Looks like I'll have to switch back to box wine........(October was a very good month) 
Posted on 02/24/2017 1:34:51 PM PST by nickcarraway
"The pancreas can be triggered to regenerate itself through a type of fasting diet, say US researchers," BBC News reports.
Research in mice found a low-calorie diet may help in cases of type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
The pancreas is an organ that uses specialised cells known as beta cells to produce the hormone insulin, which the body uses to break down sugars in the blood (glucose).
In type 1 diabetes the pancreas stops producing insulin. In type 2 diabetes either not enough insulin is produced or cells in the body fail to respond to insulin (insulin resistance).
Mice were fed for four days on a low-calorie, low-protein and low-carbohydrate but high-fat diet, receiving half their normal daily calorie intake on day one, followed by three days of 10% of their normal calorie intake.
Researchers repeated this fast on three occasions, with 10 days of refeeding in between. They then examined the pancreas.
They found in mice modelled to have both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, insulin production was restored, insulin resistance was reduced, and beta cells could be regenerated. Early lab study involving human cell samples showed similar potential.
These are promising results, but further studies are needed to validate these findings in humans.
If you have either type 1 or type 2 diabetes, you shouldn't attempt a fasting diet without first seeking medical advice. A sudden change in your calorie intake could have unpredictable effects and lead to complications.
Where did the story come from?
The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Southern California and the Koch Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US, and the IFOM FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology in Italy.
It was funded by grants from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the US National Institute on Aging (NIA).
The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal, Cell. It's available on an open access basis and is free to read online (PDF, 6.74Mb).
The UK media coverage of the research is generally accurate. BBC News provided useful advice from one of the authors, Dr Longo, who cautioned: "Do not try this [fasting] at home. This is so much more sophisticated than people realise".
What kind of research was this?
This animal study examined whether a diet mimicking fasting cycles is able to promote the generation of new pancreatic beta cells in a mouse model of diabetes.
Beta cells are found in the pancreas. The cells' primary function is to store and release insulin in response to changes in blood glucose concentration.
In people with diabetes, the beta cells are either destroyed by the person's own immune system (type 1) or are unable to produce a sufficient amount of insulin (type 2).
Beta cells are reported to be highly sensitive to the availability of nutrients. The researchers wanted to see whether prolonged fasting and refeeding could regenerate pancreatic cells. Animal studies like this one are useful early-stage research to help better our understanding of cellular mechanisms.
However, the human body has complex biology and we're not identical to mice, so further studies would be needed to see whether the same effects are observed in humans.
What did the research involve?
The first phase of the study involved male mice aged 10-16 weeks, some of whom had injections of a chemical to destroy their beta cells to mimic type 1 diabetes. Others were genetically bred to have type 2 diabetes, and normal mice acted as controls.
The researchers put the mice on a four-day fasting regimen consisting of a low-calorie, low-protein, low-carbohydrate and high-fat (FMD) diet.
They were fed 50% of their standard calorie intake on day one, followed by 10% of their normal calorie intake on days two to four.
At the end of the four days, the mice were fed regularly for up to 10 days to ensure they regained their body weight before the next fasting cycle. They underwent three dietary intervention cycles.
Blood glucose measurements were taken regularly. Pancreatic cell samples were taken to look at gene activity and investigate whether there were any changes.
The second phase of the study involved analysing human pancreatic cell samples collected from people with type 1 diabetes.
Researchers also recruited healthy human adult volunteers without a history of diabetes, who underwent three cycles of a similar five-day fasting regimen. The blood samples from these people were applied to the cultured pancreatic human cells.
What were the basic results?
In the mouse model of type 2 diabetes, after the FMD cycles insulin secretion was restored and insulin resistance was reduced. The FMD cycles seemed to induce beta cell regeneration.
In the mouse model of type 1 diabetes, FMD cycles were able to reduce inflammation and promote changes in the levels of cytokine proteins, which may indicate the restoration of insulin secretion. There was an increase in the proliferation and number of beta cells generating insulin.
The results in the human cell samples suggested similar findings to those seen in mice. FMD cycles – that is, in blood samples from fasted individuals applied to human pancreatic cells in the laboratory – may be able to promote reprogramming of cell lineages and generate insulin in pancreatic islet cells.
How did the researchers interpret the results?
The researchers concluded that, "These results indicate that an FMD promotes the reprogramming of pancreatic cells to restore insulin generation in islets from T1D [type 1 diabetes] patients and reverse both T1D and T2D [type 2 diabetes] phenotypes in mouse models." Conclusion
This animal study examined whether a diet mimicking fasting cycles would be able to promote the generation of new insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells in a mouse model of diabetes.
