1 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:12,600 Speaker 1: Hey, everyone, Welcome to another edition of Wisdom Wednesdays. And 2 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:16,080 Speaker 1: just before we start, another shameless plug for my book, 3 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:20,760 Speaker 1: The Hardiness Effect, How to Grow From Stress, Optimize your 4 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:24,279 Speaker 1: health and Live Longer, is now on pre sel with 5 00:00:24,400 --> 00:00:27,920 Speaker 1: a twenty six percent discount on Amazon, so jump amongst 6 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:32,159 Speaker 1: it and get involved. I am also shortly going to 7 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:37,800 Speaker 1: be announcing a hardiness intervention to coincide with my shift 8 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:40,360 Speaker 1: towards All Things Hardiness, where I'm actually going to do 9 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:44,240 Speaker 1: my first ever public workshop. But I'm going to combine 10 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:48,320 Speaker 1: that public workshop with a six week program in the app, 11 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:53,240 Speaker 1: My Hardiness App, which is very closely mirrored to the 12 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:58,680 Speaker 1: research study I did in my PhD where we took 13 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:02,600 Speaker 1: a bunch of busy corporate did a day's hardiness training 14 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:02,959 Speaker 1: with them. 15 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:04,240 Speaker 2: They had eight weeks on the app. 16 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 1: We measured their cognitive function, their cognitive performance, their hardiness, 17 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:13,760 Speaker 1: their mood, their gratitude, their stress, and their resilience and 18 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:18,280 Speaker 1: had statistically significant improvements in almost everything. And I am 19 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:21,240 Speaker 1: now going to bring this to the general public, so 20 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:23,760 Speaker 1: standby for an announcement. There will be a one day 21 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 1: workshop in Melbourne, probably at the end of October start 22 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:30,400 Speaker 1: of November, but what's this space? 23 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:33,119 Speaker 2: So now on with the podcast. 24 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:36,480 Speaker 1: So today we're going to go deep into one of 25 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:41,039 Speaker 1: the oldest practices knowing to humankind, and that is fasting. 26 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 1: As you probably were, it's been used across cultures for religious, spiritual, 27 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 1: and therapeutic purposes for thousands of years, and in recent years, 28 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 1: intermittent fasting and time restricted eating have taken the health 29 00:01:56,680 --> 00:01:57,720 Speaker 1: world by storm. 30 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:00,160 Speaker 2: But today we're not going to talk about. 31 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: Skipping breakfast or doing sixteen eight or any of those things. 32 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:10,080 Speaker 1: We're talking about a prolonged water fast only and specifically 33 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:12,959 Speaker 1: going to look at the effects of a seven day 34 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:16,720 Speaker 1: fast and what it does to the human body right 35 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:20,680 Speaker 1: down to the level of thousands of proteins circulating in 36 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:23,320 Speaker 1: your blood. And we're going to explore a groundbreak and 37 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:28,360 Speaker 1: study that was just published in Nature Metabolism, and also 38 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:32,480 Speaker 1: some other commentary that was published again in the journal Nature, 39 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:37,560 Speaker 1: really looking at the comparison of shorter fast the three 40 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 1: or four day waterfast that many of you have tried, 41 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:43,880 Speaker 1: with some longer fasting. And by the end of this episode, 42 00:02:43,919 --> 00:02:47,680 Speaker 1: I hope you'll have a pretty nuanced understanding of the benefits, 43 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:53,280 Speaker 1: the risk, and the biological effects of extended fasting, and 44 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:56,200 Speaker 1: a bit of clarity about were, if any were it 45 00:02:56,320 --> 00:02:58,680 Speaker 1: might fit in your own health journey. 46 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 2: So let's start with the research. 