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About three years ago, I got this idea that an age-old therapy could be used to treat exacerbations. Maybe my results are circumstantial, but I can't help but wonder: can "juice fasting" hinder MS disease activity? After all, there has been research done on the "harmful" effects of starvation diets like juice fasts and the like; of those harmful effects, a "weakened immune system" is a finding I've encountered more than once.

Therefore, could the mechanism that fasting promotes hinder the immune system and provide benefit for those of us with MS? If nothing else, I can fall back on the wisdom of the guy whose portrait we like to have stuffed in our wallets and pockets to verify that therapeutic fasting is likely a healthful thing.

Ben Franklin once wrote, "nothing heals the body like rest and fasting." In a time where the average life expectancy was 26 years (true, infant mortality had a lot to do with that; however, Franklin still outlived his peers by 30 years or more). Benjamin Franklin lived to the ripe old age of 84, good sense suggests that he knew how to maintain good health.

Bloggery aside, I would like to hear from anyone else who has tried therapeutic fasting. Has anyone else gotten positive results from short-term food abstinence?

Be Well,
Rev. Leonidas

This is an older paper but it may still be of interest...

M. Naiki, et al. 1995. 2-Buten-4-olide (2-B4O) inhibits experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) in Lewis rats. J Autoimmunity 8(5): 727-739.

Abstract:
Starvation is well known to induce immune suppression. Moreover, the concentration of 2-B4O, an endogenous sugar acid, is elevated in the circulation during starvation. To determine if these events are related, the influence of 2-B4O on experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) in Lewis rats, a model of human multiple sclerosis (MS), was studied. EAE, characterized by paralysis of hind legs, was induced by immunization with residues 68 to 84 (MB 68-84) of the guinea pig myelin basic protein (MBP) in complete adjuvant H37Ra. Interestingly, the daily administration of 2-B4O intraperitoneally from the day of MB 68-84 immunization (day 0) to day 20 dramatically suppressed the clinical severity of EAE. The daily administration of 2-B4O intraperitoneally from day 0 to day 7 also markedly reduced the clinical symptoms of EAE. In fact, passively induced EAE, using Con A activated spleen cells from rats immunized with MB 68-84 in H37Ra, was also inhibited by daily administration of 2-B4O. Histological examination confirmed clinical findings and revealed that mononuclear cell infiltration into the central nervous system was significantly inhibited by 2-B4O. To clarify the mechanism(s) responsible for suppression of EAE, the effects of 2-B4O on the immune responses to MB 68-84 were examined. When rats were treated daily with 2-B4O for 15 days after immunization with MB 68-84 in H37Ra, the delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) response to MB 68-84 was significantly reduced in 2-B4O treated rats as compared with saline treated rats. The proliferative response to MB 68-84 of spleen cells from 2-B4O treated rats was also significantly lower than that of saline treated rats. Our data demonstrate that 2-B4O has the potential to suppress autoimmune responses in both inductive and effector phases. 2-B4O may have significant potential to treat autoimmune diseases.

NHE,

Thanks, good information. I don't know if therapeutic fasting will ever get the attention it deserves, but at least the rats know better.

Be Well,
Rev. Leonidas

Hi, folks!

You know, you've mentioned something interesting here. I looked into it a little farther.

The complete article to the abstract you posted, NHE, is located here, I believe. (Well, actually, this article is dated 2003, so it's pretty recent):
http://www.ebmonline.org/cgi/content/full/228/10/1146

Pretty interesting reading. You might want to review it.

I also found this abstract (a little more recent), that I thought you might find of interest:

Brain Res Bull. 2001 Dec;56(6):531-6. Related Articles, Links


2-buten-4-olide, an endogenous feeding suppressant, improves spatial performance through brain acidic fibroblast growth factor in mice.

Li XL, Aou S, Li AJ, Hori T, Tooyama I, Oomura Y.

Department of Integrative Physiology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.

Endogenous sugar acid 2-buten-4-olide, a satiety substance, has been shown to increase the blood glucose, norepinephrine, and glucocorticoid concentrations that are known to modulate learning and memory processes. The glucose-induced release of acidic fibroblast growth factor facilitated the hippocampus-dependent memory function. In the present study, we investigated the effect of 2-buten-4-olide on the spatial performance of male DDY mice undergoing the water maze task. The intraperitoneal injection of 2-buten-4-olide (5 mg/kg) facilitated the spatial performance, which was indicated by a reduction in the escape latency in which the mouse finds and climbs the goal platform in comparison to the vehicle-injected control mice. In the probe test after removing the platform, the 2-buten-4-olide-treated mice stayed a longer time in the quadrant where the platform was originally located and crossed more frequently at the platform location than did the control mice. The pretreatment of acidic fibroblast growth factor antibody injected into the lateral ventricle eliminated the effect of 2-buten-4-olide both during the training sessions and during the probe test. Therefore, 2-buten-4-olide was found to improve the spatial performance, and this effect is mediated, at least in part, by acidic fibroblast growth factor.

PMID: 11786238 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Rev, you might just be onto something here!

Deb

OddDuck,
Thanks for the additional reference as I haven't looked into research in this area for some time.

My original citation was correct. These are actually two different papers. The paper I cited can be found at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/quer ... ds=8579727

NHE

Yes, it's a new angle to take a look at and consider, huh?

And thank you!

Deb

In reference to juice fasting - this is anectdotal, non-scientific but I think interesting to the Rev's question.

My grandmother lived to be two weeks shy of 107 years of age. She died of old age - no disease! When she was about 85 years of age she was diagnosed with cancer - the doctors wanted to amputate her leg ( this was 30 years ago) She refused the amputation - went on a grape juice and water fasting diet intermittently for a period of about nine months. Follow-up visit to the doctor showed no cancer. She continued her regimen of grape juice and water at interval time periods until the day she died.

So, was her longevity due to the grape juice? She thought it was - who am I to argue with her?

what a story, and what a brave woman! thanks for sharing

Sharon,

Yes, that is interesting!

And NHE.....I forgot to say. Yes, you're correct. The abstract you referred to is a different one than the full article I posted a link to.

But you might find it interesting to go to that link, also. It's pretty lengthy and quite technical, but it also goes over the same information you posted.

Hey..........you know, I've got to say, off and on over the years, I've read and heard things referring to the fact that if food intake was regulated better, it could affect health quite a bit!

Again, interesting!!

And as Rev likes to say, and I hope he doesn't mind that I borrow here:

Be well, everybody!

Deb

So, was her longevity due to the grape juice? She thought it was

It very well could have been due to the grape juice. A PubMed search for grape seed extract yields many papers which discuss how the antioxidants in grapes (skin, seed, and pulp) activate the immune system and promote a Th1 response.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl ... f/0214.pdf

NHE

OddDuck wrote:
And as Rev likes to say, and I hope he doesn't mind that I borrow here:

Be well, everybody!

Deb

...I have to give credit where credit is due. The quote "be well" comes from a really cheesey movie that I liked when I waz a younger kid (I'm just an older kid now, so I guess I still like it): The Demolition Man.

Regardless who or where "Be Well" comes from, it's a good thing to wish on anybody always. I wish it on you, and your critters too.