间歇性禁食
通过大卫·门多萨 病人的倡导者人们经常快出于美容，宗教或医学的原因大约14%的美国成年人报告称，他们通过禁食来帮助控制体重。但我已经开始断断续续地禁食了，因为这是一种自然的进食方式——或不进食。斋戒乍一看似乎是不自然的，但这恰恰表明我们已经远离了我们的传统。一天吃三块肯定不是我们旧石器时代的祖先所做的。如果我们旧石器时代的祖先与现代人类似乎有光年的距离，那么请记住，旧石器时代一直延续到农业革命，也就是大约300代以前。从基因上来说，我们几乎没有改变。迈克尔·伊德斯博士在博客上发表的文章首次引起了我对间歇性禁食的注意。我对间歇性禁食的探索越多，尤其是在洛伦·科登博士(Dr. Loren Cordain)的著作中，比如他的《旧石器饮食法》(The Paleo Diet)一书中，我就越觉得我必须亲自体验一下这种体验。在过去的几周里，我进行了两次间歇性禁食。 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[超过25小时]如果他们能显著减少通常的胰岛素剂量，并遵守有关血糖监测和终止禁食适应症的指导原则。”1型糖尿病患者与我不同，绝对需要服用胰岛素。当然，我的间歇性禁食并没有“延长”。“我还发现了其他研究表明间歇性禁食的其他好处，其中一项研究得出结论：“通过控制热量限制或间歇性禁食来减少能量摄入，可以延长寿命并保护各种组织免受疾病的影响……”另一项研究报告：“以前的研究表明，在圣经规定的40天40夜的时间里禁食完全符合健康成年人的整体生理能力。“这段经历让我摆脱了自我强加的那种认为我只需要吃早餐、午餐和晚餐的暴政。不吃这些食物甚至节省了我很多准备食物和吃饭的时间。总之，这次经历是如此值得，我将继续进行各种长度的断断续续的绝食。但不超过圣经中的40天40夜。