47 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:05,600 Speaker 1: A team of scientists from Berlin, Cambridge, Copenhagen and Oslo 48 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:10,560 Speaker 1: recruited twelve healthy young volunteers. Five of them were women 49 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:12,760 Speaker 1: and seven were men, and this is important because it 50 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:13,720 Speaker 1: was both sexes. 51 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:15,280 Speaker 2: And they asked them. 52 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:20,120 Speaker 1: To do something simple but definitely challenging for anybody who's 53 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 1: ever done it. Drink only water for seven days straight, 54 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:28,919 Speaker 1: no calories whatsoever. And throughout the week, the researchers collected 55 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:33,960 Speaker 1: blood samples every morning and use the cutting edge proteumic 56 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:40,280 Speaker 1: platform to measure nearly three thousand proteins circulating in their plasma. Now, 57 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 1: anybody who's heard me talk about the twelve major hallmarks 58 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:49,800 Speaker 1: of aging, one of those major hallmarks is loss of proteostasis. 59 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:54,720 Speaker 1: So basically, changes in how these proteins that circulate in 60 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:58,840 Speaker 1: our blood changes in them and how those changes actually 61 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:03,120 Speaker 1: accelerate to aging. And proteins are really the building blocks 62 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:07,160 Speaker 1: of all life. So in this study, they also tracked 63 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 1: their body weight, their fat mass, their lean mass, their 64 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:16,400 Speaker 1: hormones and then metabolites like ketone bodies and fatty acids. 65 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:19,479 Speaker 1: So let's talk about what happened. So, as I said, 66 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:24,360 Speaker 1: twelve participants, five women and seven men, and they measured 67 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:28,360 Speaker 1: them before, during, and after a prolonged seven day fast 68 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:31,680 Speaker 1: with absolute calorie restriction, and they can just drink as 69 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:35,840 Speaker 1: much water as they wanted. So they took fasting blood 70 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:38,720 Speaker 1: early in the morning between six and nine am from 71 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:43,320 Speaker 1: all participants two days prior to the intervention. Then they 72 00:04:43,360 --> 00:04:47,520 Speaker 1: took it daily during the intervention and then again three 73 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:52,360 Speaker 1: days after stopping the intervention, and in their plasma they 74 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:56,400 Speaker 1: looked at a total of twenty nine and twenty three 75 00:04:56,480 --> 00:05:00,040 Speaker 1: protein targets. So this is a brilliant study. Hence I 76 00:05:00,279 --> 00:05:02,800 Speaker 1: got into the journal Nature, which is one of the 77 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:07,000 Speaker 1: top journals around. Now what they find headlines is that 78 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:12,360 Speaker 1: on average, participants lost about five point seven kilos, which 79 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:17,320 Speaker 1: is roughly twelve pounds for those who use that currency. Now, 80 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:22,039 Speaker 1: most of the stuff that they lost was subcutaneous fat, 81 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:25,880 Speaker 1: the fat just under the skin, and they lost some 82 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:32,479 Speaker 1: lean muscle tissue. But interestingly, their muscle mass rebranded quickly 83 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:36,120 Speaker 1: once the food was reintroduced, whereas the fat loss was 84 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:40,960 Speaker 1: sustained and somewhat surprisingly, they didn't lose a lot of 85 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 1: visceral fat. Most of the fat that they lost, as 86 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:48,160 Speaker 1: I said, was subcutaneous in nature. Now, one other thing 87 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:51,359 Speaker 1: is that is these guys weren't weren't huge. Their average 88 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:54,800 Speaker 1: WEE was seventy seven point five kilos. Now it was 89 00:05:54,839 --> 00:05:58,080 Speaker 1: a mixture of men and women, but their average BMI 90 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:02,479 Speaker 1: was twenty five point four, which is just above the 91 00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:06,920 Speaker 1: sort of cutoff of twenty five for overweight. So they 92 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:10,919 Speaker 1: were certainly by no means obese. But they lost five 93 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:14,960 Speaker 1: point seven kilos. So that is probably equivalent of, just 94 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:16,960 Speaker 1: off the top of my head, about eight percent of 95 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:18,800 Speaker 1: their weight loss, which is. 96 00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:20,360 Speaker 2: Very very significant. 