Fasting to treat Asthma?

#1

I’m on day 4 of a 14-day water fast to treat my asthmatic lungs with autophagy. Heard about this treatment going on in Russia from the documentary, “The Science of Fasting”.

Anyone had or heard of positive results treating asthma with fasting?

(VLC.MD) #2

Fasting is anti-inflammatory so it wouldn’t surprise me

(Erin ) #3

I would be curious to hear about this. I am a respiratory therapist and am curious to hear if this can potentially help some patients

#4

Just speaking from my own experience, I am a lifelong asthmatic and I have noticed a significant difference in my symptoms. I used to need my rescue inhaler anywhere from 2-3 times a month, depending on allergies, etc. Since restarting Keto at the beginning of August I have used it exactly once. YMMV but I am certainly glad for the improvement.

(Marie Dantoni) #5

I have noticed that my breathing becomes shallow and more rapid when I eat wheat.

#6

n=1, but my allergies and asthma have cleared almost entirely since starting LCHF/IF. I no longer take any allergies meds or carry my inhalers. I’ve been on these medications since I was 8. I actually didn’t realize it was allergy season last spring. This unexpected improvement in my health is keeping me on track more than the weight loss that brought me here. It’s so lovely to not wake up wheezing anymore.

(Andrew) #7

After breaking my fast last night the first thing I notice is that I can’t breath again. I’m not sure how long it takes to clear it up though. I only made it 4 days.

(Michael ) #8

I read that a lot of allergies might be caused by leaky gut which seems to be caused by sugar and grains. Another thing shown to help leaky gut in addition to cognitive benefits, creatine. So, great potential benefits of 5mg a day creatine monohydrate, besides just gym performance and muscle size

#9

One of the major cause of leaky gut is from glyphosate, which is of course in sugar and grain. Dr. Zach Bush talks about this in his lectures.

(Gerald Drouillard) #10

Just finished a 5 day water fast. A couple of weeks ago. Haven’t needed to use rescue inhaler at all since day 2 of the fast.

I did go Keto a few months ago to try to better or cure my asthma. I was low carb before keto. Anyway, for me, I averaged using the rescue inhaler once every other day, usually at night, with no other medication.

I managed to get through a 4 day fast the month before, in which I noticed a reduction in inhaler use. So, IMO, it may take a few 5 day fast to get you there. I also do IM fasting M-F in which I have a 4-6 hour eating window.

I think I will be making a 5 day water fast a monthly occurrence. Note that how you come out of a fast is important also. There are many youtube videos on this. My last fast I did 2 boxes of bone broth before anything else. Here is a few guidelines I have assembled for coming out of a extended fast:

Day 1
800-1000 calories (men), 500-800 women (Dr Pompa)
Start with:
2 tbls acv, 1/2 lemon, pinch cinnamon, pinch sea salt
(lemon is the important thing here)
Follow with:
bone broth + cinnamon (or try fish broth), or MCT oil
15/30 mins wait
First meal low GI:
avocado, sardines with olive oil, olive oil, MCT, ghee, soft foods, Cooked veg (not raw), berries, cultured cottage cheese, fermented veggies, Kefir (watch sugar), Electrolyte Drink, Suero Gold Whole Food Probiotic Whey Drink, kombucha (fermented tea)

Day 2
1000-1200 cals men, 800-1000 women
add pasture raised eggs, salad, raw veggies, nuts, seeds

Day 3
resume normal keto diet. Add meat, cheese.

(Andrew) #11

Mine came back instantly but I had some ghee. I’d skip the dairy for a few days jist so it’s easy to tell if that complicated things. $0.02

#12

My asthma improvement results after fasting: inconclusive. Thanks for the replies!

I had to break the fast on day 8 because I felt super weak. No steroid or rescue inhaler for 2 weeks before the fast, and didn’t run into any asthmatic episodes, but I started the fast at the tail end of a cold, so I was coughing with a little phlegm throughout the fast. Since my lungs felt about 80-90% through the fast and soon after, I wasn’t really sure if the fast helped much or not. At least I can say that things didn’t get terrible. I waited about 3 weeks later to take steroid inhaler again because the lungs did start to feel a little more inflamed. The allergy season hasn’t been a bother at all this year, so I can’t really say the decent state of my asthma is because of the fast or what. I will try again in the summer, 2018. Maybe I can go further than a week and get the results I want – no more inflamed lungs!

