Fasting Literature Database

The effect of 10 days of total energy deprivation (fasting) on ECG reactions was evaluated in 14 healthy normal-weight males. The heart rate and the ratios between QRS and T wave amplitudes in leads I and II decreased significantly, as did body weight and blood glucose levels. The urinary excretion of adrenaline increased. It is concluded that other hormonal (e.g. thyroidal), neural and… Read More

Acetoacetate, beta-hydroxybutyrate, pyruvate and lactate in whole blood, the acid-base balance according to Astrup, SGOT and SGPT, and the serum and urinary sodium and potassium were estimated in 10 fasting obese women. Fasting led metabolic acidosis due to a tenfold increase of acetoacetate and beta-hydroxybutyrate, while pyruvate and lactate had a tendency to decrease. Serum and urinary… Read More

Women differ markedly from men in their metabolic response to caloric deprivation. To determine if these differences could be attributed solely to changes in insulin concentration, a group of 8 women was matched with a group of 7 men so that the mean fall in serum insulin during a 72-h fast did not differ between the groups. Glucose levels fell to a greater degree in the women than in the men… Read More

Although supplemented fasting is now established as an efficient means of achieving substantial weight reduction in massively obese persons, widespread application of this treatment is contingent on its successful adaptation to a large-scale outpatient regimen. Of 519 patients treated as outpatients, 78% lost a minimum of 18.2 kg during the course of treatment. The overall rate of weight loss… Read More

Blood coagulation and fibrinolysis parameters were studied during 10 days of total fasting in healthy, normal weight males. A reduction of plasma levels of factor VIII activity with a concomitant decrease in factor VIII antigen was found, without other laboratory evidence for a disseminated intravascular coagulation. The effect of 10 days' starvation on blood coagulation appears to be… Read More

The effect of prolonged (3-5 wk) fasting on tracer-determined glucose turnover and of recycling radioactive glucose has been examined. We followed the specific activity of plasma glucose after the simultaneous administration of 1-14C-glucose and 3-3H-glucose. The rate of glucose turnover decreased during prolonged fasting. Recycling of radioactive glucose was estimated by two different… Read More

The effects of 10 days of total energy deprivation on serum levels of immunoglobulins, antibodies acute phase reactants and on interferon production were evaluated in fourteen healthy, normal-weight males. A significant depression was noted of the serum levels of complement factor 3, haptoglobin and orosomucoid. The titres of mercaptoethanol-sensitive specific antibodies to flagellin were… Read More

The weights of 207 morbidly obese patients were reduced via prolonged fasting. Half the patients fasted for close to two months, losing a mean of 28.2 kg; one fourth fasted for less than one month; and the other fourth fasted for more than two months, with a mean 41.4-kg loss. This latter group was heavier initially, and more than 50% attained near-normal weight. Patients with onset of… Read More