97 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:24,719 Speaker 1: So let's that I go and talk about the other 98 00:06:25,080 --> 00:06:29,120 Speaker 1: things that they measured. Their blood glucose dropped, their fatty 99 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:33,400 Speaker 1: acids rose, and their ketones climbed steadily throughout the week, 100 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:38,640 Speaker 1: and that confirmed the metabolic switch from glucose to fat 101 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:42,920 Speaker 1: and ketone metabolism. And that's pretty standard for fasting, and 102 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:46,760 Speaker 1: it is one of the major benefits of people doing fasting, 103 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:50,159 Speaker 1: particularly time restricted feeding on the sixteen to eight is 104 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:55,200 Speaker 1: they develop what we call metabolic flexibility, where your body 105 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:58,640 Speaker 1: can switch from burning glucose to burning fat, and this 106 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:04,000 Speaker 1: is hugely important in this metabolic flexibility, and it's one 107 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:08,919 Speaker 1: of the biggest detrimental effects of our modern lifestyle about 108 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: having food always available is that we tend to stay 109 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:17,680 Speaker 1: in glucose metabolism and it's not that good for us 110 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:21,440 Speaker 1: from a long term perspective. So that ability to switch 111 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:25,320 Speaker 1: over into ketones is pretty key. And they measured ketones 112 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:29,280 Speaker 1: such as beta hydroxy butyrate and beta hydroxy buryate is 113 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:33,240 Speaker 1: known to trigger a lot of different health benefits. But 114 00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:38,040 Speaker 1: here's the big thing was the proteomic response, the deep 115 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:43,280 Speaker 1: systemic shifts in proteins across multiple organs, and that shift 116 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:47,720 Speaker 1: didn't really start until day three. In fact, over a 117 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:50,360 Speaker 1: third of all proteins measured, which was more in a 118 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:55,440 Speaker 1: thousand and changed significantly during the week. And these included 119 00:07:55,520 --> 00:08:02,240 Speaker 1: proteins involved in immune signaling, tissue scaffolding, lip metabolism, hormones, 120 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:08,480 Speaker 1: and even brain related proteins like tenaskin art which is 121 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:13,320 Speaker 1: critical for maintaining synaptic plasticity. And so this wasn't just 122 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:18,880 Speaker 1: about weight loss this study. It was about multi organ recalibration. 123 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:22,560 Speaker 1: And the timeline is really important. Day one and day 124 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:26,760 Speaker 1: two seemed to be just a metabolic adjustment, and from 125 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:31,560 Speaker 1: day three onwards the body then appears to begin a 126 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:38,680 Speaker 1: deeper systemic reset. Now, the companion commentary in another paper 127 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:40,959 Speaker 1: published in Nature Metabolism. So this is a bunch of 128 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:45,719 Speaker 1: other researchers doing a commentary on it. It took it 129 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:48,360 Speaker 1: a step further, and the title of that was the 130 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:52,960 Speaker 1: weight loss independent Benefits of fasting, and that free as 131 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:54,280 Speaker 1: weight loss independent. 