Fasting info: I was having water, coffee, tea, and supplemented with 1.5 TSP Salt and about 1000mg potassium and magnesium per day. Days 1-5 were decent, day 6 was super energetic, then days 7 and 8 I felt super weak.

(Carolyn) #13

Hello, I know this is an older thread but…

My ashma is also better while fasting. Currently at 105 hours. My plan is to go to 30 days, lord willing. Longest I have made it was 12.

Read that 21 to 30 day water fast can permanently heal. Where as shorter fast are temporary. Not sure if it is true, but I want to try. I sometimes use my rescue inhaler several times a day. So i am willing to do what it takes to put an end to it. With God’s help of course. I sure can’t do it alone, lol.

Happy to report back once I break.

#14

Be safe and good luck Carolyn! As a fellow asthmatic, I’m pulling for you!

(E.O.) #15

How did this go for you? @Sworn_Sante I read the thread that on this particular EF attempt which you ended after 8 days. Did it help your asthma? Did you try an EF again after that? Looked up this thread using search here after becoming curious about N=1 type asthma experiences on Keto. Have been taking a free-online Physiology Class and it started with the lungs & normal lung function. There was a presentation of some of the most recent research and apparently the surface tension in the lungs, needed for successful breathing, is regulated (among other things) by lipids–so I cannot imagine dietary (keto) doesn’t help that with healthy digestion processes impacting the over-all well being of the N=1! :slight_smile:

I watched this documentary too. It was highly fascinating! I wish they included more of their data or offered it for download/translation elsewhere. Such a shame all that paperwork and records not cataloged or accessible to others.

#16

Hi @eo4wellness, to this day I’m not sure. My asthma, allergies, eczema have steadily declined in the last 10 years, and I’ve only been doing fasting and keto for less than 1 year. So my asthma IS better, but I can’t say whether it’s just continuing the aforementioned 10-yr trend.

Totally agree with you on all the medical records of fasting that are still in Russian. I’m sure there are amazing insights just locked away!

(Gerald Drouillard) #17

Just an update, I have found by intermittent fasting M-F and only drinking:
-water
-black coffee
-water with ACV and Lime Juice
until 2pm ish. Then allowing coffee with organic, grass feed, heavy whipping cream until 5pm that I no longer seem to require any inhalers.

(Annie Bakaleinikoff) #18

My asthma disappeared - yes, disappeared - when I started keto. I had very few episodes when I was a child, as we had moved to the desert to help my mom’s asthma. In my 30s, I moved to far Northern California and developed full-blown asthma. Constant inhaler, allergy meds daily, frequent flare-ups where I required breathing treatments multiple time per day…and once I nearly died. The doctor told me that if I didn’t work in a doctor’s office where they had access to fast-acting medications, oxygen, etc., that I might not have made it until an ambulance showed up. Anyway, I started keto February 2 of this year, and my asthma is really gone. We had horrendous wildfires this year, with over a month of hazardous air quality, and I was fine. This happened before I added in IF and EF. I wish you all the best.

(Gerald Drouillard) #19

Another Update.
I have found that using Exogenous Ketones either in pill or power works really well in eliminating my asthma symptoms all together.
I have not tested all brands but the 2 I used were:
powder:


pills:

For the pills it didn’t make much of a difference if I take 2 twice a day or 4 at night. I will probably try reducing the number of pills and see how that goes.

(Annie Bakaleinikoff) #20

Update 6 + months later, and I’ve used my inhaler once. We are having a tremendously pollen-filled spring, following the fires last year and torrential rainfalls - all the growing things are beautiful, but pollen is ridiculous. Anyway, I’ve used Flonase a couple times and my inhaler once. That’s it. No Claritin, no Singulair, no nothing else. Everyone around me is miserable. I am fighting itchy, slightly watery eyes, but compared to how I used to live…I’ll take it.