Intermittent Fasting, OMAD, Ketosis, Autophagy for Fibromyalgia: Doctor Explains Pro/Cons

fasting for fibromyalgia does it help and is it sustainable that’s the topic we’ll dive into today we’ll be discussing various fasting methods such as water fasts intermittent fasting one meal a day and the pros and cons of [Music] ketosis hi I’m Dr tanu doser a surgeon who specializes in reversing complex inflammation naturally using the Mind gut immunity method we’ve refined our methodology over the past 12 years and helped thousands of patients recover we look at conditions such as fibromyalgia and solve the root cause and as you know by now from the hundreds of research papers on the topic the gut microbiome plays a significant role in the modulation of immune response in fibromyalgia if you want to find out how we fix these issues schedule a discovery call with me and I’ll provide you with some helpful tips to get started there are several studies that describe fasting in the setting of fibromyalgia here’s a 2024 study on the effects of prolonged fasting in patients with fibromyalgia I’ll break down the study on fasting but I’ll also share personal insights on how fasting impacts fibromyalgia in the long term to begin it’s important to understand that 80% of your immune system resides in your gut this area is known as mucosa Associated lymphatic tissue or Mt for short this tissue contains trillions of immune cells that react to what’s in your intestines and what’s in there mainly it’s food and microbes including bacteria bacteria fungi and viruses these microbes break down food and produce secondary and tertiary metabolites which can trigger an immune response that’s why it’s critical to not only eat the right types of foods but also maintain a balanced and healthy microbiome to address fibromyalgia check out my other video entitled ideal diet for fibromyalgia which I’ve Linked In the description below in that video I discussed the four criteria I use to determine if a diet is effective or not spoiler I’m a big supporter of the phytonutrient diet or phyto Diet we use it frequently at the clinic and see excellent results when combined with a Precision microbiome recalibration many of our patients experience rapid improvements in their symptoms often within weeks I encourage you to watch that video and understand more about the role of phytonutrients in fibromyalgia management now the four criteria I use to determine whether any dietary approach Works including fasting are number one phytonutrient density and diversity number two macronutrient requirements number three microbiome specificity and number four food sensitivity and if you’re curious about why these factors matter check out the video entitled ideal diet for fibromyalgia Linked In the description below I’ll give you a quick recap here so you don’t have to switch between videos phytonutrient density and diversity phytonutrients are powerful micronutrients that help reduce inflammation in the body numerous Studies have emphasized the role of phytonutrients in managing fibromyalgia and fibromyalgia symptoms such as neuropathy pain numbness tingling decreases in energy levels and overall fatigue and brain fog here’s a 2020 study exploring the impact of a tryptophan and magnesium andris diet in physiologic variables and Sleep Quality in women with fibromyalgia here’s a 2024 study analyzing the effects of probiotics and prebiotics on pain Sleep Quality depression and anxiety in fibromyalgia patients the results showed that the supplementation significantly improves Sleep Quality depression anxiety and pain another 2024 study investigated the role of mitochondria dysfunction in fibromyalgia and evaluated the effects of bosia a natural polyphenol in modulating it phytonutrients are molecular compounds found primarily in plants and fungi and they have a significant positive effect on human health these include well-known terms like superfoods micronutrients and antioxidants research consistently shows that supplementing your diet with phytonutrients can help alleviate Fibromyalgia symptoms phytonutrients fall into several categories tpin OLS chlorophyll thiocyanates phyto enzymes phyto oils prebiotics and alkaloids and while there are other smaller groups such as betal Lanes from beets and hericenone from mushrooms focusing on these eight categories will help cover most of your phytonutrient needs deficiencies in these essential nutrients can disrupt the critical mind gut immune connection making it harder to manage inflammatory conditions like fibromyalgia the goal is to maximize and optimize your intake of phytonutrients from everyday Foods by maximizing and optimizing I mean increasing both the variety and the density of phytonutrients in your diet which is crucial for maintaining overall health in fibromyalgia a diet low in phytonutrients can make it more difficult to overcome inflammation and pain when fasting we typically get very little or none of these vital nutrients you may feel temporarily better when your digestive system is empty with less food to digest however because of the absence of phytonutrients immune regulation doesn’t truly happen and symptoms can return as soon as fasting ends once suggestion I have is to incorporate herbal teas if you’re considering a water fast for several days or intermittent fasting with a six or 8 Hour window for fibromyalgia herbal te’s provide phytonutrients like polyphenols and Turpin which can help reduce inflammation of fibromyalgia without adding calories next macro requirements in fibromyalgia macro is short for macronutrients and these are carbs fats and proteins all of which the body needs to function properly I have a tool on my website called the macro calculator which you can figure out your body’s mainten requirements based on factors like height weight age gender and activity level it’s important to understand that these macronutrient estimates are based on ideal physiologic function however when fasting you won’t be getting these nutrients in the long term or at best you may be getting them in a reduced amount let’s take a look different types of fasting water fast 24 48 or 72 hours or even up to 5 to 14 days for fibromyalgia you can try total caloric restriction which is consuming fewer than 800 to 1,000 calories a day for fiber myalgia you can have intermittent fasting which means eating in a 6h hour 8 hour 10h hour 12-h hour window and there’s also one meal a day omad which means consuming all of your calories in one meal whichever fasting method you choose for fibromyalgia the underlying benefit comes from ketosis in ketosis your body stops using carbohydrates for energy and starts relying on stored fat and muscle supporters of fasting