132 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:55,080 Speaker 2: That's pretty key. 133 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:58,679 Speaker 1: We often assume that fasting is just good for us 134 00:08:58,679 --> 00:09:02,320 Speaker 1: because it reduces calories and weight loss, and whilst that's true, 135 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:07,600 Speaker 1: this commentary that appeared in Nature Metabolism highlighted that many 136 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:12,280 Speaker 1: of the benefits observed in the proteomic data are not 137 00:09:12,640 --> 00:09:17,000 Speaker 1: tightly correlated with how much weight someone lost. In other words, 138 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:21,760 Speaker 1: fasting isn't just dadding with zero calories. It's doing something 139 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:27,040 Speaker 1: unique to our biology. These other researchers pointed out that 140 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:31,600 Speaker 1: some of the earliest protein changes oc curved before much 141 00:09:31,640 --> 00:09:34,960 Speaker 1: of the weight had actually been lost, and many of 142 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:39,800 Speaker 1: the shifts, particularly in immune regulation, in mitochondrial function and 143 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:45,320 Speaker 1: stress response proteins, don't map neatly into the fat loss story. 144 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:50,280 Speaker 1: And this means that fasting may offer therapeutic potential beyond 145 00:09:50,400 --> 00:09:55,840 Speaker 1: obesity for conditions that are linked to inflammation, autoimmune conditions, 146 00:09:56,320 --> 00:09:59,800 Speaker 1: or neurological health as well. So when you hear people 147 00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:02,880 Speaker 1: say that fastings just another way to cut calories, this 148 00:10:03,040 --> 00:10:07,760 Speaker 1: paper and the associated commentary strongly suggest otherwise. They are 149 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:14,280 Speaker 1: unique biological processes triggered only when you completely abstain from 150 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:17,360 Speaker 1: food for a few days or more. Now, one of 151 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:22,200 Speaker 1: the most fascinating things is how feased these adaptations actually are. 152 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:24,760 Speaker 2: In the first couple of days, they. 153 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:28,720 Speaker 1: Found that the changes were relatively modest. A few hormones 154 00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:32,560 Speaker 1: like grellin or thorroid hormones shift a bit, but nothing 155 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:38,720 Speaker 1: really dramatic. But by day three the proteonomic landscape transformed. 156 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:43,640 Speaker 1: Hundreds of proteins suddenly begin to increase or decrease, initiating 157 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:49,960 Speaker 1: cascades of tissue remodeling, immune modulation, and metabolic rewiring. And 158 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:52,600 Speaker 1: I want you to think of it like this. Fasting 159 00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:56,320 Speaker 1: has a switch point, and it seems to be about 160 00:10:56,360 --> 00:10:59,280 Speaker 1: seventy two hours in And that is why the study 161 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:05,240 Speaker 1: authors and commentary emphasize the calming fasting routines like intermittent fasting, 162 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:09,560 Speaker 1: time restricted feeding or twenty four are fast may not 163 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:15,760 Speaker 1: trigger and probably don't trigger these deeper metabolic adaptations. You 164 00:11:16,080 --> 00:11:18,280 Speaker 1: might need at least three to four days to start 165 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:19,400 Speaker 1: unlocking them. 166 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:23,840 Speaker 2: So what does this mean. Here's how I would frame it. 167 00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:29,440 Speaker 1: By day three, you're entering the doorway of metabolic shift. 168 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:35,280 Speaker 1: You've switched from glucose to ketones. You've suppressed leptin, down 169 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:39,000 Speaker 1: regulated thyroid signaling a bit, and begun to trigger some 170 00:11:39,040 --> 00:11:44,280 Speaker 1: of the weight loss independent protein shifts across metabolism. By 171 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:48,400 Speaker 1: day four, you seem to be consolidating these early adaptations. 172 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:52,880 Speaker 1: Your ketones are picking fatty acids plateau, and some immune 173 00:11:53,120 --> 00:11:57,319 Speaker 1: and brain related changes begin. But and this is crucial, 174 00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:02,680 Speaker 1: many of the later adaptations, especially around tissue remodeling, the 175 00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:08,360 Speaker 1: extracellular matrix and deep brain signaling proteins, really start to 176 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:10,280 Speaker 1: accelerate from day five to day seven. 