Fasting one day a month may protect arteries [Mormons]

There was a discussion here about fasting being beneficial -- in the
last 30 days. It never went anywhere.

Now, a Utah study is showing that fasting (one day per month) appears to
contribute to cleaner and less clogged arteries. It is just a
statistical correlation or association at this point, with mechanisms
pretty vague.

The additional claim is that fasting would likely not be good for
dieters, as it is thought to reset the metabolic rate downward, as the
body adjusts to less food, and promotes weight gain on resumption of eating.

====================== MSNBC Article ==========================

Hungry Mormons offer clues to heart disease
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22186390/

Religious practice of fasting one day a month may protect arteries


Mormons have less heart disease — something doctors have long chalked up
to their religion's ban on smoking. New research suggests that another
of their "clean living" habits also may be helping their hearts: fasting
for one day each month.

A study in Utah, where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
is based, found that people who skipped meals once a month were about 40
percent less likely to be diagnosed with clogged arteries than those who
did not regularly fast.

People did not have to "get religion" to benefit: non-Mormons who
regularly took breaks from food also were less likely to have clogged
arteries, scientists found.

They concede that their study is far from proof that periodic fasting is
good for anyone, but said the benefit they observed poses a theory that
deserves further testing.

"It might suggest these are people who just control eating habits
better," and that this discipline extends to other areas of their lives
that improves their health, said Benjamin Horne, a heart disease
researcher from Intermountain Medical Center and the University of Utah
in Salt Lake City.

He led the study and reported results at a recent American Heart
Association conference. The research was partly funded by the National
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Roughly 70 percent of Utah residents are Mormons, whose religion advises
abstaining from food on the first Sunday of each month, Horne said.

Finding religion

Researchers got the idea to study fasting after analyzing medical
records of patients who had X-ray exams to check for blocked heart
arteries between 1994 and 2002 in the Intermountain Health Collaborative
Study, a health registry. Of these patients, 4,629 could be diagnosed as
clearly having or lacking heart disease — an artery at least 70 percent
clogged.


Researchers saw a typical pattern: only 61 percent of Mormons had heart
disease compared to 66 percent of non-Mormons. They thought tobacco use
probably accounted for the difference. But after taking smoking into
account, they still saw a lower rate of heart disease among Mormons and
designed a survey to explore why.

It asked about Mormons' religious practices: monthly fasting; avoiding
tea, coffee and alcohol; taking a weekly day of rest; going to church,
and donating time or money to charity.

Among the 515 people surveyed, only fasting made a significant
difference in heart risks: 59 percent of periodic meal skippers were
diagnosed with heart disease versus 67 percent of the others.

The difference persisted even when researchers took weight, age and
conditions like diabetes or high cholesterol or blood pressure into
account. About 8 percent of those surveyed were not Mormons, and those
who regularly fasted had lower rates of heart disease, too.

Brief respite for your cells

Horne speculated that when people take a break from food, it forces the
body to dip into fat reserves to burn calories. It also keeps the body
from being constantly exposed to sugar and having to make insulin to
metabolize it. When people develop diabetes, insulin-producing cells
become less sensitive to cues from eating, so fasting may provide brief
rests that resensitize these cells and make them work better, he said.

But he and other doctors cautioned that skipping meals is not advised
for diabetics — it could cause dangerous swings in blood sugar.

Also for dieters, "the news is not as good as you might think" on
fasting, said Dr. Raymond Gibbons of the Mayo Clinic, a former heart
association president.

"Fasting resets the metabolic rate," slowing it down to adjust to less
food and forcing the body to store calories as soon as people resume
eating, Gibbons said.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

It makes me wonder if the mechanisms that draw fat from fat cells might at
the same time draw fat from artery walls.

Claims that a day of fasting will cause weight gain seem like wishful
thinking to me. People have a great tendency to rationalize anything that
lets them eat more, and doctors are not immune. Just take a look at the low
calorie USENET group. It is a ghost town.


"Jim" wrote in message
...
There was a discussion here about fasting being beneficial -- in the last
30 days. It never went anywhere.

Now, a Utah study is showing that fasting (one day per month) appears to
contribute to cleaner and less clogged arteries. It is just a statistical
correlation or association at this point, with mechanisms pretty vague.

The additional claim is that fasting would likely not be good for dieters,
as it is thought to reset the metabolic rate downward, as the body adjusts
to less food, and promotes weight gain on resumption of eating.

