Although it wasn't very long ago that medical research proved regular fasting to be a healthy lifestyle, and a good way to lose weight, now the newest research concludes that skipping meals increases the risk of all cause mortality, and skipping breakfast, increases cardiovascular risk. To read the medical opinion on this (before they change their minds again), please read the article at the following link:
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-11- ... ality.html
This happens so frequently in the medical world that I've reached the conclusion that with all the rapid computer-assisted mathematical computational methods available today, researchers can pretty much prove any conclusion they care to prove, for any particular research project. The problem has become so prominent that it brings into question the value of almost any medical research done today. If you doubt this, I can cite medical proof in the form of an article written by a Stanford School of Medicine Professor, published in the prestigious medical journal PLOS Medicine:
https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/ ... ed.0020124
This article was written back in 2005, and the problem seems to be steadily growing worse. 20 or 30 years ago, medical research intrigued me. Today, I continued to read medical research articles, but I definitely do not consider it to be the last word in accuracy, nor do I base any of my personal healthcare decisions on published medical research.
Tex
Remember when medical research proved that intermittent fasting was healthy?
Moderators: Rosie, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Remember when medical research proved that intermittent fasting was healthy?
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Re: Remember when medical research proved that intermittent fasting was healthy?
Hi Tex,
This is very interesting. I am curious how many meals the most of us eat and why.
I do at the moment a kind of natural intermittent fasting, because I meditate and practice yoga in the morning before eating.
And often it is twelve or one o clock before I start to eat. I notice that I tend to eat quit a lot then. In the evening I used to eat rather late, between 7 and 8, but because of my stomach acid/reflux problems of the last weeks I trie to eat early, before 6 as possible. But that means that I have a long period of not eating, about 18 hours. I don't know yet if this is good for me.
Maybe it is better to eat small portins, spread over the day. What do you think?
Sonja
This is very interesting. I am curious how many meals the most of us eat and why.
I do at the moment a kind of natural intermittent fasting, because I meditate and practice yoga in the morning before eating.
And often it is twelve or one o clock before I start to eat. I notice that I tend to eat quit a lot then. In the evening I used to eat rather late, between 7 and 8, but because of my stomach acid/reflux problems of the last weeks I trie to eat early, before 6 as possible. But that means that I have a long period of not eating, about 18 hours. I don't know yet if this is good for me.
Maybe it is better to eat small portins, spread over the day. What do you think?
Sonja
Re: Remember when medical research proved that intermittent fasting was healthy?
Hello Sonja,
You're quite correct. After we've been in remission a while, we can usually eat on any schedule we want, but especially while we're recovering, and early on after we reach remission, while our intestines are still healing, we do best if we eat four or five smaller meals or snacks, rather than two or three big meals. The reason for this is that while our intestines are inflamed, our small intestine is not capable of producing normal amounts of many digestive enzymes. As a result, if we try to eat a big meal, we tend to run out a certain enzymes, and part of the meal will not be properly digested. By eating smaller meals, we can avoid that problem, even if we eat more often.
My meal pattern is very similar to yours. I've been in remission for over 17 years. I eat two big meals per day, breakfast at 6 or 7 AM, and lunch at 11:30 AM. I eat nothing after that. That means that I fast for approximately 18 hours everyday. I've been eating that way for about 12 years, now.
Tex
You're quite correct. After we've been in remission a while, we can usually eat on any schedule we want, but especially while we're recovering, and early on after we reach remission, while our intestines are still healing, we do best if we eat four or five smaller meals or snacks, rather than two or three big meals. The reason for this is that while our intestines are inflamed, our small intestine is not capable of producing normal amounts of many digestive enzymes. As a result, if we try to eat a big meal, we tend to run out a certain enzymes, and part of the meal will not be properly digested. By eating smaller meals, we can avoid that problem, even if we eat more often.
My meal pattern is very similar to yours. I've been in remission for over 17 years. I eat two big meals per day, breakfast at 6 or 7 AM, and lunch at 11:30 AM. I eat nothing after that. That means that I fast for approximately 18 hours everyday. I've been eating that way for about 12 years, now.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Re: Remember when medical research proved that intermittent fasting was healthy?
Hi Tex,
Thank you. This is interesting and helps me to go on on my path!
Love,
Sonja
Thank you. This is interesting and helps me to go on on my path!
Love,
Sonja
Re: Remember when medical research proved that intermittent fasting was healthy?
I read the Medical Express article and it seems pretty suspicious. The information given was vague at best. Were all of the 4175 people who died in the survey eating less meals a day? I don't think the article is very clear on whether most of the people who died are actually the ones who were eating less than 3 meals a day.
