Introduction

The benefits of fasting are not a hypothetical or even theoretical notion, but a fact that predates modern science and even the Greek Philosophy that science is built upon. Although the act of fasting is traditionally associated with ancient religious practices or preparations for surgery, the health benefits stemming from it are undeniable and it is making a resurgence throughout the medical and health community as a result of this. As such and while much of our health and diet is incredibly subjective and personal journey in itself, it is become more evident that when we eat is on equal footing to what we eat.

By simply not eating and resorting only to water, our own bodies can accomplish all matter of things that make efforts of doctors on the forefront of regenerative medicine look rather primitive; no offense intended. Much like hot and cold therapy for various ailments, it is readily verifiable that partaking in the polar extremes of healthy eating and controlled fasting within our own diet can work wonders on our own health. Because of this, fasting is making the aforementioned resurgence throughout various health communities and the notion of when we eat as being just as important as what we eat is becoming more popular every day. Further, people are even turning to fasting as a means of addressing all matter of physical and mental ailments that modern medicine cannot achieve alone.

From micro-fasting or time-restricted eating where people will only eat between a small window during the day to water fasting for weeks at a time, people are seeing a wide range of benefits that cranks like “Dr. Oz” or any other snake oil salesman could only dream of. While one’s reasoning for fasting as well as the advantages that they experience from it may vary, this is because there is a broad spectrum of benefits ranging from increased strength, endurance, and shorter recovery times to anti-aging, addiction, depression, gastrointestinal issues, autoimmune disorders such as arthritis, Crohns, and diabetes, as well as cancer and chemo symptoms; and this is just the short list albeit a wide one.

But how does all of this work? What mechanisms make this possible within us? How can food be our medicine while the absence of food appears to be medicinal just the same? Despite the feathers in the cap of fasting, to this day there is still not a functional explanation as to why fasting itself can have such a profound and wide-ranging effect on us that even the best diet alone could not achieve. However, given that it was recently discovered that our own adipose tissue, fat if you will, is a rich source of multipotent mesenchymal stem cells, and that this same rich source of stem cells happens to be our primary fuel source when we’re in a fasted state, it is my hypothesis that our own stem-cells give us an explanation for benefits of fasting while highlighting that our body has its own natural ability to treat itself with stem cells residing within it.

In section one, we will dive into a brief history of fasting and the medicinal benefits of human fat which are being pursued to this very day; corpse medicine ugh. In section two, we will address the hypothesis of stem cells rationalizing the benefits of fasting. In section three, we will explore how to prove or disprove this hypothesis and will call it a wrap in section 4.