Fasting & Digestion

Hi Paul, I know you’re big on fasting - particularly the 60 hour and more extended fasts. However, you’ve also talked about taking more of an IF approach on a daily basis in recent years. Looking strictly at your IF approach, have you noticed a significant improvement in your digestion? My digestion seems to be terrible, and I’m thinking about incorporating some form of IF in a 5:2 manner to try to work on this.

Thanks!

Well, maybe your poor digestion is a result of what you are eating rather than eating itself. So, what do you eat?

Allberg isn’t entirely off.

Fasting does give the digestive system a break, and can fix some digestive problems IF a break is what was needed.

But if your food selection is the problem, then you’re just taking a break from the problem, then going right back to it. Kinda like breaking up with a girl because she sucks, feeling better, then taking her back all over again (who hasn’t done this tho?).

Anywho…

Some recommendations I have for this issue, food wise is so…

Get rid of all green veggies for a while
Get rid of low GI carbs that pack a lot of fiiber (oatmeal, sweet potatoes, etc)
Get rid of whole grains

Go to smaller portions of protein per meal. 3.5 to 4.0 ounces should help if you’ve been eating more than that.

Switch to fast digesting carbs like cream of rice, jasmine rice, and over to veggies like sweet peppers, carrots, and fruits like bananas and apples (the latter two may seem to contradict the above but most people can digest fruit very easily).

Start there and see if that helps.

Thank you both for your response! I tend to enjoy a lower carbohydrate diet. A typical day might look something like this:

Breakfast: 8 oz 90/10 beef with 1 avocado and sauerkraut + 4 - 8g fish oil

Workout: 1-2 scoops of Plazma intra workout with 2 scoops Metabolic Drive post workout

Lunch: 8 oz lean chicken, 1 lb bag cauliflower rice cooked in 1/2 tbsp butter, 1 oz mixed nuts (cashews, pistachios & almonds)

Dinner: 8 oz lean turkey, 1 avocado, 1 lb brussel sprouts roasted in 1/2 tbsp olive oil, 1-2 cups mixed berries including blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and sometimes strawberries

I’ve tried to incorporate the two pounds of veggies/day that you’ve suggested. Based off your response, I almost wonder if I’m eating too much fiber?

Both brusselsprouts and cauliflower are high FODMAP foods. Try replacing these with some low FODMAP vegetables (and/or follow Paul’s suggestions)

you’ve got cauliflower rice, peanut butter, AND mixed nuts all in one meal. Yeah, that doesn’t look good at all.

You follow that up with brussel sprouts. That doesn’t sound like a good time waiting to happen.

When I talk about 2 pounds of veggies a day that also includes things like peppers, water chestnuts, carrots, spinach, and moderate amounts of things like broccoli.

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Thank you both! I’m glad I asked. I will try changing some things around in my diet

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