Fitness

Experiments in Fasting January 2017

The Complete Guide to Fasting book cover

Prolonged fasting is hard. I’ve dabbled in 3-5 day fasts since the beginning of the new year, and had to contend with several challenges that ultimately curtail any ambitions to further the fasts.

Despite that last year’s lab results revealed abnormal kidney function as well as microscopic protein spilling into urine (along with a stern recommendation from my doctor to avoid high protein and carbonated beverages–or else she’d refer me to a nephrologist), I resolved to experiment more with long fasts to improve my insulin sensitivity and HA1C results (which in the October 2016 lab sat at 5.6–out of the pre-diabetes range).

Armed with the knowledge gleaned from The Complete Guide to Fasting, the Intensive Dietary Management website, and the recordings at FastingTalk.com, I set out to add prolonged fasts regularly to my health and fitness in 2017.

In the month of January, I was able to complete a 6 day and a 3 day fast, albeit with some difficulty. The short list of problems I encountered doing these fasts include:

  1. Surviving the 3 day hump (switching the body’s fuel sources)
  2. Hunger and appetite control throughout the fast
  3. Moodiness, mainly extreme sadness and anger
  4. Watery stools while breaking the fast
  5. Balancing sleep and energy expenditure while on severe calorie restriction
  6. Maintaining hydration
  7. Uncontrolled post-fast refeeds

The possible solution to some of the issues (1, 5, 7) seems to be in planning and preparation; mainly using an LCHF or a ketogenic diet to lead into and end the fast.

An answer to issue 4 that I found after listening to the podcast at FastingTalk.com was to use chia seeds to break the fast. I whipped up a recipe of coconut milk, cream and chia seeds and it seems to have relieved some of the symptoms.

I suspect issues 2 and 3 can be improved with the combo of diet AND exercise, since exercise can have a profound impact on mental state. Along with behavior modification and more planning, I hope to address 5, 6 and 7. Clearly, thinking ahead and being mindful of the challenges puts one in a position to succeed. I plan on continuously tweaking my fasting experiments with an eye toward better outcomes.

 

Drogo, Furkids

2016 Update on the fight to cure FIP

It was about this time last year when we lost our adopted black kitten, Drogo, to FIP. At the time, info available was sparse: FIP was known to be a 100% fatal coronavirus mutation afflicting kittens and young cats with no known pathology. While some anecdotes abound on the internet about kittens surviving “dry” (non-effusive) FIP, reports seem consistent, nearly universally dire, about the chances of a cat surviving “wet” or effusive FIP–which our cat Drogo was diagnosed with.

The 2016 research material that emerged later in the year suggests a new weapon is showing promise in the fight to cure FIP. I listed the sources in my earlier post, pointing to Dr Pedersen’s preliminary research posted on the SOCKFIP.org website as well as the published paper on the PLOS Journal.

A new note has appeared on the SOCKFIP.org website with Dr. Pedersen’s closing update for 2016. In it he suggests that UC Davis and its partners are preparing to move onto Phase 2 research to focus on treatment modalities for the GC376 protease inhibitor on effusive cases of FIP.

Some key takeaways from the Phase 1 study, which I will quote below:

  1. Most disease signs are reversible with treatment:

    Based on what we have learned from our first group of cats, we know that the treatment will require a minimum of twelve weeks and will cause a rapid reversal of disease signs in most, but not all, cats.

  2. FIP-caused neurological issues are resistant to treatment; said treatment does not forestall possible development of neurological problems later:

    Cats with neurologic disease will not respond to this treatment, as the drug does not penetrate well into the brain. We also know that cats with ocular FIP will develop severe neurologic disease during or after treatment. We have also learned that cats that have had FIP for some time will often develop neurological disease while on treatment or after their initial treatment is completed.

  3. This isn’t a cure; the long-term effects of GC376 have yet to be studied:

    we still do not know whether or not we can sustain disease remission in those cats that survive the therapy and remain healthy

  4. Emphasis on the availability of said treatment, restricted to research only:

    The drug is not commercially available and cannot be purchased and must be administered under the institutional and hospital protocols of UC Davis. We understand the desperation that people feel when their cat develops such a terrible disease but our resources are limited and must be strictly focused on the goal of researching FIP what we hope is the first of many highly specific and effective antiviral drugs against FIP virus.

Given this news, I made some brief searches on the net regarding the status of FIP research, in particular, UC Davis’ collaboration with researchers at Kansas State University.

On SOCKFIP’s Facebook, they  linked to a Catster article interviewing Dr Pedersen.

To be clear, this is only the latest research using a recent treatment modality to reverse FIP. There still exists a competing treatment publicly available on a smaller scale that is reported to have limited success treating dry forms of FIP. The University of Tennessee updated their clinical trials document in 2017 promoting Polyprenyl Immunostimulant treatment. It seems the document is courting donations for Dr Legendre’s ongoing research in FIP. It is this research that is cited in the current Wikipedia article on FIP.

Winn Feline Foundation, which has donated to UC Davis, Kansas State, and University of Tennessee studies, has also contributed several grants over the course of 2016 supporting FIP research.

Morris Animal Foundation, also another donor in the FIP fight, announced research and funding in 2016.

As it’s about the time tax returns start getting filed, this post partly triggered by a review of my charitable donations for the previous year, among which is my contribution to SockFIP. I’m glad to see the ongoing effort to find a cure to FIP, including the progress made this past year.

Dining, Recipes

Recipe: Basic Bone Broth

I’ve been having a blast lately making soups with my homemade bone broth, mostly derivations of Vietnamese pho, minus the banh (or rice noodles). It made for a more mindful and healthier start to 2017.

Bone broth is so easy to make, it makes me wonder why I ever bothered buying cartons of the store-bought stuff (e.g., convenience). But studies have revealed the healthy benefits of collagen, gelatin and all the minerals and electrolytes that go into bone broth (hello, gut health, reduced inflammation, alleviating joint issues, hydration for post-workout and the list goes on) that it’s an easy decision to skip the commercial boxed or bouillon types.

So for my very first bone broth (back in April 2016) I needed only 3 ingredients: about 3 pounds of center-cut grass-fed beef marrow bones (found at Whole Foods Market), 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, and enough water to fill a 5 quart slow cooker.

Dump all ingredients in the pot and cook low and slow (BBQ types know this phrase well enough) for 12-24 hours.

Now because these bones were sourced from Whole Foods, they were relatively picked clean and “not so scummy/bloody” while they rendered out during the slow cooking process. Some food blogs suggest parboiling before simmering the rest of the cook time. But, in future posts, I tried different cuts of meat and bone with the result of a less transparent broth. Nevertheless, in all endeavors, it was worth getting a mini fine-mesh strainer with rubberized silicone handle to stream the liquid through as I prepped the broth for storage. Obviously, I didn’t want to refrigerate anything suspended in the broth that risked altering the flavor in the long term.

Yep, there’ll be a small amount of fat in this collagen-rich broth. It’s part of what gives this broth that mouth-coating feel when sipped straight out of the cooker. Some folks can’t tolerate it which is why I suggest storing the broth in the refrigerator overnight, then removing the fat that gels on top of the broth the next day. SAVE THAT FAT, though! Store it in the refrigerator and use it in sautes and stir fries later!

If you’re curious, this is an unseasoned broth so it will taste bland right out of the slow cooker. I intended to use it as a base for other dishes like stews and sautes.

Thanks to Nom Nom Paleo, Wellness Mama and The Kitchn that shared instructions and plentiful tips on how to make and store bone broth.