The article does not say how the researchers adjusted for the other lifestyle factors (one of which was smoking!). There's is no breakdown on the causes of deaths, or the ages of the people who died. This article just seems like another case of shooting the arrow and then painting the target around it.
I have been reading a book "Tripping Over the Truth" by Travis Christofferson, MS. It is basically a short history of cancer research/treatment and how the Metabolic Theory of Cancer (disfunction of mitochondria) is having a resurgence. It is appalling how much bias, ego and greed leads researchers down the wrong path on matters of human health. Nina Teicholz's book "The Big Fat Surprise" is another good read on the corruption of medical research with regards to nutrition guidelines (especially in epidemiology).
I have considered myself too underweight to try fasting right now. I've resorted to fasting for a day or two when I was having WD episodes - it seems to calm things down (and I was losing weight anyway because of the diarrhea/malabsorption). I'm trending toward gaining weight lately, so I think once I gain a few more pounds I'm going to fast once (eventually twice) a week. If I drop dead I'll let all of you know :)
John R.
The article does not say how the researchers adjusted for the other lifestyle factors (one of which was smoking!). There's is no breakdown on the causes of deaths, or the ages of the people who died. This article just seems like another case of shooting the arrow and then painting the target around it.
I have been reading a book "Tripping Over the Truth" by Travis Christofferson, MS. It is basically a short history of cancer research/treatment and how the Metabolic Theory of Cancer (disfunction of mitochondria) is having a resurgence. It is appalling how much bias, ego and greed leads researchers down the wrong path on matters of human health. Nina Teicholz's book "The Big Fat Surprise" is another good read on the corruption of medical research with regards to nutrition guidelines (especially in epidemiology).
I have considered myself too underweight to try fasting right now. I've resorted to fasting for a day or two when I was having WD episodes - it seems to calm things down (and I was losing weight anyway because of the diarrhea/malabsorption). I'm trending toward gaining weight lately, so I think once I gain a few more pounds I'm going to fast once (eventually twice) a week. If I drop dead I'll let all of you know :)
John R.
Re: Remember when medical research proved that intermittent fasting was healthy?
As I pointed out in my response to Sonja, above, I fast every day, for about 18 hours. I'm 81, now.
Tex
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Re: Remember when medical research proved that intermittent fasting was healthy?
I agree Tex.....the medical community has ups and downs with their suggestions on health practice.
I tend to study research and make conclusions based on how 'life' has affected me personally. There are days I Eat Well, Snack or Hardly Eat...I kinda let my body dictate when and how much as I don't live around eating anymore since having the diagnoses of Lymphocitic Colitis.
Erica
I tend to study research and make conclusions based on how 'life' has affected me personally. There are days I Eat Well, Snack or Hardly Eat...I kinda let my body dictate when and how much as I don't live around eating anymore since having the diagnoses of Lymphocitic Colitis.
Erica
To Succeed you have to Believe in something with such a passion that it becomes a Reality - Anita Roddick
Dx LC April 2012 had symptoms since Aug 2007
Dx LC April 2012 had symptoms since Aug 2007
Re: Remember when medical research proved that intermittent fasting was healthy?
"I have been reading a book "Tripping Over the Truth" by Travis Christofferson, MS. It is basically a short history of cancer research/treatment and how the Metabolic Theory of Cancer (disfunction of mitochondria) is having a resurgence. It is appalling how much bias, ego and greed leads researchers down the wrong path on matters of human health. Nina Teicholz's book "The Big Fat Surprise" is another good read on the corruption of medical research with regards to nutrition guidelines (especially in epidemiology)."
I'll have to look into the books you mentioned. I jumped down this rabbit hole over a decade ago and I used to be so appalled at how shady our food supply & supposed "trusted sources" are. Currently I'm ready "Metabolical" by Dr. Lustig.
I'll have to look into the books you mentioned. I jumped down this rabbit hole over a decade ago and I used to be so appalled at how shady our food supply & supposed "trusted sources" are. Currently I'm ready "Metabolical" by Dr. Lustig.
Re: Remember when medical research proved that intermittent fasting was healthy?
Hi Tex,
I am interested to know how long after being diagnosed with mc before you reached remission?
I too have an 18 hour fasting window and eat 2 meals a day, and am greatly encouraged to see that you at 83 years young do the same. It obviously has done you good.
Thanks Claire
I am interested to know how long after being diagnosed with mc before you reached remission?
I too have an 18 hour fasting window and eat 2 meals a day, and am greatly encouraged to see that you at 83 years young do the same. It obviously has done you good.