Overall, researchers found in mice models of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, insulin secretion was restored and insulin resistance and beta cells could be regenerated or have their function restored. Very early laboratory study on human cell samples suggested similar potential.
These results show promise, but further research is needed to validate these findings in humans.
Professor Anne Cooke, professor of immunology at the University of Cambridge, commented: "This is good science and does give promise for the future treatment of diabetes, but we need further studies to see whether this works in people as well as it has in mice."
Don't suddenly try fasting, or any other radical change to your diet, without first consulting the doctor in charge of your care. Sudden changes to your diet could cause complications.
They gas the mice and dissect them.
This is SCIENCE!
Microfasting works as well. If you eat within a six hour window, and dont eat the other 18, it triggers fasting benefits. Some people,may find starting with this easier.
The other night I mis judged my insulin shot.
I woke up three hours later with a gbl of 46. I was sweating and shaking, and it took me a few minutes to figure it out.
Yikes. That was a first. I don’t want there to be a second.
FAKE NEWS
Can’t work if there’s no money in it for doctors or drug companies.
And yes, I understand all the caveats about experiments in mice. Still, as far as I know it's such a new avenue of research that I can't help but be excited.
“Microfasting works as well. If you eat within a six hour window, and dont eat the other 18, it triggers fasting benefits. Some people,may find starting with this easier.”
Agree. I started by skipping breakfast, then skipping breakfast and lunch (most of my adult life...hell, my dog did the same), then a whole day. My longest is 9 days...and that’s zero calories per day, 9 days straight.
Oh yea, I didn’t bother asking any ‘medical professionals’ for permission as I know they have the right to have me confined against my will for 72 hours (minimum).
The fasting used in this study was a specific type, not similar to various type of religious fastng.
In some type 1 diabetics who are unable to detect when their blood glucose is going dangerously low, they are implanted with replacement beta cells. In order for this to work they then have to take immune-suppressant drugs to keep their bodies from attacking the implanted cells, leaving them open to opportunistic infections. Not a good trade-off for most T1 Diabetics. Just regrowing beta cells is not a solution for T1.
bttt
I know two people who have done this and it worked. One of them also used the warrior diet (eating once a day). I told my dad about it but he would rather eat whatever and bitch about the diabetes.
American Diabetes Association is full of crap.
Obesity is associated with diabetes, sure, but sugar especially fructose sugar plugs up the liver and is converted to triglyceride and fat. It is the kind of fat you don’t burn up because your body is running on sugar. So sugar causes insulin resistance first and then the obesity and diabetes follow.
20% of obese people are metabolically healthy, whereas 40% of thin people are metabolically screwed up. Even thin people can have fatty liver and insulin resistance.
30% of adults have no problem with sugar. 70% of us should avoid sugar as much as possible.
If you eat sugar you will only burn sugar. If you want to lose body fat it is better to eat ketogenic along with periodic fasting to reset your insulin resistance.
Looks like I'll have to switch back to box wine........(October was a very good month)
I'm wondering how many readers took note of your comment and followed your link. And how many encountered a flash of understanding, did some further research, and changed their lives or the lives of family, friends, acquaintances and neighbors, and how many of these went on to contribute to their communities instead of plateauing out in their lives.
You are like the mythical butterfly in Brazil, maybe it caused a tornado in Texas, maybe now. You are that butterfly in this thread, and I thank you profusely for your post.
Did you post this before? I read about this a while ago and have been controlling my weight ever since with very little inconvenience by doing this, except for five hours instead of six, eat all you want during that window. And you don't have to do it every day to get the benefits, you go out for dinner and pig out once in a while and your body adjusts. FR is good for you body too, who knew.
Diabetes bump
Har. Thanx for the real life perspective!!
Thanks.
I would recommend Drs. Richard Johnson (The Fat Switch) Robert Lustig(Fat Chance) Frank Lyons (Fructose Exposed) and Jason Fung (The Complete Guide to Fasting). They have some excellent You Tubes. Check out Jeff Volek and Steve Finney too.
Jason Fung is easy to understand. I took his advice on low-carb and fasting. I dropped over 40 pounds and look and feel better than I have in over 30 years.
I just get angry when I think about all the stupid professional advice I got that was killing me.
A true fast is not eating, and just changing your eating habits to the night time.
Corrected from above:
They eat in the moonlight. Sleeping during the sunlight.
At times they stuff themselves during the moonlight and fast during the sunlight. The more devout only eat, not party.
A true fast, as practiced by most observant Jews and Christians is not eating, and only drinking water, not just changing your eating habits so you only eat at night time.
That being said a loss of weight tends to bring about an end to Type 2 diabetes in many people.
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