Human biomonitoring studies measuring phthalate metabolites in urine have shown widespread exposure to phthalates in the general population. Diet is thought to be a principle route of exposure to many phthalates. Therefore, we studied urinary phthalate metabolite patterns over a period of strict fasting and additionally recorded personal activity patterns with a diary to… Read More

A 57-year-old woman presented to the hospital after a 40-day acaloric (water-only) fast, which was motivated by her Christian beliefs and Pentecostal affiliation. She exhibited hyponatremia on admission, and developed hypokalemia, hypophosphatemia and hypomagnesemia during refeeding. The authors are unaware of other published case reports describing medical and religious aspects of prolonged… Read More

Periods of deliberate fasting with restriction of solid food intake are practiced worldwide, mostly based on traditional, cultural or religious reasons. There is large empirical and observational evidence that medically supervised modified fasting (fasting cure, 200-500 kcal nutritional intake per day) with periods of 7-21 days is efficacious in the treatment of rheumatic diseases, chronic… Read More

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Weight loss improves the metabolic syndrome (MetS) features and related clinical abnormalities in obese subjects. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of a non-surgical therapeutic program on the MetS in severely obese patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sixty-four extremely obese patients were involved in the therapeutic program, which consisted of two alternating… Read More

Human biomonitoring studies measuring bisphenol A (BPA) in urine have shown widespread exposure in the general population. Diet is thought to be a major route of exposure. We studied urinary BPA patterns in five individuals over a 48-h period of fasting (bottled water only). Personal activity patterns were recorded with a diary to investigate non-dietary routes of exposure.… Read More

Starvation may change autonomic nervous system activity and sensitivity such that a greater vagal withdrawal may occur during a sympathetic challenge. Six healthy humans endured a 3-day, water-only fast, during which participants were subjected to passive 80 degrees head-up tilt testing twice on each day (a.m. and p.m.). Heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), ventilation [Formula: see text… Read More

INTRODUCTION: Dietary restriction benefits health and increases lifespan in several species. Food odorants restrain the beneficial effects of dietary restriction in Drosophila melanogaster. We hypothesized that the presence of visual and odorous food stimuli during a prolonged fast modifies the neuroendocrine and metabolic response to fasting in humans. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: In this randomized… Read More

BACKGROUND: Appendicitis is an acute condition of the abdomen that is treated with surgical intervention. Conservative treatment of appendicitis currently involves intravenous antibiotics. While conservative care is a useful tool in apprehensive patients, in conditions such as appendicitis, delays in proper treatment can be life threatening. In spite of this, some… Read More