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

fasting for rheumatoid arthritis does it help and is it sustainable that’s the question we’re going to be diving into today we’ll be discussing various fasting methods such as water fast intermittent fasting one meal a day and the pros and cons of ketosis hi I’m Dr Chan udasi a surgeon who specializes in reversing complex inflammation naturally using the manga immunity method we’ve refined our methodology over the past 12 years and helped thousands of patients recover we look at conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis 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 the immune response in rheumatoid arthritis 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 here are a few studies that describe fasting in the setting of rheumato arth here’s a 2024 paper that studied the effects of intermittent fasting on quality of life clinical symptoms inflammation and oxidative stress in women with rheumatoid arthritis here’s a 2021 study on the efficacy of therapeutic fasting in patients with rheumatoid arthritis I’ll break down these studies on fasting but I’ll also offer personal insights on how fasting plays out over the long term for people with ra to start it’s important to understand that 80% of your immune system resides in the gut this area is called mucosa associate lymphatic tisssue or malal for short Mt Harbors trillions of immune cells that react to what’s inside your intestine so what’s in there primarily food and microbes which include bacteria fungi and viruses these microbes digest food and create secondary and tertiary metabolites which then can trigger an immune response and this is why it’s crucial to not only eat the right kinds of foods but also maintain a healthy and balanced microbiome to address autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis take a look at my other video titled ideal diet for Ator arthritis which I’ve Linked In the description below in that video I discussed the four criteria I use to evaluate whether a diet works or not I’m a strong proponent of the phytonutrient diet or phyto diet that we use extensively in the clinic for rheumatoid arthritis patients with great success when combined with Precision microbiome recalibration many of our patients experience rapid symptom relief often within weeks I encourage you to check out that video so that you can better understand why phytonutrients are such an essential component of managing ra now the four criteria I use to evaluate whether any dietary approach Works including fasting are phytonutrient density and diversity macronutrient requirements microbiome specificity and food sensitivity if you’re curious about why these factors matter check out that video I told you about ideal diet for rheumatoid arthritis I’ll also give you a quick recap here so you don’t have to switch back and forth videos phytonutrient density and diversity phytonutrients are powerful micronutrient nutrients that help reduce inflammation in the body numerous Studies have emphasized the role of phytonutrients managing rheumatoid arthritis here’s a 2022 study about natural components used in rheumatoid arthritis treatment like flavonoids polyphenols alkaloids glycosides and Turpin and its action and mechanism here’s another 2022 study on the role of polyphenols and their potential as ra treatment due to their antioxidant anti-inflammatory and imuno Regulatory properties the study also described phytonutrients in their ability to modulate key inflammatory Pathways and here’s a 2021 study that investigates the effectiveness of antioxidents found in food supplements in reducing oxidative stress in patients with rheumatoid arthritis phytonutrients are molecular compounds found primarily in plants and fungi they have a strong positive impact on human health these include terms that you’ve probably heard like superfoods micronutrients and antioxidants research consistently shows that supplementing your diet with phytonutrients can help alleviate symptoms of joint pain and rheumatoid arthritis phytonutrients are divided into several categories tpes phenols chlorophyll thiocyanates phyto enzymes phyto oils prebiotics and alkaloids while there are smaller groups like betal Lanes from beets and herisson from mushrooms focusing on these eight categories will cover most of your phytonutrient needs deficiencies in these essential nutrients can disrupt the Mind gut immune connection making it harder to manage inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis the goal should be to maximize and optimize intake of phytonutrients from everyday foods and by maximize and optimize I mean increasing both the diversity and density of phytonutrients in your diet which is critical for maintaining overall health in rheumatoid arthritis a diet low in phytonutrients makes it more difficult to overcome rheumatoid inflammation when it comes to fasting we often aren’t getting sufficient phytonutrients or sometimes none at all you might feel better temporarily When there’s less food in your digestive system but the lack of phytonutrients means your immune system isn’t getting the regulation it needs and this is why symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis tend to return once fasting ends one suggestion I have is to incorporate herbal tees if you’re planning a water fast for several days or intermittent fasting with a six or 8 Hour window herbal teas provide phytonutrients like polyphenols and Turpin which help reduce inflammation without adding any calories next macro requirements for rheumatoid arthritis macro is short for macronutrients these are carbohydrates fats and proteins all of which the body needs to function properly I’ve got a tool on my website called the macro calculator which can help you figure out your body’s maintenance 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 functioning however when fasting you won’t be getting these nutrients in the long term or at best you’ll be getting them in reduced amounts let’s take a look at the different types of fasting first you have water fasts which are 24 48 or 72 hours or even up to 5 to 14 days you have total caloric restriction which is consuming fewer than 800 to 1,000 calories per day you also have intermittent fasting which is eating within a 6 8 10 or 12 hour window and you can have one meal a day or omad consuming all of your calories in just one meal