This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

Hello every one,

I read water fasting can cure MS or at least it can help ease some of symptoms, so about 2 weeks ago i decided to start fasting for 21 days and now i'm in day 12 of my water fast, first 3-4 days was hell and i was so hungry up to day 7 and now hunger is gone i feel like i can continue this more than 21 days that i aimed for.

I read so many about the benefits of water fasting for MS, but some said 21 days, some other said 40 days, and another said that it should be decided by expert to do the fasting between 21 to 42 days and i really don't have that kind of experts around me, so far whoever i talked to about the fasting just warned me to don't do it.

Now wandering anyone here can help me to decide or give me any suggestion, guidance.
all helps appreciated.

Thanks in advance

IMHO, water fasting (as well as food fasting) may not be a good idea for any amount of time, period. I am not a doctor or medical professional of any kind, this is just my opinion. Many believe it is safe to do and beneficial and I truly hope it works for you! I believe your body needs fuel to operate properly and water is part of the mix of things it needs to function properly, again just my opinion.

H4lfBl00dPrinc3 wrote:Now wandering anyone here can help me to decide or give me any suggestion, guidance.

This is silly. Your body needs fuel to run. If you don't feed it, then it will start breaking down your muscles in order to fuel itself. Muscle atrophy and loss of strength is a leading cause of disability in MS. Why would you wish to do this?

NHE wrote:

H4lfBl00dPrinc3 wrote:Now wandering anyone here can help me to decide or give me any suggestion, guidance.

This is silly. Your body needs fuel to run. If you don't feed it, then it will start breaking down your muscles in order to fuel itself. Muscle atrophy and loss of strength is a leading cause of disability in MS. Why would you wish to do this?

All you said are right, i though about all of them before i start doing this and then another question came up, whats the point of having all these muscles when i can't use them.
So far i had good result with this fasting, before the fast i had to eat 4 tizanidine and 4 baclofen or i couldn't move thanks to spasms and now i'm eating none.
another thing is i couldn't stand up without some help and now i can do it.

so i think i take my chance with it, anyway my plan was to do HSCT and i think it is destroys the body much more then fasting.

Well, it's not completely silly. However, 21 days is pretty extreme. In contrast, Dr. Michael Mosley promotes a 2 day a week fast.

Eat, Fast and Live Longer


You can also check out...

Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead


...which discusses juice fasting with vegetable juice.

The difference between water fasting and the juice fasting that Joe Cross promotes is that with water fasting you are essentially starving yourself while with juice fasting with fresh vegetables you are consuming little calories, but a feast of micronutrients.

I was on dr Dąbrowska diet for 6 weeks. It's almost like fasting because you eat ~500 kkcal a day. It relievem many of my symptoms (maybe yes or no MS related, how could I know). My sinuses were healthy for 6 months after, my knee pains were gone, even my flaky skin on right hand was gone. Also many other minor things. But I was also very tired in the end and two weeks after the diet so I would recommend less than 6 weeks. My MS friend is making 3-4 weeks and that's enough for her. We cannot overload our bodies too much.
I'm making small water fasts, every Sunday ~36-hr water fast and from time to time 3-day fasts. And I feel better. I want to make 2-week water fast in the future.

I'dsay that you shouldn't aim for 40 days. Do 21 and of course 21 days of proper fast exit (exit is extremely important afaik!). Check how do you feel. If everything will be right then your next fast can be few days longer etc.

To throw some less drastic but effective alternatives into the mix; the ketogenic diet, the time-restricted diet, and the fasting-mimicking diet have shown promise in treating MS. They are muscle-sparing diets, utilizing both body fat and dietary fat as sources of fuel. While they differ somewhat in recommended percentages of calories from fat, protein, and carbs, they are generally considered high fat, low to moderate carb, and low to moderate protein. Doctors and researchers have found that patient compliance is higher, since some food is consumed everyday. Many, if not all, of the benefits of a full fast may be reaped. I have adjusted the percentages of calories to a "middle ground" diet for my son. I recommended researching these diets also, the research is fascinating.

Yes, 21 days is quite extreme and not something that it is safe to just jump into. People who use long-term water fasting generally train their way up to that.

"Cure" is also an inappropriate word. It might help, even help a lot, but it's no silver bullet. It's very individual.

I do intermittent fasting and I am constantly trying to adjust my diet for optimal health. I've lost a lot of weight this way, and I feel great most of the time. I haven't found what works full-time for me yet, though.

Hi,I have MS and I decided to start 7 days dry fasting and go up to 21 days normal fasting, do you have some suggestions?