177 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:14,600 Speaker 2: Now here's where I just want to add my lanes 178 00:12:14,679 --> 00:12:16,520 Speaker 2: to it. And it's only my thoughts, but. 179 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 1: I think you would be able to accelerate the positive 180 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:25,199 Speaker 1: effects of the fast by taking k tone esther supplements. 181 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:29,920 Speaker 1: So these are supplements that are now commercially available that 182 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:35,760 Speaker 1: will very quickly in the absence of food and switch 183 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:41,839 Speaker 1: you over from glucose metabolism to ketone metabolism to metabolism 184 00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:47,560 Speaker 1: from fat, and in that driving you into ketosis triggers 185 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:52,480 Speaker 1: the release of being hydroxy buriod and other ketones, which 186 00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:56,320 Speaker 1: I think seem to signal a lot of these changes. 187 00:12:56,360 --> 00:12:59,560 Speaker 1: But this is just my theory and it's something that 188 00:12:59,679 --> 00:13:02,680 Speaker 1: should tested. And actually I'm going to talk to Grant 189 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:06,720 Speaker 1: Schofield and my partner in the Hormesis Lab about doing 190 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:11,920 Speaker 1: just this and seeing if we can tweak or accelerate 191 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:17,640 Speaker 1: the timeline of those really really important metabolic shifts. 192 00:13:17,679 --> 00:13:18,440 Speaker 2: And the other. 193 00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:22,640 Speaker 1: Comment that I had, I initially when I read the paper, 194 00:13:22,679 --> 00:13:27,840 Speaker 1: I thought, I'm guessing that these guys are older adults, 195 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:30,280 Speaker 1: because it didn't actually say in the paper. But then 196 00:13:30,520 --> 00:13:35,960 Speaker 1: when I rechecked it, it said twelve and young healthy adults, 197 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:39,480 Speaker 1: So they weren't older adults, which is actually surprising for 198 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:45,800 Speaker 1: me because I believe that a lot of the benefits 199 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:49,280 Speaker 1: of fasting would really be in your forties and your 200 00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:53,400 Speaker 1: fifties and your sixties. It is very frustrating that they 201 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:56,319 Speaker 1: did not give the ads. And I checked the supplementary 202 00:13:56,360 --> 00:14:00,160 Speaker 1: materials online looking for the AEDs of the participants, but 203 00:14:00,160 --> 00:14:02,959 Speaker 1: it didn't give it, which I don't know why they 204 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:06,199 Speaker 1: did not do that, but anyway, it is what it is. 205 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:10,800 Speaker 1: But what that would appear is that these benefits are 206 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:15,520 Speaker 1: not just for old bastards like me when everything starts 207 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:16,120 Speaker 1: to fall apart. 208 00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:19,760 Speaker 2: Now we know, and I have talked about it before, and. 209 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:23,600 Speaker 1: That there are waves of aging that happen with us, 210 00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:26,800 Speaker 1: and the first wave seems to be in the early forties, 211 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:29,880 Speaker 1: and then there's another way around sixty. There's potentially another 212 00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:33,320 Speaker 1: way around the age of eighty. But the fact that 213 00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:36,840 Speaker 1: they said they were young, healthy adults, that suggests to 214 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:39,080 Speaker 1: me that they were in their twenties or their thirties 215 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:47,240 Speaker 1: and still had significant benefits in metabolism, proteins involved in inflammation, 216 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:50,120 Speaker 1: involved in immunity, and all of these things. 217 00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:51,120 Speaker 2: So this is. 218 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:54,880 Speaker 1: Surprising, but again quite frustrating, because I'd love to know 219 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:56,960 Speaker 1: the age of the people and whether there were any 220 00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:06,240 Speaker 1: age related differences them. But that notwithstanding, I do think 221 00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:11,720 Speaker 1: that you could potentially shorten that seven day fast down 222 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:15,400 Speaker 1: by taking a key tone ester right at the start, 223 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:17,840 Speaker 1: and you could get yourself some keytone strips from the 224 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:21,640 Speaker 1: