Help with inflammation?

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  • Help with inflammation?

    From twitter: @DrMichaelMosley My partner’s dodgy knee has improved since diet; not sure if cos less weight on it or inflammation down.

    My reply:

    One of the things that I am particularly interested in is the anti-inflammatory effects of intermittent fasting (IF). A number of studies, in humans and in mice, have shown that IF reduces inflammatory markers (unlike high protein diets which seem to increase them). In a review paper for The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, March 2005, Dr Mark Mattson (whose work I cite frequently in my book as he is one the great researchers in this field) writes:

     “Intermittent fasting and caloric restriction (CR) extend lifespan and increase resistance to age-related diseases in rodents and monkeys and improve the health of overweight humans. Both IF and CR enhance cardiovascular and brain functions and improve several risk factors for coronary artery disease and stroke including a reduction in blood pressure and increased insulin sensitivity…The beneficial effects of IF and CR result from at least two mechanisms — reduced oxidative damage and increased cellular stress resistance.”

    I will go into the mechanisms around oxidative damage and what he means by cellular stress resistance at a later date if anyone out there is interested.

    Yes very interested in anti inflammatory. I tweeted you in the week…I haven’t had to take Piriton since started fasting. What tweet space didn’t allow me to say was I am 42, size 8 , 5ft4, and fit. Started getting fitter last May for a duathlon which meant I lost weight (was size 10 before) but started wheezing mainly in the middle of the night. It would wake me up, I’d take Piriton to ease it but would take an hour for this to kick in so disturbed sleeps were really getting me down. I’m a freelance cook and have always been slightly (ok quite a lot) anti dairy allergies but I’m wondering if that might be my problem. I switched to a low gi diet last year which does help and I notice wheezing and swollen hands get worse when I eat, dairy and /or sugar in some form and white wine. I went vegan for a while to see if that helped. It did but the 5:2 seems to be having the best effect. Gill

    Yes, I’m very interested in more info on this! I am also interested that the evidence for dietary antioxidants as being protective is weak yet oxidative damage is certainly real…thoughts?

    Hi , I am also very interested in any anti inflammatory effects as I have just been diagnosed with RA. The drugs my consultant wants me to take (methrotroxate?)list lots of nasty potential side effects so I am holding out for a while to see if 5:2 will help. I’ve been on the diet since the programme aired, BMI now 24, BP down to 120/70. I do feel there is a slight improvement in the RA but only on the day after fasting

    Hi, also interested in anti inflammatory effects as have psoriatic arthritis and on methotrexate. Any information on this would be great.Ish

    Yes please! Very interested in the workings of cell damage and resistance, also autophagy and its effects on organelles, mitochondria etc. I am asthmatic and also suffer joint inflammation, can IF help me here?

    Yes please, I’m extremely interested in the science behind the Fast Diet. I think I may just have to buy your book! I won’t be following the diet myself but am in the third year of my Masters in Nutrition degree and would like to be able to understand it fully and see the evidence used, I find it fascinating and found your piece in the Mail on Sunday very interesting.

    For those interested in autophagy, a great book called Perfect Health Diet has a whole chapter on intermittent fasting that mostly focusses on autophagy. It’s basically a Paleo-type diet that recommends intermittent fasting.

    a simple question, re the anti-inflammatory effects, I am noticing good effects for colitis symptoms, is this due to the anti-inflammatory benefits or simply resting the stomach. Any IBS, colitis, Crohns sufferers would be interested. Week 1 completed tomorrow and looking good!

    I have been on all sorts of drugs for 20years including steroids. I have SLE – Lupus. I start Methetrexate next week and hope to bring things under control a bit. Dreading it but need to be able to get up and face the day. I am in week three of 5.2 but find that most of the weight I lose goes back on again on non fast days. Will have to give up booze once on Methetrexate so may help. Anyone drink wine on Meth???

    Yes please to as much information and advice as possible about inflammation especially chronic inflammation.

    I have had mild arthritic joint pain (on compression) in my hands for several years but since starting this diet in January the pain has gone! I noticed it last week while holding hands with my husband, which previously would have been painful but was pain free!! Don’t understand why but it is a definite bonus!!

    I had a great first day of fasting and felt ELATED! The only problem was that I could not sleep as a few people who have posted.
    I find that having carbohydrates before going to be can help me sleep. Naturally on my first day of fasting I did not want to do that as I wanted to focus on the protein as suggested.
    I have decided to factor in a later meal next time with say a bit of rice and see if that helps. Also a brisk walk, yoga or a bit of disco dancing around the bedroom! I will let you know if it helps!

