Hi GLC,
Fasting does a good job for body cleansing, as well as giving a rest to your bowel inner lining to repair and restore. When fasting, some mechanisms are turned on that are usually shut down when eating regularly. Just think about the chronic insulin peaking we cause about 3 times a day in our metabolism, in response to our regular, too large, meals. It does not only bring the pancreas to exhaustion (and cause the common type II diabetes when you get to 50 - 60 y/0 ), but insulin have many effects on our daily metabolism, and therefore, its relative absence open the way for some other metabolic pathways to awaken. It is quite clear that our modern lifestyle is based on too much food, and moreover, too much of poor nutritional quality food.
I would be curious to hear about your regular diet, if you eat very healthy, or just regular diet. And about the quantity, too. There is for sure something in your regular diet that is not optimized for your health.
Inflammatory Cytokines overproduction caused by allergy/intolerance/inflammation of the bowel mucosa is not, in my opinion, the central cause of POIS, but sure is a comorbidity, an aggravating factor. This kind of problems have many names and faces ( gluten intolerance, lactose intolerance, IBS, SIBO, coeliac disease, intestinal hyperpermeability, and so on...), but all those syndromes and illness have similar consequences. And they are not helping at all for POIS ! First, to the best of my current understanding, pro-inflammatory cytokins produced by an irritatated intestines upset even further the immune system - and I believe Dr Waldinger is right when he supposes that POIS, at its core, is an allergic/auto-immune disorder. Second, an inflamed bowel inner lining will make it harder for some very useful nutriments to be absorbed and make it in the blood stream. One of this nutriment, tryptophan, which is a rare amino acid that I really think is causing secondary clusters of symptoms in POIS, will then be less available. Less tryptophan available, which is the base material for building both niacin and serotonin in our body and brain, leads to cognitive symptoms, emotional symptoms, or both. And, to make it worse, the immune reaction at the base of POIS is speeding the rate at which body enzymes (mainly, IDO and TDO) are using tryptophan , so less and less free tryptophan will "survive" and cross the blood brain barrier and make it to the brain, hence the depletion of niacin and serotonin in the central nervous system ( I plan to eventually share more in details my view on POIS, but I am still testing my hypotheses - the 3 weeks rule
- but so far, so good, like a 100% POIS-free O this morning
) .
I have been experiencing POIS for 36 years now. I have, like many members here, tried so many things along the way - and many more than others because I have been working on it for more than 3 and a half decades! Completely changing and renewing my diet for natural, healthy food, and also eating less in quantity than before, is something I have done 15 years ago. My level of energy got better and better, and my POIS acute phase got shorter and less severe. And my "chronic", low-noise, everyday POIS-like symptoms got almost 100% away. I didn't do anything special, just what any niutrionist would advice. No more fast sugars, in particular concentrated fructose (as in sweets and anything having HFGS in it) and neither sucrose, absolutely no junk foods, the least possible fried and industrial food, absolutely no aspartame and monosodium glutamate, no artificial colors, no artificial flavors, no preservative agents (yes, I read all food labels before buying any food). More fibers, more organic foods, no more milk ( I still eat some cheese, and love it, but milk is making my nose and throat full of thick secretion whithin 20 minutes I drink some). Soya drink in my cereals, spices ( lots of them), fruits (whole fruits are ok), vegetables, just a bit of meat ( not every day) , nuts, dried fruits, etc.... I avoid alcohol, drink it in small amount at a time, because I have a slow liver metabolism, and it makes me lethargic. I may seem like a nutrition freak, but I am not. When I go to the restaurant, I choose something that is ok for me (any restaurant these days has at least one healthy dish on the menu) and I eat less, but won't fuss and get noticed by anybody for any weird comment or attitude.
I never really fast, at least in the way you just did - I am just kind of semi-fasting everyday. Like, I always stay bit on my appetite, and don't eat that extra bit of anything. Even if healthy stuff, it's still extra workload for your digestive system. I did not lose a pound by making theses changes, and I drink lots of water as well ( I never drink soda pop, or even fruit juices, where fructose has been concentrated).
I think you will benefit a lot by continuing your diet change, and find what works for you. POIS is, as I see it, a four headed monster, having additional legs to harm you, and we have to neutralize each head and each leg one at a time. To me, healthy diet is one of the needed step to win over POIS.
Sorry for the long post, but I felt like sharing what have been working so well for me for over 15 years now.
Have a great day, GLC!
Quantum