chemist and just measure and if you go into ketosis 225 00:15:21,640 --> 00:15:25,480 Speaker 1: on day one. That to me would appear to accelerate 226 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:27,720 Speaker 1: it by a couple of days. So you might get 227 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:29,680 Speaker 1: away with a five day fast rather than a seven 228 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:30,200 Speaker 1: day fast. 229 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:32,160 Speaker 2: But that's only my thinking, and I do. 230 00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:35,000 Speaker 1: Want to run an experiment and we'll talk to Grant 231 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:39,280 Speaker 1: about that. So but what is clear is that a 232 00:15:39,320 --> 00:15:41,640 Speaker 1: three or a four day fast is certainly not a 233 00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:45,520 Speaker 1: waste of time, particularly if you take a key tone ester. 234 00:15:46,040 --> 00:15:48,160 Speaker 2: It is a powerful intervention. 235 00:15:48,040 --> 00:15:50,000 Speaker 1: And a three to four day water fast is a 236 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:52,520 Speaker 1: shit loat easier than a seven day waterfast. 237 00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:54,280 Speaker 2: So I've done I've done a. 238 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:59,200 Speaker 1: Five day one, but I've also done ten days that 239 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:03,640 Speaker 1: was rather forced on combat survival and resistance to interrogation training, 240 00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:06,240 Speaker 1: which I don't recommend you can bin all of that. 241 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:10,920 Speaker 1: But a seven day one, I think would be a 242 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:14,600 Speaker 1: shitload harder. So if we can shorten this process a 243 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:17,080 Speaker 1: little bit and get all those protein changes, that would 244 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:22,320 Speaker 1: be really interesting. But also what happens in a ten 245 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:26,560 Speaker 1: day fast is that even better than a seven day fast, 246 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:30,560 Speaker 1: And the fact that these guys were able to recoup 247 00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:33,400 Speaker 1: the link tissue, the muscle that they lost, and they 248 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:36,080 Speaker 1: had no loss and bone loss, but they were able 249 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:40,120 Speaker 1: to after three days, I think recoop their muscle. That 250 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:43,520 Speaker 1: is actually a good thing. So let's talk about pros 251 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:45,680 Speaker 1: and cons just before we sum up. 252 00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:50,120 Speaker 2: So the benefits here, they is very clear. 253 00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:54,120 Speaker 1: There are weight loss independent benefits of our prolonged fast. 254 00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:59,520 Speaker 1: There's unique shifts in immune stress and neural proteins, and 255 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:05,800 Speaker 1: there is significant subcutaneous fat loss while spurring bone mass, 256 00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:09,199 Speaker 1: but some loss of muscle. Now, it didn't say that 257 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:11,840 Speaker 1: these guys did resistance training. That's another thing I would 258 00:17:11,840 --> 00:17:14,359 Speaker 1: throw in there. If you did some resistance training on 259 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:18,280 Speaker 1: those days, just be aware that your kind of top 260 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:22,520 Speaker 1: end will be gone, but you could minimize the loss 261 00:17:22,600 --> 00:17:25,960 Speaker 1: in muscle if you did that. And then there's real 262 00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:30,439 Speaker 1: good potential therapeutic angles here for conditions like epilepsy. We 263 00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:33,520 Speaker 1: know that a chidogenic diet is great for epilepsy, but 264 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:38,399 Speaker 1: also autoimmune diseases. And I've talked to a number of 265 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:41,520 Speaker 1: people I know who have autoimmune diseases, and I've recommended 266 00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:44,240 Speaker 1: a five day fast or a five day fasting mimicking 267 00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:50,040 Speaker 1: diet in conjunction with regular cold water exposure. But there's 268 00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:55,960 Speaker 1: also benefits here for potential cardiovascular disease and even neurodegenerative diseases. 