Has anyone done intermittent fasting for PSC/Crohn’s/Diabetes?

Hi @sandyjr
I know one of our mentors @johnbishop recently started on an intermittent fasting routine after watching a video by Dr. Jason Fung – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nJgHBbEgsE. Perhaps he can share his experience?

What is your daughter currently doing to combat symptoms from these multiple issues?

Hi @sandyjr -- I'm still doing intermittent fasting but have not yet taken it a notch further to do it along with a low carb health fats eating plan. I has helped me lose about 30 lbs and keep it off since I started the intermittent fasting in Jan 2020. The Dr. Jason Fung video that @amandaburnett shared really gave me the incentive to start it because I've always been labeled with pre-diabetes by my doctors and knew losing weight is something I could do to help lower the risk. I'm especially interested in the low carb healthy fat (LCHF) diet because I've read there have been success for some people reversing type 2 diabetes. There is another discussion on the topic you may find helpful -- Low-carb healthy fat living. Intermittent fasting. What’s your why?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/low-carb-healthy-fat-living-intermittent-fasting-whats-your-why/. If you want to check for other discussions in the group here is the LCHF group page: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/lchf-living-intermittent-fasting/

One thing that made the intermittent fasting easier for me was the Zero fasting app on my phone (https://www.zerofasting.com/). It was easy to keep track of the hours you have fasted and you can easily select or change the number of hours you are fasting. I think if your daughter is willing to give it a try, I would call her doctor and discuss it to see if there are any drawbacks and then work on a plan to give it a try to see how it goes. I'm currently doing mostly 20 hour fasting with a 4 hour eating window for several days and then switch to an 18 hour fast 4 hour eating or a 16 hour fast 8 hour eating period. The doctor may have some specific recommendations or suggestions.

My daughter has all 3 of these diseases. I am wondering if anyone who has all or any of these diseases has tried intermittent fasting and what the results have been. The intermittent fasting is not for weight loss, but rather for improvement in the diseases.

Hi Sandy, I've moved your post to the discussion where you asked about intermittent fasting as it might relate to Crohn’s, PSC and type 2 diabetes before. Please see the information shared with you from others above. Has you daughter talked to her doctor about intermittent fasting? How is she doing?

My daughter has so many things going on that I am always looking for something that might help her. That is why I specified those diseases in my title... to get the attention of those particular people and see if intermittent fasting and or a high fat/low carb diet (not necessarily keto diet) made a positive difference for them. My oncologist and also a friend have talked about intermittent fasting and I have done research on it and understand how it and low carb dieting work. What I do not understand is why I get “healthy eating and healthy diet” information from Mayo Clinic and they promote the low fat, high carb diet. Eating low fat products and grains etc is not my idea of healthy. Unless you are eating non GMO and organic, grains can be bad for you and low fat products have chemicals and extra sugars/flavorings/salt to make them palatable. I don’t think of this as healthy. Why are Mayo and other health organizations stuck on the old food pyramid and the high carb/low fat philosophy?

@sandyjr, I am confused about your question about intermittent diet and reference to your oncologist. Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis is managed by a liver specialist or a Gastroenterologist.

Here is some diet/nutrition information specific to PSC.
Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) is a rare liver disease that damages the bile ducts inside and outside the liver. I want to introduce you and your daughter to 'PSC Partners Seeking a Cure'. PSC Partners Seeking a Cure is a nonprofit organization with various programs to give support to patients, caregivers, and to educate patients and the medical community about PSC. Here is what I read about diet-
"There is no specific PSC diet and most patients do not have to make any changes, except to continue to eat in a healthy, sensible way. However, many PSCers have related digestive issues, such as ulcerative colitis and other gastrointestinal problems, and need to stick to a specific diet, as advised by professionals."
https://pscpartners.org/about/treatment-options/nutrition.html

Another resource is NIH where you will find this information: Eating, Diet, & Nutrition for Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis - What should I eat if I have PSC?
https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/liver-disease/primary-sclerosing-cholangitis/eating-diet-nutrition

@sandyjr, PSC is a rare disease, it is a progressive disease. I was transplanted in 2009 due to PSC. Throughout my entire PSC journey, my GI (Gastroenterologist) monitored my condition with routine labs and consults. Without any additional conditions, I was advised to maintain a healthy lifestyle with a heart healthy diet and to get regular exercise. He guided me and answered all of my questions.

Does your daughter have regular visits and labs with her doctor? Is she an adult or a child, for example, How active is she in maintain her own diet and health management? What has he advised about her dietary needs?

My message was specific to people with her diseases but got moved to the intermittent dieting group. I was hoping to hear from people that had one or more of those diseases to see if intermittent dieting could have a positive effect. It seems that the responses have been more toward weight loss. My daughter an I are well aware of how awful PSC is. Yes, she is under a doctor’s care.

I would like to hear from people doing intermittent fasting for help with a disease so that she can ask her doctor what he thinks. She is an adult. I mentioned my oncologist because he was talking about it and pretty much got me interested in it. I like that with autophagy, your body can get rid of old, damaged cells and then rebuild with new cells. I can see where that could have an effect on cancer.

I agree with you on "the old food pyramid". I have EPI (yet another GI disease that is hard to diagnose and hard to adjust diet to. I eat keto and my only issue is sometimes high fat is a "ahem" problem. I have adjusted to "medium fat" (typically less around 50% of my calories) and still stick with 20-40 grams of carbs. My carbs are salad or non-starchy vegetables. I also fast (one meal per day every day and one whole day each week). Nothing like it to reboot the GI tract and improve energy. I really appreciate my food after a fast and it costs NOTHING.
This may not help your daughter, except that relying on old nutrition information leads us down the wrong path. It sounds like you've already adapted to non-processed food and that helps alot. Processed food is bad for the body and only makes you hungrier.
Probably the best key to any diet but especially one that helps deal with a GI disease is nutrient dense, high quality, non industrial food. I wish you both the best of luck.

I do not understand why so many of the elite health organizations are still pushing the low fat, high carb diet. Fat is not a four letter word, but you would think it was. Just go to the grocery store and observe the shopping carts filled with boxed food. The grocery store ads have very little natural food in them. The catch phrases make people think they are eating healthy...these are phrases repeated all the time on tv and in ads to brainwash people into thinking they are eating the right thing. Fat is needed in the diet for the body to function. That does not mean to eat a pound of bacon every day for breakfast. It means that there are healthy fats that need to be eaten as everything else, in healthy portions prepared properly. It almost makes you wonder if the food and medical industries are seeking job security. I do not do the keto diet, but I eat good natural carbs and full fat products and stay away from processed foods.

well said