====================== MSNBC Article ==========================

Hungry Mormons offer clues to heart disease
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22186390/

Religious practice of fasting one day a month may protect arteries


Mormons have less heart disease — something doctors have long chalked up
to their religion's ban on smoking. New research suggests that another of
their "clean living" habits also may be helping their hearts: fasting for
one day each month.

A study in Utah, where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is
based, found that people who skipped meals once a month were about 40
percent less likely to be diagnosed with clogged arteries than those who
did not regularly fast.

People did not have to "get religion" to benefit: non-Mormons who
regularly took breaks from food also were less likely to have clogged
arteries, scientists found.

They concede that their study is far from proof that periodic fasting is
good for anyone, but said the benefit they observed poses a theory that
deserves further testing.

"It might suggest these are people who just control eating habits better,"
and that this discipline extends to other areas of their lives that
improves their health, said Benjamin Horne, a heart disease researcher
from Intermountain Medical Center and the University of Utah in Salt Lake
City.

He led the study and reported results at a recent American Heart
Association conference. The research was partly funded by the National
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Roughly 70 percent of Utah residents are Mormons, whose religion advises
abstaining from food on the first Sunday of each month, Horne said.

Finding religion

Researchers got the idea to study fasting after analyzing medical records
of patients who had X-ray exams to check for blocked heart arteries
between 1994 and 2002 in the Intermountain Health Collaborative Study, a
health registry. Of these patients, 4,629 could be diagnosed as clearly
having or lacking heart disease — an artery at least 70 percent clogged.


Researchers saw a typical pattern: only 61 percent of Mormons had heart
disease compared to 66 percent of non-Mormons. They thought tobacco use
probably accounted for the difference. But after taking smoking into
account, they still saw a lower rate of heart disease among Mormons and
designed a survey to explore why.

It asked about Mormons' religious practices: monthly fasting; avoiding
tea, coffee and alcohol; taking a weekly day of rest; going to church, and
donating time or money to charity.

Among the 515 people surveyed, only fasting made a significant difference
in heart risks: 59 percent of periodic meal skippers were diagnosed with
heart disease versus 67 percent of the others.

The difference persisted even when researchers took weight, age and
conditions like diabetes or high cholesterol or blood pressure into
account. About 8 percent of those surveyed were not Mormons, and those who
regularly fasted had lower rates of heart disease, too.

Brief respite for your cells

Horne speculated that when people take a break from food, it forces the
body to dip into fat reserves to burn calories. It also keeps the body
from being constantly exposed to sugar and having to make insulin to
metabolize it. When people develop diabetes, insulin-producing cells
become less sensitive to cues from eating, so fasting may provide brief
rests that resensitize these cells and make them work better, he said.

But he and other doctors cautioned that skipping meals is not advised for
diabetics — it could cause dangerous swings in blood sugar.

Also for dieters, "the news is not as good as you might think" on fasting,
said Dr. Raymond Gibbons of the Mayo Clinic, a former heart association
president.

"Fasting resets the metabolic rate," slowing it down to adjust to less
food and forcing the body to store calories as soon as people resume
eating, Gibbons said.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Yeah, the claim that just one day of missed meals could "reset the
metabolism" had my BS detector quivering that BS may be being
circulated. Nothing like fresh BS, however.

Cubit wrote:
It makes me wonder if the mechanisms that draw fat from fat cells might at
the same time draw fat from artery walls.

No idea, but the geometry involved doesn't seem similar to form the analogy.


Claims that a day of fasting will cause weight gain seem like wishful
thinking to me. People have a great tendency to rationalize anything that
lets them eat more, and doctors are not immune. Just take a look at the low
calorie USENET group. It is a ghost town.


"Jim" wrote in message
...
There was a discussion here about fasting being beneficial -- in the last
30 days. It never went anywhere.

Now, a Utah study is showing that fasting (one day per month) appears to
contribute to cleaner and less clogged arteries. It is just a statistical
correlation or association at this point, with mechanisms pretty vague.

The additional claim is that fasting would likely not be good for dieters,
as it is thought to reset the metabolic rate downward, as the body adjusts
to less food, and promotes weight gain on resumption of eating.

====================== MSNBC Article ==========================

Hungry Mormons offer clues to heart disease
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22186390/

Religious practice of fasting one day a month may protect arteries


Mormons have less heart disease — something doctors have long chalked up
to their religion's ban on smoking. New research suggests that another of
their "clean living" habits also may be helping their hearts: fasting for
one day each month.