269 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:59,119 Speaker 1: But they're a little bit speculative, and there is this 270 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:02,359 Speaker 1: rebound resilient. As I said, the lean muscle tissue was 271 00:18:02,440 --> 00:18:06,240 Speaker 1: largely recovered after refeeding. So let's talk about the drawbacks 272 00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:09,040 Speaker 1: and the risk because I've heard a number of people 273 00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:12,480 Speaker 1: talking about fasting and how it is risky and dangerous. 274 00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:16,560 Speaker 1: So potential drawbacks and risks. Now, I remember these were younger, 275 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:22,560 Speaker 1: healthy adults. So one is hormonal suppression. Thyroid and reproductive 276 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:26,800 Speaker 1: signaling decrease was noticed, and now that's adaptive here, but 277 00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:29,840 Speaker 1: if you already have thorroid or hormonal issues, it could 278 00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:35,240 Speaker 1: be problematic. And there are some potential issues with coagulation 279 00:18:35,359 --> 00:18:38,959 Speaker 1: and bone markers. Now, some of the signals suggested temporary 280 00:18:39,119 --> 00:18:43,400 Speaker 1: risks for clotting or bone turnover, but again we don't 281 00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:47,359 Speaker 1: know from the long term perspective. And then individual variability, 282 00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:52,280 Speaker 1: while there were broad responses were pretty consistent, some protein 283 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:56,560 Speaker 1: shifted differently between participants. Not everyone will have the same 284 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:00,640 Speaker 1: benefit profile now and if any, but it's her doctor, 285 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:04,159 Speaker 1: Stacy Sims. She was on my podcast. She's brilliant. She 286 00:19:04,280 --> 00:19:07,119 Speaker 1: talks about women are not small men. And now she 287 00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:09,680 Speaker 1: has said previously that women shouldn't be fasting. I think 288 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:12,720 Speaker 1: this study shows that that's not the case. What I 289 00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:15,320 Speaker 1: would add to the stacy sims women are not small men. 290 00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:18,399 Speaker 1: Not all women are equal, and not all men are equal. 291 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:21,359 Speaker 1: And this study showed that there were individual differences, so 292 00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:24,920 Speaker 1: not everybody is going to get the same benefit profile. 293 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:28,960 Speaker 1: And then finally, adherence and safety. Seven day water fast 294 00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:33,600 Speaker 1: is mentally and physically demanding and for anyone with medical conditions, 295 00:19:33,600 --> 00:19:36,919 Speaker 1: it should absolutely be supervised by your doctor. Now, some 296 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:40,240 Speaker 1: people might think, and I know health professionals who say 297 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:45,359 Speaker 1: fasting is dangerous and you shouldn't fast more than twelve 298 00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:48,240 Speaker 1: hours and it can be really dangerous. But here's where 299 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:53,280 Speaker 1: a history lesson comes in. I am looking at on 300 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:57,560 Speaker 1: my computer right now. I am looking at a research 301 00:19:57,640 --> 00:20:02,720 Speaker 1: paper in the Postgraduate Medical Journal of March nineteen seventy three, 302 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:07,040 Speaker 1: and it's a case report and the title of the 303 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:12,720 Speaker 1: paper features of a successful therapeutic fast of three hundred 304 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:16,639 Speaker 1: and eighty two days duration. This was back in the 305 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:21,240 Speaker 1: nineteen seventies. A Scottish dude weighing four hundred and fifty 306 00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:24,879 Speaker 1: six pounds that's over two hundred kilos went to his 307 00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:25,400 Speaker 1: doc and. 308 00:20:25,359 --> 00:20:26,760 Speaker 2: Said, I'm a bit fat. 309 00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:29,000 Speaker 1: I think I need to stop eating for a while, 310 00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:33,080 Speaker 1: and they agreed for him to do a medically supervised fast. 311 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:36,640 Speaker 2: Wasn't intended to be that long, but he took. 312 00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:39,399 Speaker 1: After a while, he took daily vitamins and minerals and 313 00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:42,760 Speaker 1: had regular check ins, but no calories other than after 314 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:44,400 Speaker 1: I can't remember how long. It was quite a long 315 00:20:44,359 --> 00:20:46,760 Speaker 1: long time. He started adding a little bit of milk 316 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:51,359 Speaker 1: in his tea. He lost a whopping two hundred and 317 00:20:51,359 --> 00:20:53,479 Speaker 1: seventy six pounds. What's that one hundred and twenty two 318 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:57,080 Speaker 1: hundred and thirty kilos. He reached a healthy weight, and remarkably, 319 00:20:57,280 --> 00:21:01,440 Speaker 1: he maintained the vast majority of his weight loss years Now. 320 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:03,440 Speaker 2: Even when his blood glucose. 