    I have MS and am very interested in how this way of eating may help my brain function and possibly reduce the lesions I have

    I am 73 with a scientific background and have experienced all those well known diets which for years led to yo-yo weight loss and gain and frustration. Michael Mosley’s work and his book ring true. I have a huge sense of relief in living the 5:2 way. Thank you so much! I have given the book to family members who are happily putting it into practice and I know that our grandchildren will benefit in the long run. I myself feel a different person – positive and energetic (I teach nearly full time) and my husband has asked me to organise his fast days . That is a revolution!

    Has anybody had any success with lowering blood pressure?
    Mine isnt horribly high (142/78 ish) but I’d like it to be a bit lower.

    I mentioned on another page that my IBS symptoms went away almost as soon as I began the 5:2. Could be a coincidence, but interesting to see if anyone shares this experience. Fasting is contrary to any current advice for the condition.

    Yes, please! I have RA and am very interested in what effects IF might have on inflammatory autoimmune diseases such as RA. From reading the book, it seems like there is lots of possibility that this could help or impact it in some way. I control mine with meds, and am in the process of reducing them as I have responded very well to them, but always keen to have other tools in the tool box. Today is my second fast day and I feel excited! Drinking loads of green tea and water.

    Also very interested in knowing if it may help with fibromyalgia ?

    I have fibromyalgia. I found that the best diet from the point of increasing energy levels has always been low carb. 5:2 interest me in that I’m hoping it will help with my cognitive function and the ‘brain fog’ that is a classic symptom of fibro. I am trying to monitor my progress using on-line tests but would like to hear if anyone else has had success with this. Low carb fits very nicely with the 5:2 and I have lost more weight than with other plans which is no mean feat with fibro!

    I have arthritis in my hip due to slight deformity of hip socket. Was begging for hip op call, but am suddenly not limping (after a year of pain on walking), and only explanation is 5:2 that i am only following because my husband is. and we aren’t doing it very carefully, just missing the biggest meal twice a week. also, drink very little alcohol (1 glass wine/week, in case it’s significant). not overweight, and no weight loss noted. but if i can walk painfree without operation – i want to tell everyone! can it be true? would like to understand & tell my surgeon.

    This isn’t so much a comment as a question. With all these people trying this methodology, is there any possiblity of getting some serious mass research done into whether it is working as the evidence suggests it should? I’d be happy to participate.

    This thread interests me most because I am more interested in reducing inflammation, high blood pressure, Cancer risk, and cholesterol, than in weight loss. I’m doing 2 consecutive full days of fasting (six meals) a week.
    Will this suit my goals better than two separate fast days?

    Yes, I would be very interested in information on the 5:2 and effects on inflammation. I’m a massage therapist who has many, many clients whose main source of pain is due to inflammation in various areas. They would be very interested to hear of something that could help that doesn’t involve more pills. I have also started the 5:2 plan, but am curious if other people with hypoglycemia have tried it and what they’ve noticed? I’m a little nervous about fasting on a work day (don’t want to start geting shaky, which can happen).

    Thank you for your posts about your inflammatory joint problems (RA) and Fibromyalgia – There is evidence that intermittent fasting reduces inflammatory markers however less evidence related specifically to your conditions. A small study in 2005 found some benefit in rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia in people doing IF compared with a mediterranean diet. One trial found that fasting, followed by 13 months on a vegetarian eating plan, might reduce pain. More research is definitely needed…

    The diet has been a great success for my husband and me in relation to weight loss. However, the arthritis in my hands has definitely got worse whilst I have been on the diet.

    For five months, I suffered from a bad case of plantar fascitis which was not responding to any treatment. After starting the 5:2 program, there was marked improvement in the first two weeks and I was fully cured within six weeks. My regimen is fasting on consecutive days with only eating one meal in the evenings on the fasting days. I also reduced calories on the 5 eating days by skipping breakfast. Weight dropped from 104 kgs to 95 kgs, in the first 33 days. Brilliant.

    Hi would having polycystic kidneys be a problem when doing the diet?

    Definitely more research, it’s too early to say but I’m on week 4 of 5.2 and yesterday stood for 15 minutes with no pain for the first time in months. I don’t know whether its a ‘feel good factor’ switching on and turning down pain signals or actually a repair. I’m holding my breathe – but research on impact of IF on chronic pain could be also revolutionary (and save the NHS millions)

    I have had rather startling improvement with inflammation on this diet plan so far, but I think it’s a combination of fasting and eliminating gluten and dairy. I have had sciatica problems for 3 months, so bad that I could only lie down after work. I was about to get an epidural injection, but tried this eating plan for a week. Prior to this I was between 7-9 on the pain scale, now I’m 1-2. Fasting is very helpful to sort out food allergies as well as kick in the healing process. My husband has been on this plan a month, and although he still eats gluten, his muscle pain has reduced considerably, too. Thanks!

