.

Everyone Suffers from Sarcopenia

A variety of factors contribute to this downward spiral of vitality, durability and function, but sarcopenia is always a major culprit.  Traditionally, we have considered age-related sarcopenia to be entirely biologically hard-wired and irreversible; after all, even aging horses and gorillas develop sarcopenia.  But in modern humans, sarcopenia develops prematurely and is profoundly accelerated by our sedentary lifestyles.  Therefore, we can, and should, do something about it.  Aerobic fitness, though incredibly important, is inadequate.  Health and functional independence require reliable, strong and powerful muscles, right on into our 90's and beyond.

... but you can do something about it

So what's the antidote for sarcopenia? Strength training, plain and simple. Studies suggest we should engage in some form of strength-enhancing activity at least twice a week; three times per week is much better.  Strength training needn't be very time- consuming, nor complicated.  40 minutes of devoted strength training, three times per week, can make you very strong and you'll never regret it. And don't fret about getting bulky and looking like a fire hydrant - it simply won't happen, particularly if you maintain a high level of aerobic fitness. Strength training has an easy, short learning curve, but do make the effort to learn how to do it right. Hire a smart trainer for a few sessions and you'll be good to go. You'll learn that we now emphasize full-body strengthening with free weights and body weight workouts.  The benefits of seated, artificial, machine-based training absolutely pale when compared to the profound functional benefits of multi-dimensional, compound training performed with body weight and free weight exercises.

Sarcopenia. The word even sounds like a bad thing and it truly is. And only you can prevent it. I'll meet you at the pull-up bar and we'll get right to it.

At TrueNorth Health, we see a variety of unique patient cases. Recently, our medical team treated a case of subacute appendicitis with medically supervised water only fasting followed by diet and lifestyle modifications. This patient recovered from the appendicitis, and the results are presented in the attached case study. A Case of Nonpharmacologic Conservative Management of Suspected Uncomplicated Subacute Appendicitis in an A...

Christina suffered from 16 years of chronic headaches. In this video, she discusses overcoming her chronic pain after a 41 day water fast at TrueNorth Health Center.