321 00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:06,760 Speaker 1: Dropped the levels that would terrify most doctors today, and 322 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:11,440 Speaker 1: that was around thirty milligrams per DECI leader, he remained alert, functional, 323 00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:15,879 Speaker 1: and symptom three because he completely shifted into ketosis. Now, 324 00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:19,119 Speaker 1: I'm not suggesting that you should go out and fast 325 00:21:19,119 --> 00:21:21,960 Speaker 1: for a year, but this case study shows that the 326 00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:26,600 Speaker 1: human body is remarkably well adapted to prolonged periods without food. Now, 327 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:30,920 Speaker 1: clearly he had a lot of reserve that he could 328 00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:34,080 Speaker 1: live off. But the short of fast three days, four days, 329 00:21:34,119 --> 00:21:38,520 Speaker 1: seven days, that really appeels in comparison to what's physiologically 330 00:21:38,640 --> 00:21:42,960 Speaker 1: possible for lots of humans, and there are routinely there 331 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:47,320 Speaker 1: are monks who fast for one hundred days, right, So 332 00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:52,399 Speaker 1: I would not be concerned unless you have current health conditions. 333 00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:55,200 Speaker 2: But again, go and check with your doctor if you're 334 00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:56,119 Speaker 2: keen on doing this. 335 00:21:57,040 --> 00:21:58,800 Speaker 1: So if you're worried you're going to die without food 336 00:21:58,840 --> 00:22:02,199 Speaker 1: for forty eight hours, you'll be all right. And the 337 00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:06,919 Speaker 1: body is built to endure, adapt and even thrive provided 338 00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:11,840 Speaker 1: that fast is done responsibly. So what's the takeout? Fasting 339 00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:16,159 Speaker 1: is not just for weight loss. It triggers system wide 340 00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:20,879 Speaker 1: changes in our proteum, and there are unique weight loss 341 00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:25,320 Speaker 1: independent biological effects that appear to be very beneficial for 342 00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:28,840 Speaker 1: lots of our organs or immune system. All of these things. 343 00:22:29,359 --> 00:22:33,960 Speaker 1: The timing matters. The deepest systemic shifts begin after day three. 344 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:37,400 Speaker 1: But with my little Asterrex, what happens if you take 345 00:22:37,400 --> 00:22:40,840 Speaker 1: a keto nester, But they continue to build across days 346 00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:44,160 Speaker 1: five to seven, and we just don't know if day 347 00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:47,080 Speaker 1: seven is the peak benefits. It may be that ten 348 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:50,720 Speaker 1: days is even more beneficial now. The other one is 349 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:54,240 Speaker 1: as always, fasting isn't for everyone if you have health conditions, 350 00:22:54,240 --> 00:22:58,560 Speaker 1: if you take medications, or you're underweight, So one of 351 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:02,679 Speaker 1: the exclusion criteria here was females couldn't be below fifteen 352 00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:05,200 Speaker 1: percent body fat and the meals couldn't below twelve percent 353 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:09,439 Speaker 1: body fat. So please consult the doctor before attempting it 354 00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:12,160 Speaker 1: if you have current health conditions, if you take medications, 355 00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:15,280 Speaker 1: or if you're pretty lean to start with. But for 356 00:23:15,359 --> 00:23:20,600 Speaker 1: those curious, discipline and healthy enough to try fasting, especially 357 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:24,479 Speaker 1: prolonged fasting, may be one of the most profound, low cost, 358 00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:28,920 Speaker 1: ancient tools that we have for resetting the body. That's 359 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:31,040 Speaker 1: it for this week, folks, Catch you next time.