    Fantastic, laurna!! Both you and your husband must be so pleased, to say the least. May you both continue to thrive and be well.

    Hi Laurna & EJ – great to hear of your reduction in pain on the Fast Diet. The evidence suggests that Intermittent fasting reduces inflammation and is confirmed by reduction in inflammatory markers. So glad it is working for you

    Like others, the pain in a sore finger joints has disappeared. I would assume placebo except it’s happened gradually over the months I’ve been on 5:2, and the slight knee pain, which feels slightly different from inflammation, has not changed.

    I have just been told that I have the beginings of athritis, however; that was after a lot of tests and when the process began I wasn’t fasting and I was in a lot of pain.   I hadn’t linked the lack of pain and inflamation to the fasting but it makes more sense now.  It has gradually iproved over the last five months.

    When I started the fasting diet I did have a very nasty abscess due to hidradenitis suppurativa.  I was referred to a surgeon to have this cut out becuase it had grown resistant to antibiotics. I started fasting in Jan and was due to see the surgeon in April but before I got to April it cleared up itself.  AMAZING.  For this reason I will continue to live this way of life.  I have been plauged by these awful abscesses for 22 years and it is such a relief to have found something that works.

     

    Hi colkerr and michelle 70… I am a huge fan of the placebo effect, so if that is helping then great. There is, however, also a lot of evidence that intermittent fasting is anti-inflammatory so I think that may also be helping. I have been speaking to rheumatologists about 5:2 and they are extremely interested

    Michael

    Hi Michelle70 – interesting to hear that your abcesses have settled. It may be that through fasting you have reduced your blood glucose so that the bacteria causing the cellulitis are less able to thrive (as they tend to prefer a high sugar environment). Fasting can reduce inflammation, so glad it is working for you

    I was THRILLED to see someone comment (46oakfield) about a reduction in colitis symptoms. After seeing the SBS documentary and before coming to this forum, I independently wondered if this diet could be good for irritable bowel disease (IBD). It seemed like it would be a good way of resting the bowels for 1-2 days/week. Another poster, Skinny, mentions a reduction in IBS symptoms and although IBS is an altogether different disorder than IBD, it’s a malfunctioning of the bowel so it’s most interesting to see those posts!

    Please comment if you’ve heard anything in relation to IBD – Crohn’s Disease and Colitis – related to this diet.

    Oddly I have had the opposite effect. I have an occasionally painful wrist, probably osteo arthritis. I has become more painful since I started fasting. Not sure if it is just coincidental…

    I have only started the 5:2 diet today and I’m really pleased to read that it may help with inflammatory conditions. I have psoriatic arthritis and the condition makes me feel very fatigued. I want energy again! I reckon that if I lose weight, try to exercise more my energy levels will increase along with a reduction in inflamation of my feet and ankles.

    I started the 5:2 diet about 3 weeks ago. It’s going well, I already lost 7lb. However, I have also experienced a decrease in my IBS symptoms. Would be interesting to know if there’s a possible mechanism for this. However, I also get some intermittent joint pain and that hasn’t improved.

    Hi There, Personally I think the Fast Diet works because people are giving their bodies a chance to rejuvenate, a chance to repair damage done by eating acidic foods, the human body was born alkaline and needs to stay that way but so many people overload their bodies with acidic food that their bodies cannot handle it thus succumbing to disease.
    I am not a doctor so please take this information with professional advice, I have personally studied human illness as a “hobby” for approx. 10 years.
    If you have inflammation/arthritis of the joints it’s because your not taking enough essential minerals, minerals are important to keep your organs healthy, if you don’t consume these minerals your blood takes it from the joints, usually the furthest away such as toes and fingers thus causing arthritis. The Fast Diet helps reduce inflammation by encouraging more greens, pulses etc thus increasing mineral intake=less inflammation. You also consume less acidic foods and drinks which in turn helps your body to dispose of acidic deposits ie:Fat.
    I would also add that sugar would be the main cause of many diseases in the human body because mostly all parasites, viruses, bacteria thrive and activate when sugar intake is great, you should consume very little sugar and simple and complex carbohydrates. Sugar causes acidity in the body and parasites thrive on acidity so you should aim to be eating and drinking more alkaline forming foods.
    I would also encourage people to use alkaline drops in their water which will increase alkalinity of the water ingested, I personally use Alkalife drops, I am not endorsing this product but seem to work for me.
    Basically keep following the Fast Diet, it gives your body a much needed break, smile often, feel hungry often and you will live longer.
    Yours in Good Health.
    P.S If you want to know more about alkalinity and health please ask and I will answer as soon as possible, and please seek further advice as I am not a doctor.