whichever fasting method you choose the underlying benefit comes from ketosis in ketosis your body stops using carbohydrates for fuel and instead relies on stored fat and muscle for energy and dead supporters of fasting also highlight the process called autophagy when your body cleans up old or damaged cells which is anti-inflammatory nature but here’s the problem while fasting tragedies May temporarily relieve psoriasis symptoms they almost always return so what happens the second time or the third time or over the long term if you keep fasting when the symptoms return eating can become more challenging you might feel bloated lethargic or low energy after meal these symptoms can make it hard to return to eating properly creating a vicious cycle that’s difficult to break especially if you’re underweight a body mass index BMI of 18 or lower can be particularly concerning for people with rheumatoid arthritis and you can easily calculate your BMI using the BMI calculator on our Clinic’s website if your BMI is below 18 that’s a serious issue and I’ve treated patients with bmis as low as 13 which is quite severe when someone with rheumatoid arthritis has a low BMI it means that their body is in a catabolic State breaking down protein rather than building it up which can slow slow down healing many of these patients struggle to tolerate food and need careful coaching to reintroduce it into their diets to successfully manage rheumatoid arthritis symptoms the reason I emphasize this is because the solution to a dysfunctional gut microbiome in rheumatoid arthritis should never involve avoiding food or stopping eating entirely even if fasting makes your joints feel better in the short term trust me I used to fast myself so I understand the appeal but instead of avoiding food focus on reducing inflammation first then resume normal eating habits when I made this change and when my patients did the results were far more sustainable unfortunately many people with rheumatoid arthritis have given up on finding the right diet and may avoid eating food altogether 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 rheumatoid arthritis and have caloric restriction for long periods of time and we’re talking over several days weeks and months of inter in fasting various issues can arise you’ll have weight loss and muscle wasting thyroid dysfunction cortisol and sympathetic endocrine dysfunction sleep disturbances protein calorie malnutrition which impedes wound healing and inflammation control you can have nausea reflx and a feeling of fullness decreased appetite and severe intermittent fatigue these are the reasons I emphasize that the solution to a dysfunctional gut microbiome in rheumatoid arthritis should never be to stop eating or avoid food all together instead the focus should be on reducing inflammation first and then reducing to a normal balanced diet unfortunately many people struggling with ra have given up on finding the ideal diet and may resort to avoiding food which only worsens the problem if you’re trying to determine the ideal macronutrient balance for managing ra the key is to focus on fats carbs and proteins to help reduce inflammation I recommend that around 50% of daily calories come from fats while carbohydrates and proteins make up about 25% the reason carbohydrates should comprise a smaller portion of the diet especially at fur is because harmful gut bacteria and candida in particular thrive on sugar they love carbs and if your microbiome is already imbalanced and already compromised feeding it sugar will only make the problem worse because you have bad bacteria and funguses paired with sugar carbs and fiber which leads to inflammation not only in the gut but also in the joints and the rest of the 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 flour can lead to bacterial and fungal overgrowth in rheumatoid arthritis this observation comes from my extensive experience working with thousands of patients rather than any specific scientific study if your goal is to lose weight and you have rheumatoid arthritis you may need to reduce both carbohydrates and fats even further while increasing your protein intake and lowering overall calories on the other hand if you’re trying to gain weight then you want to increase your total caloric intake and adjust your carbs and fat ratio for more balanced approach tracking your macronutrients can help you achieve your desired health goals it takes effort but it’s well worth it for rheumatoid recovery this approach not only improves your diet but also contributes better to long-term health so just to recap the criteria I use to judge whether a rheumatoid arthritis diet will work for reversing the inflammation longterm in patients are the following phytonutrient focused meeting nutritional requirements microbiome specific 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 calculator a guide to the different types of phytonutrients needed to manage rheumatoid arthritis a macronutrient calculator to 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 as I 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 in a short period of time time many of them are able to reduce or even completely stop their medications and live longer healthier more fulfilling lives free of joint pain and free of rheumatoid arthritis I’m a strong advocate of the phyto diet for rheumatoid arthritis which I use routinely for my ra clients it is an effective diet for recalibrating the gut microbiome and addressing issues related to phytonutrient deficiency in ra this diet also helps avoid food sensitivities while meeting long-term nutritional needs for those of you who are undereating this typically means increasing your food intake specifically eating more food that will not only help you gain healthy weight but also heal inflammation the right way by following this approach you can avoid many of the negative consequences of long-term undereating reversing the effects of fasting can be hard work but with the right plan it’s absolutely possible okay one last thing I would love to hear your thoughts below comment on the types of foods that exacerbate your rheumatoid symptoms and inflammation and what have you done to avoid them and finally if you like this video please like And subscribe and be sure to share this video with someone that you think it’ll help this is Dr CH do with the Mind gut immunity clinic and I’ll see you next time