人们往往快于化妆品，宗教或医疗原因。关于美国成年人的14％报告说，他们已经绝食帮助控制体重。或不吃 - 但是因为它是吃自然的方式，我已经开始快速间歇。空腹可能乍一看似乎是不自然只是表明我们如何远离我们的遗产离去。吃三个广场，每天肯定不是我们的旧石器时代祖先那样。如果我们的祖先旧石器时代似乎从现代人类光年，只记得旧石器时代延长到农业革命，这是只有约300个世代前。基因，我们几乎还没有，因为在所有这些改变。文章由迈克尔·伊兹博士在他的“蛋白质力量”博客第一吸引我的注意间歇性禁食。我越研究间歇性禁食，特别是在洛伦·科代恩博士的工作，像他的书，古饮食，我越知道我必须要检查出我自己的经验。在过去的几个星期，我做了两个间歇性禁食。 The first was for 12 hours from sunrise to sunset and the second was 24 hours from dinner one night to dinner the next. I drank only water, lemonade, and tea (both black and herbal). None with any calories. And plenty of it. My 12-hour fast was similar to that of Muslims during the month of Ramadan. But hardly the same and not as challenging. Since Muslims are the experts on fasting, I consulted with an imam, Ibrahim Kazerooni, before setting forth on my latest dietary experiment. He is both a friend and a member of my diabetes support group. Ibrahim explained that Muslims can't even drink water while fasting during the month of Ramadan. Their fasts last from 1 and 1/2 hours before sunrise until dusk. (As a Shiite Islamic priest, or imam, he was an Iraqi dissident who Saddam Hussein repeatedly imprisoned until Ibrahim was able to escape from Iraq in 1974; I understand that followers of Sunni Islam fast from dawn to sunset.) "Take it easy at first," Ibrahim explained. "Just do one day to start." He told me that the fast was beneficial for his blood glucose level, even it it was sometimes a bit too low. "It was no problem when I took my diabetes medication at night." People who have type 2 diabetes, as Ibrahim does, need to be careful of what they eat late at night when they break their fasts. They can lose weight, "if they don't overload on sugar and starch." He said that he lost seven pounds this time. Now, after two fasts I am even more positive than I was from reading Drs. Eades and Cordain and from talking with Imam Kazerooni. I did have brief headaches near the beginning of each fast. And a bit of a sore throat for a short while as I hiked during my first fast. At one point on the trail I felt hunger pains in my stomach for a few minutes. But I was amazed that otherwise I never got hungry. My mood remained at a high level throughout. Physically, I may have even gained energy. For example, on my walk to the post office during the second fast I even did some intermittent jogging, something that I hadn't done for several months. I don't take any diabetes drugs or other prescription medication. My blood glucose level once went down to 68 mg/dl, about as far as anyone with diabetes would want. The first thing on the morning after my second fast it was at 80 mg/dl, just below the 83 mark that Dr. Richard K. Bernstein, the leading exponent of a very low-carb diet, says that is the appropriate average for anyone. I lost 0.8 pounds, and now my weight is the lowest in eight months. Later I thought to investigate the peer-reviewed articles on Medline and found this: "Persons with Type 1 diabetes can participate safely in prolonged fasts [more than 25 hours] provided they reduce their usual insulin dose significantly and adhere to guidelines regarding glucose monitoring and indications for terminating fasting." People with type 1, unlike me, absolutely have to take insulin. And of course my intermittent fasts have not been "prolonged." I also found other studies indicating other benefits of intermittent fasting, including one that concludes: "Reducing energy intake by controlled caloric restriction or intermittent fasting increases lifespan and protects various tissues against disease..." Another study reported: "It has previously been shown that fasting for the biblical period of 40 days and 40 nights is well within the overall physiological capabilities of a healthy adult." The experience freed me from the self-imposed tyranny of assuming that I just had to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Skipping those meals even saved me lots of time in food preparation and eating. In conclusion, the experience was so rewarding that I will continue intermittent fasts of various lengths. But not more than the biblical 40 days and 40 nights.