    Miffy 949,

    I too have Fibromyalgia so am interested to see if the diet will improve things for me. have you seen any improvements in your symptoms? I have IBS quite badly too at times so am hoping to get some relief there too.

    In 2002 was also diagnosed with SLE-lupus and then in late 2012 was diagnosed with inflammed thyroid just before we moved. Haven’t been to doctor for mere yet as insurance hasn’t kicked in (July -thank God) but really hoping this diet will help eliminate some of the pain and fatigue. Tomorrow will be first fast day.

    I’m also interested in any anti-inflammatory effects of fasting. About 2 years ago I dramatically reduced my carbs – especially bread and pasta, and an unexpected side effect was a reduction in the pain and swelling in my fingers. I had been having cortisone injections in some of my finger joints but they stopped being effective so the hand surgeon was talking about surgery. I have also had major back surgery and have big problems with my knees. Arthritis is my main health problem. (I’m 63.) Of course nothing is going to repair the deformation in my finger joints but since cutting out most of that high carb food I’ve got a lot more mobility and less pain. I suspect I probably have a wheat or gluten sensitivity, though I still eat oats which apparently have gluten. I wish I had learnt about all this ten years ago before the arthritis started.

    So, Michael, please, please, more research on inflammation.

    I am 45 and I have suffered from Psoriatic Arthritis for 13 years now. I am on prednisone, methotrexate and Celebrex. Started fasting almost three months ago and my rheumatologist just told me on Friday that my blood results are better than they have ever been. Every single function is within the normal range. Also, due to my psoriasis, my nails had been really ugly and pitted for the past 13 years and they are absolutely clear now.

    I definitely noticed a great improvement regarding inflammation. I always used to take my Celebrex as soon as I got up in the morning as I was in so much discomfort but now I sometimes forget and only take it later in the morning as there is hardly any stiffness and pain due to inflammation. I don’t believe in coincidence so all these improvements can only be down to 5:2.

    Thank you Michael!

    Hi Annette, I have just read your post to Michael. We are both delighted to hear that your pain and inflammation is settling and even your nail pitting has improved. Long may it last and best of luck – there’s no such thing as coincidence! Mrs M (Michael’s wife and a GP)

    Hi to Skinny in particular, I suffered with diarrhoea based IBS that would be really bad in the morning within the first hour of rising; this whole episode which lasted four years seemed to be related to the peri-menopause but who knows? I would like to let you know that my symptoms did reduce over the last 3 years but within a week of starting this diet the problem had improved so much that I completely forgot I had had the condition previously. As long as I keep to a reasonably healthy diet on the five food days and don’t overindulge then I seem to be OK. This restriction does seem to have some amazing effects.
    I do also have some knee trouble and that hasn’t gone away so I think it is more mechanical than chemical.
    Good luck to everyone who is in a similar position; I’m certainly keeping this up as a way of life now.

    Hi, I’ve been IF’ing since November 2012 and I’m delighted to say it has changed my life. I look forward to posting in other sections as well as here.

    Lots of inflammation in my body, over many years, my knees and ankles creaked and my finger joints were painful. Within a week of the new lifestyle, ALL my symptoms disappeared, and have remained absence since. Quite miraculous, really.

    Eternally grateful to Michael

    Hi, Johnny – The disappearance of your symptoms is great good news! I wish you continuing good health.
    I’m a big fan of the Internet – the Wondrous www – and I would encourage people with acute or chronic health issues to explore what’s ‘out there’, to experiment and discover potential new solutions to their problems.
    There are websites and forums available online about every condition and subject known to mankind – with a lot of accumulated knowledge and shared experience available as a resource to anyone looking to be proactive in their own well-being. As we see in various posts here, some simple dietary changes seem to be having major positive results – ‘miraculous’, as you say. Be well and happy.

    Yes please , more information on anti- inflammatory possibilities , as I have for over ten years suffer from chronic fibromyalgia ,CRPS and symptomatic tarlov disease , so pain is my 24 hour companion! All of the above are due to a near fatal car crash I was involved in over twenty years ago, it took nearly 10 years to get some answers why so much pain? Most recent I have seen pain specialist who has decided that I need to be given ketamine infusions under anaesthetic ! So I am hoping I can refuse if the 5:2 diet reduces this constant pain. I always say the pain was the price of my survival, but now I want to be able to, move without it and sleep mor than 3 hrs! Will post if there’s a noticeable difference, if this would be beneficial?

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