also highlight a process called autophagy where the body cleans up old or damaged cells which is anti-inflammatory nature but here’s the problem while fasting strategies May temporarily relieve Fibromyalgia symptoms they almost always return so what happens the second time the third time or over the long term when you keep fasting well the symptoms return and eating can actually be more challenging you might feel bloated fatigued or low energy after meals these symptoms can make it difficult to eat properly creating a vicious cycle that’s hard to break especially if you’re underweight body mass index of 18 or lower can be particularly concerning for people with fibromyalgia and you can easily calculate your BMI using the BMI calculator on a Clinic’s website if your BMI is below 18 that’s a serious issue I’ve treated patients with BMI as low as 13 which is extremely severe and when someone with fibromyalgia has low BMI it means that your body is in a catabolic State breaking down muscle and protein instead of building it up which can slow healing many of these patients struggle to tolerate food and need careful coaching to reintroduce Foods into their diet the reason I emphasize this is that that the solution to a dysfunctional gut microbiome should never involve avoiding Foods or stopping eating altogether even if fasting makes you feel better in the short turn trust me I used to fast myself so I understand the appeal but instead of avoiding food focusing on reducing inflammation first then return to normal eating habits and when I made this change and when my patients did the results were much more sustainable unfortunately many people with fibromyalgia have given up on finding the right diet and may end up avoiding food entirely here’s a recent study that shows how intermittent fasting for prolonged periods of time can increase the risk of cardiac death furthermore if you have caloric restriction for long periods of time when we’re talking about over several days weeks and months of intermittent fasting various issues can arise you can have weight loss and muscle wasting you can have thyroid dysfunction cortisol and sympathetic endocrine dysfunction you can have sleep disturbances protein calorie malnutrition which means wound healing and inflammation control is compromised you can have nausea reflux and a feeling of fullness with decreased appetite and of course you can have severe intermittent fatigue the reason I emphasize this is that the solution to a dysfunctional gut microbiome should never be to stop eating or avoid food altogether instead the focus should be on reducing inflammation first and then returning to a normal balanced diet unfortunately many people are struggling with fibromyalgia have given up on finding the ideal diet and may resort to avoiding food which only worsens the problem and if you’re trying to determine the ideal macronutrient balance for managing fibromyalgia the key is to focus on fats carbs and proteins to reduce inflammation I recommend that around 50% of your daily calories come from fats with carbohydrates and proteins each making up about 25% the reason carbohydrates make up a smaller portion of the diet especially at first is because harmful gut bacteria and candida and particular they thrive on sugar they love carbs and if your microbiome is already out of balance feeding it sugar will only make the problem worse so you basically have bad bacteria funguses that live in your intestine they get introduced to sugars carbs and fiber and they create inflammation which then affects your nerves and the rest of your body simple sugars like glucose and fructose can stimulate the growth of both harmful bacteria and fungi similarly simple starches such as those found in processed flour can lead to bacterial and fungal overgrowth this suggestion comes from my extensive experience working with thousands of patients rather than specific scientific studies if your goal is to lose weight you might need to reduce both carbohydrate and fats further while increasing your protein intake and lowering overall Cal calories on the other hand if you’re trying to gain weight you want to increase your total caloric intake and adjust your carb and fat ratios for a more balanced approach tracking your macronutrients can help you achieve your desired health goals it takes effort but it’s well worth it in the case of fibromyalgia this approach will not only improve your diet balance but also contribute to better long-term Health in fibromyalgia so just a recap the criteria I use whether to judge whether a diet will work for reversing inflammation longterm in patients with fibromyalgia are the following pH nutrient focused meeting nutritional requirements microbiome specificity and avoiding food sensitivity as I mentioned earlier feel free to check out some of my other videos or refer to the description below for additional resources you’ll find links to the body mass index calculator a guide to the different types of phytonutrients needed to help manage fibromyalgia a macronutrient calculator to help determine your daily carbs fats and protein needs and a fiber and starch guide to help you avoid carbohydrates that can worsen gut microbiome dysfunction and all these resources are on my website and you can access them for free as I’ve mentioned before I help my clients formulate their diets based on these principles and they tend to do quite well the severity of their symptoms often decreases significantly within a short period of time many are reduced or even completely stop their medications and live healthier more fulfilling lives I’m a strong advocate of the phyto diet which I use routinely for my clients it’s an effective diet for recalibrating the gut microbiome and addressing issues related to phytonutrient deficiency this diet also helps avoid food sensitivities while meeting long-term nutritional needs for those who are undereating this typically means increasing your food intake specifically increasing more of the foods that not only will help you gain healthy weight but also heal inflammation the right way by following this approach you can avoid many of the negative consequences and longterm issues associated with undereating reversing the effects of fasting can be hard work but with the right plan it’s entirely possible okay one last thing I want to hear from you I want to hear your thoughts comment below on the types of foods that exacerbate your inflammation and what you’ve done to avoid them and finally if you like this video please like And subscribe and be sure to share this video with someone you know that you think it can help this is Dr chanas with the Mind gun immunity clinic and I’ll see you next time [Music]