Fasting to relieve or eliminate gastro problems?

Hello @haroka15, I do intermittent fasting on a regular basis but more for managing my weight. I do think it can help with other health problems and might be good to have a discussion with your doctor or health care team. Here's a good article from Mayo Clinic on fasting - What is intermittent fasting? Does it have health benefits?: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/intermittent-fasting/faq-20441303.

We also have a support group that you might find helpful with many different discussion topics.
-- LCHF Living & Intermittent Fasting Support Group: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/lchf-living-intermittent-fasting/

@hsroka15 You bring up an interesting question and one that has been a topic in my household on several occasions. I also read @johnbishop does intermittent fasting on a regular basis with success to manage his weight.

I love John’s guidance to learn more what others on Connect are talking about, what works (and doesn’t) work for them as you wait for others to comment. My added 2 cents is to do your own experiment. Eat consistently for a time and track how it goes. Then, add a fast in and see what happens. Maybe another 2 cents worth, include your doctor in your experiment.

I can tell you what is behind my thinking:
- Friends of ours have a schedule for a fast once a week. The man loves it. The woman does it too, but my observations are it doesn’t work well for her. I sit on the sidelines, of course and my observations are her health is declining (with more complaints).
- My own struggles have improved with a lot of effort by myself and my care providers. Part of what I do is eat regularly all day long. It has helped. In fact, I had to fast a couple times to get blood work and I ended up feeling horrible.

If you are comfortable sharing, how are you feeling and what are your symptoms you are trying to improve? Would you include me in hearing updates if you decide to test how intermittent fasting works for you?

Yes, I do fastingn on almost a daily basis and have been able to reduce my reflux pills. Also, cutting back on carbs really seems to work the best. Carbs are inflammatory.

@mmilich how many hours do you fast for per day? Also, are you referring to complex carbohydrates or simple carbohydrates?

I try to fast for 18 hours, and sometimes can do 20. IF fixes a lot of things.

I try to limit carbs, both simple and complex. But of course, the healthy carbs are better. My doctor said other patients told him their reflux gets better if they limit carbs.

@mmilich all carbs break down to sugar, which is bad for reflux. So, that makes sense. My doctor had told me once that a patient with severe reflux self healed by only eating broccoli for about one month. Nature has a lot to offer ....I wish more people were educated on natural remedies instead of funding the pharmaceuticals

@hsroka15 I am so with you on that. Fasting results in autophagy, which helps clean up dead cells in the body and promotes healing. My retina specialist showed me photos of my eye taken before I ever started fastig and after about two years of regular time-restricted eating. There was a huge improvement in my condition. The doctor would't say the fasting resulted in this healing, but I can think of nothing else that would have done it. I looked online, and there are oodles of scientific articles from notable research institutions about the benefit of fasting toward eye health. So if it helps the eye, it surely must help other parts of your body as well.

@mmilich thank you for that insight. Did you ease yourself into doing 18-20 hours fasts, or did you dive right in?

@hsroka15 Oh no. If someone told me I had to start fasting I would have NEVER done it. But during the pandemic, I didn't have regular access to food. So I ended up eating just one meal a day, just by default. I didn't even know there was such a thing as intermittent fasting. I just ended up doing it out of necessity. Then the VA made me get bloodwork, and all my results were good. I didn't associate that with the fasting till later when a friend told me there was a "name" for my weird eating style during the pandemic. Bottom Line: If someone told me I should fast for health, I would have balked and not done it. I didn't think I could go without food for very long, but once I started eating in a compressed window, all because of the pandemic, I got used to it and liked it, and I started seeing the many health benefits. One thing I forgot to tell you in a previous reply. I think eating a gluten-free diet helped the reflux most of all. So, yes, the complex carbs were better for the reflux.

@mmilich can I ask when you avoid eating when you do a fast? Do you eat breakfast and then stop eating for 18 hours? I am only 32 years old, so I feel like I can really explore my options here and do some serious fasting/risk taking. I have had stress induced stomach ulcers and reflux since 2010 because of my anxiety problems. Of course, this leads into the gut-brain connection. I do understand that a healthy gut creates a healthy brain so I am trying to do all I can to create a safe environment for my gut (probiotics, fasting, eating vegetables)