from Hacker News

Fasting boosts stem cells’ regenerative capacity (2018)

by fzliu on 5/17/22, 2:31 AM with 167 comments

  • by asar on 5/17/22, 7:26 AM

    It's such a shame that there isn't more research in this area. There are so many seemingly wondrous effects on human health that would need thourugh testing.

    Apart from physiological benefits though, the mental aspect of fasting from my own experience can be quite exciting as well. A 7 day fast was the longest I did so far, but 72h really hit the sweet spot for me. It was like a journey through my mind, I got challenged in very new ways to break the fast and also questioned my purpose in life a lot, as I seemingly live to eat. It was quite shocking to realize how much time I spend during a normal day to: buy food, prepare it, consume, dispose, cleanup etc. The rewards of fasting to me were long phases of absolute clarity and great concentration.

  • by DoreenMichele on 5/17/22, 5:09 AM

    This is about intestinal stem cells in specific.

    And, of course, in mice.

    (Still noteworthy if you are trying to understand why fasting seems to help with many different ailments.)

  • by ComradePhil on 5/17/22, 7:05 AM

    Most higher* animals use fat for energy storage and "lose weight" by fasting. This is a universal fact.

    All human cultures with abundant food had fasting as a part of their rituals... except for the modern American one... which then spread everywhere through food industry funded "science".

    It's not that fasting is healthy... it's the other way around... eating too much all the time is unhealthy. Fasting is the default.

  • by cleerline on 5/17/22, 11:53 AM

    Due to pancreatitis, my stomach has been closed since October 2020. So I have been effectively fasting for a continuous 18 months. all I think about is food.
  • by fithisux on 5/17/22, 4:43 AM

    Fasting is also good to pocket and limits exposure to unhealthy food.
  • by elmolino89 on 5/17/22, 1:07 PM

    I am not sure exactly what some people call fasting but I am bewildered by statements "I did 60 days of fasting/it is safe".

    Here one can read about the "safety" of ca 60 days hunger strikes. See the section: "People who died on hunger strike"

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_Irish_hunger_strike

    The oldest one died at age 29.

    Bonus: "Other participants in the hunger strike". Column: Reason for ending the strike

    One poor guy got a perforated ulcer and internal bleeding after 13 days.

  • by TimMeade on 5/17/22, 11:46 AM

    As a firm believer in extended water fasting (more than 7 days) i find the comments here fascinating. I see a lot of people posting wanting sources: Go to youtube and search for autophagy.

    The research going into this over the last few years is off the charts.

    https://www.healthline.com/health/autophagy#:~:text=Autophag...

  • by tpoacher on 5/26/22, 3:00 PM

    Define fasting. At which point is "fasting" simply "not overeating"?
  • by hsn915 on 5/17/22, 2:21 PM

    As far as I can tell, the design of the human body takes as a given that a lot of time will be spent without consuming food, perhaps for days at a time.

    So, some mechanisms are designed to kick in when you're eating food, and some other mechanisms are designed to kick in when you're not eating food.

    By not having any period of time when you're properly hungry, a lot of the body's builtin mechanism never get a proper chance to fully kick in.

  • by Taylor_OD on 5/17/22, 2:50 PM

    I've got two bad knees, lower back, and neck from wrestling in College. I'm just about to turn 30 but have the disks/joint of a 65+ year old. It is really depressing that stem cells could help but cost so much. I looked into getting out of the country stem cell therapy and its close to 50K+ USD. Insurance doesnt cover any of that.

    Here's to hoping that the cost comes down and insurance starts to cover it.

  • by anon2020dot00 on 5/17/22, 4:02 PM

    One meal a day fast is the most convenient way to lose weight I think.

    Also, to echo the top commentator, aside from the physical benefits of losing weight; another great effect is the mental clarity that fasting gives since less attention is given to eating and so moving away from living to eat.

    Also, sugar drinks is fine I think, and is an easy way to get some energy in moderation.

  • by victorclf on 5/17/22, 4:52 PM

    Fasting Nofap Keto Cold showers ...

    "We go out of our course to make ourselves uncomfortable; the cup of life is not bitter enough to our palate, and we distill superfluous poison to put into it, or conjure up hideous things to frighten ourselves at, which would never exist if we did not make them."

  • by eixiepia on 5/17/22, 11:37 AM

    Does anyone else also start to experience heart palpitations after 3 or 4 days of fasting? The heart beats are regular but fast and hard. This interferes with sleep and makes it impossible to go beyond those few days, as it just gets worse. I do drink water during the fasts.
  • by sj4nz on 5/17/22, 4:11 PM

    Also interesting, is a "fasting-mimicking diet" that is low in methionine:

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6816332/

  • by smm11 on 5/17/22, 3:35 PM

    Fasting is fine and all, but sugar is a poison. Carry on.
  • by rashthedude on 5/17/22, 9:03 AM

    One more reason to become Muslim.
  • by davidkuennen on 5/17/22, 4:37 AM

    What happens if I use this drug to switch to burning fat but keep eating carbohydrates? Where do they go?
  • by DeathArrow on 5/17/22, 5:15 AM

    So poor people are healthier? By poor I refer to third world countries, where people can spend a day or two without eating, not in the West sense where poor means eating junk food.
  • by amrx101 on 5/17/22, 5:10 AM

    Not read the article, but I have few questions for kind folks who read it.

    1. Was the study a human study or mice study?

    2. If the study was human, how long should one fast for?

    3. If the study was done on mice, what would be the equivalent hours of fasting in humans to observe same benefits? For example, rats fasted for 3 days experience autophagy, but rats would die if fasted for 5 days, so that 3 day cannot be applied to humans without an equivalent inflation of the time frame.

    3. Was fasting the trigger or the resultant calorie restriction?

    Thanks