Thanks Claire
Re: Remember when medical research proved that intermittent fasting was healthy?
Hi Claire,
When my symptoms started, about 25 years ago, I first went to my GP, who palpated my abdomen and told me that I had colon cancer. He sent me to a GI doc who felt of my abdomen and told me the same thing, so he lined me up for all sorts of tests, starting with a CT scan in January, and ending with a colonoscopy in June. But every test result was negative, and since I was a man, not a woman, he didn't bother to take biopsy samples during the colonoscopy. But the drugs he gave me that were supposed to "knock me out" didn't have much effect, so I was watching the monitor screen as he performed the colonoscopy. I noticed that rather than having a uniform faint pink color, the walls of my intestines were splotched with areas that were a slightly darker reddish color. When I ask him what that was, he shrugged and said it was, "probably just an old infection". That was convincing, at the time, because he had started his treatment in January with a two-week ciprofloxacin prescription.
That was his final test, and when I went for the follow-up, he told me there was nothing more he could do for me, because there was nothing wrong with me. When I asked him what I should do when my symptoms become too bad to tolerate, he recommended that I should, "See a good psychiatrist". I never went back, of course. After living with it for a while, I started doing some Internet research, and it dawned on me that the symptoms were a lot like the symptoms of celiac disease, so I immediately cut gluten out of my diet and started keeping a daily journal of everything I put in my mouth, and how I felt throughout the day, every day. At first, I seemed to react to anything, and everything. But after about six weeks or so, apparently I had enough of the gluten out of my system that my immune system could begin to recognize other food reactions, and so I began experimenting with various foods, and keeping careful records. But since I had no guidelines to go by, I wasn't sure what I was doing, and each time I avoided a food for a week or so, even if I realized that it was causing me to react, I added it back into my diet, and tested another food. Fortunately,when I cut gluten out of my diet, I never allowed any back into my diet, because if I had, all my experimentation would have been worthless. Because I was always eating multiple foods that cause me to react, it was difficult trying to isolate individual food reactions, but after a few more months, I decided that I had enough information that I could take a stab at selecting a recovery diet.
I decided to avoid all dairy products, corn and all its derivatives, citric acid, and soy and all its derivatives. Within a couple of weeks I seemed to be in remission. Of course, like most of us, now and then I would have an unexpected bad day. Sometimes I thought I knew why, but at other times I had no idea. And since I didn't know better I kept trying to reintroduce the foods that had caused me to react, and of course, that didn't work, because I hadn't done any significant amount of healing. But after about six or eight months, I was able to reintroduce tiny amounts of corn without reacting, and so I slowly increased my tolerance of corn, which allowed me to use gluten-free tortillas as a substitute for bread.
After I had been in remission for about six months, I accidentally came across Sally Reads old microscopic colitis discussion board, and after reading a few posts, I realized, "Hey, these people are just like me". So knowing the name of what I had, I soon discovered Dr. Fine's early work, and I found the article where he describes the appearance of MC on a monitor screen, and points out that most gastroenterologists have no idea what that pattern means. The pattern looked exactly like the one I had seen on the monitor during my own colonoscopy. That sowed up the last remaining loose end, and confirmed that I did indeed have microscopic colitis.
Although I was avoiding soy, I didn't actually know whether I might be sensitive to it and it's derivatives, so I continued to eat peanuts (a legume). A few years after reaching remission, one day I ate more than a normal amount of peanuts, and by nightfall, I was having abdominal pain. After I went to bed, the pain continued to increase, so I didn't get any significant amount of sleep. By morning, I knew I had to go to the emergency room at the local hospital to get help. After running a bunch of tests, they told me, "You have ileus. Your digestive system has stopped working". I told them that I had already figured that out — "how do we get it started again?" They just shrugged, and told me It would have to start on its own, if it's ever going to restart, and they sent me home. Fortunately, a few hours later, much to my relief, my digestive system did restart. I immediately sent a stool sample to Enterralab, and they confirmed that I was indeed sensitive to soy. So no more peanuts.
So to answer your question, it took me a year-and-a-half of research, experimentation, and journaling, plus a couple of weeks on the restricted diet that I had selected, in order to reach remission, because I had no guidelines to go by.
Sorry for the long-winded answer, but I'm not a typical MC patient.