A study in Utah, where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is
based, found that people who skipped meals once a month were about 40
percent less likely to be diagnosed with clogged arteries than those who
did not regularly fast.

"Cubit" wrote

It makes me wonder if the mechanisms that draw fat from fat cells might at
the same time draw fat from artery walls.


Ornish claims to reverse heart diease with his low fat low calorie diet.
That might be how it works. Of course, I thought it was plaque from chol
that forms on artery walls, not fat.

Aren't they forms of fat?

[very guilty of failing to Google here]


"Roger Zoul" wrote in message
...

"Cubit" wrote

It makes me wonder if the mechanisms that draw fat from fat cells might
at the same time draw fat from artery walls.


Ornish claims to reverse heart diease with his low fat low calorie diet.
That might be how it works. Of course, I thought it was plaque from chol
that forms on artery walls, not fat.

by "here" I was referring to myself

"Cubit" wrote in message
...
Aren't they forms of fat?

[very guilty of failing to Google here]


"Roger Zoul" wrote in message
...

"Cubit" wrote

It makes me wonder if the mechanisms that draw fat from fat cells might
at the same time draw fat from artery walls.


Ornish claims to reverse heart diease with his low fat low calorie diet.
That might be how it works. Of course, I thought it was plaque from chol
that forms on artery walls, not fat.

"Roger Zoul" wrote:
"Cubit" wrote

It makes me wonder if the mechanisms that draw fat from fat cells might at
the same time draw fat from artery walls.

Ornish claims to reverse heart diease with his low fat low calorie diet.
That might be how it works. Of course, I thought it was plaque from chol
that forms on artery walls, not fat.

Dr Atkins suggested chelation therapy to reverse arterial plaque. He
got called a quack for doing so. I've seen adds for EDTA tablets to
do
oral chelation but I've not yet purchased any to try it out.

One advantage to occasional fasting - It makes clear that most
essential
nutrients are needed on a time scale of several days not each and
every
day.

One disadvantage to occasional fasting - Anyone who's ever been told
they have an eating disorder needs to avoid it. Too tempting to
overdo.

EDTA. Interesting. After some Wiki reading, I think it may be a plausible
approach to dealing with kidney stones.

Vitacost has several products.

Thanks for mentioning EDTA.


"Doug Freyburger" wrote in message
...
"Roger Zoul" wrote:
"Cubit" wrote

It makes me wonder if the mechanisms that draw fat from fat cells might
at
the same time draw fat from artery walls.

Ornish claims to reverse heart diease with his low fat low calorie diet.
That might be how it works. Of course, I thought it was plaque from chol
that forms on artery walls, not fat.

Dr Atkins suggested chelation therapy to reverse arterial plaque. He
got called a quack for doing so. I've seen adds for EDTA tablets to
do
oral chelation but I've not yet purchased any to try it out.

One advantage to occasional fasting - It makes clear that most
essential
nutrients are needed on a time scale of several days not each and
every
day.

One disadvantage to occasional fasting - Anyone who's ever been told
they have an eating disorder needs to avoid it. Too tempting to
overdo.

"Cubit" writes:

EDTA. Interesting. After some Wiki reading, I think it may be a
plausible approach to dealing with kidney stones.

Do you still have that URL or URLs? I've got someone who's worried
about kidney stones I'd like to pass it along to.


Thanks,
--
Aaron -- 285/254/200 -- aaron.baugher.biz

"Aaron Baugher" wrote in message
...
"Cubit" writes:

EDTA. Interesting. After some Wiki reading, I think it may be a
plausible approach to dealing with kidney stones.

Do you still have that URL or URLs? I've got someone who's worried
about kidney stones I'd like to pass it along to.


Thanks,
--
Aaron -- 285/254/200 -- aaron.baugher.biz

Well,

I had started in Wikipedia and branched off from a link there. I can't seem
to retrace my steps.
However, Googling I found:

Q. Does EDTA play a role in treating kidney stones?

A. Yes, it does. Because kidney stones are usually composed of calcium and
oxylate, and because virtually all EDTA passes through the kidneys on its
way out of the body, EDTA is perfectly capable of dissolving them. In fact,
in Europe, direct infusion of kidneys (through the ureter) is a fairly
common means of treating large kidney stones. I.V. or oral EDTA can also
help dissolve kidney stones.

http://www.life-enhancement.com/arti...late.asp?ID=86