Tex
When my symptoms started, about 25 years ago, I first went to my GP, who palpated my abdomen and told me that I had colon cancer. He sent me to a GI doc who felt of my abdomen and told me the same thing, so he lined me up for all sorts of tests, starting with a CT scan in January, and ending with a colonoscopy in June. But every test result was negative, and since I was a man, not a woman, he didn't bother to take biopsy samples during the colonoscopy. But the drugs he gave me that were supposed to "knock me out" didn't have much effect, so I was watching the monitor screen as he performed the colonoscopy. I noticed that rather than having a uniform faint pink color, the walls of my intestines were splotched with areas that were a slightly darker reddish color. When I ask him what that was, he shrugged and said it was, "probably just an old infection". That was convincing, at the time, because he had started his treatment in January with a two-week ciprofloxacin prescription.
That was his final test, and when I went for the follow-up, he told me there was nothing more he could do for me, because there was nothing wrong with me. When I asked him what I should do when my symptoms become too bad to tolerate, he recommended that I should, "See a good psychiatrist". I never went back, of course. After living with it for a while, I started doing some Internet research, and it dawned on me that the symptoms were a lot like the symptoms of celiac disease, so I immediately cut gluten out of my diet and started keeping a daily journal of everything I put in my mouth, and how I felt throughout the day, every day. At first, I seemed to react to anything, and everything. But after about six weeks or so, apparently I had enough of the gluten out of my system that my immune system could begin to recognize other food reactions, and so I began experimenting with various foods, and keeping careful records. But since I had no guidelines to go by, I wasn't sure what I was doing, and each time I avoided a food for a week or so, even if I realized that it was causing me to react, I added it back into my diet, and tested another food. Fortunately,when I cut gluten out of my diet, I never allowed any back into my diet, because if I had, all my experimentation would have been worthless. Because I was always eating multiple foods that cause me to react, it was difficult trying to isolate individual food reactions, but after a few more months, I decided that I had enough information that I could take a stab at selecting a recovery diet.
I decided to avoid all dairy products, corn and all its derivatives, citric acid, and soy and all its derivatives. Within a couple of weeks I seemed to be in remission. Of course, like most of us, now and then I would have an unexpected bad day. Sometimes I thought I knew why, but at other times I had no idea. And since I didn't know better I kept trying to reintroduce the foods that had caused me to react, and of course, that didn't work, because I hadn't done any significant amount of healing. But after about six or eight months, I was able to reintroduce tiny amounts of corn without reacting, and so I slowly increased my tolerance of corn, which allowed me to use gluten-free tortillas as a substitute for bread.
After I had been in remission for about six months, I accidentally came across Sally Reads old microscopic colitis discussion board, and after reading a few posts, I realized, "Hey, these people are just like me". So knowing the name of what I had, I soon discovered Dr. Fine's early work, and I found the article where he describes the appearance of MC on a monitor screen, and points out that most gastroenterologists have no idea what that pattern means. The pattern looked exactly like the one I had seen on the monitor during my own colonoscopy. That sowed up the last remaining loose end, and confirmed that I did indeed have microscopic colitis.
Although I was avoiding soy, I didn't actually know whether I might be sensitive to it and it's derivatives, so I continued to eat peanuts (a legume). A few years after reaching remission, one day I ate more than a normal amount of peanuts, and by nightfall, I was having abdominal pain. After I went to bed, the pain continued to increase, so I didn't get any significant amount of sleep. By morning, I knew I had to go to the emergency room at the local hospital to get help. After running a bunch of tests, they told me, "You have ileus. Your digestive system has stopped working". I told them that I had already figured that out — "how do we get it started again?" They just shrugged, and told me It would have to start on its own, if it's ever going to restart, and they sent me home. Fortunately, a few hours later, much to my relief, my digestive system did restart. I immediately sent a stool sample to Enterralab, and they confirmed that I was indeed sensitive to soy. So no more peanuts.
So to answer your question, it took me a year-and-a-half of research, experimentation, and journaling, plus a couple of weeks on the restricted diet that I had selected, in order to reach remission, because I had no guidelines to go by.
Sorry for the long-winded answer, but I'm not a typical MC patient.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Re: Remember when medical research proved that intermittent fasting was healthy?
Hi Tex,
I am grateful for your 'lengthy' answer, for often it's in the fine details that we find answers. So thankyou muchly.
There is certainly alot of self experimentation trial and error in this process, and its so helpful to see how others have solved their triggers to inflammation. The inner workings of the human body are a mystery in many ways but amazing to know that it can heal itself given the right nourishment and advice.
Thankyou Tex, stay well.
Claire
I am grateful for your 'lengthy' answer, for often it's in the fine details that we find answers. So thankyou muchly.
There is certainly alot of self experimentation trial and error in this process, and its so helpful to see how others have solved their triggers to inflammation. The inner workings of the human body are a mystery in many ways but amazing to know that it can heal itself given the right nourishment and advice.
Thankyou Tex, stay well.
Claire