This one caught my attention for obvious reasons.
I’ve practiced intermittent fasting for years. And after Peggy’s experience with cancer, I’m probably more curious than ever about what we can do ourselves to create a healthier environment inside the body.
Researchers are asking some interesting questions about fasting and cancer too.
Not, “Can fasting cure cancer?”
It can’t make that promise.
The more interesting question is whether periods without food change metabolism and immune activity in ways that might matter alongside cancer treatment.
There is research suggesting they may.
Scientists have been studying how fasting changes the way normal cells, cancer cells and immune cells use energy. There’s also ongoing research into fasting and fasting-mimicking diets alongside treatments such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
Some of the findings are fascinating.
But we’re still learning.
That’s an important distinction because it’s very easy to go from “researchers found an interesting biological effect” to “skip breakfast and fight cancer.”
I’m not willing to make that jump.
What I am willing to do is ask questions.
Why do we assume humans need food coming in from morning until night?
What happens during the hours when we’re not digesting another meal?
How does our metabolism change?
What happens to insulin?
What happens to immune function?
And could some of those changes eventually become useful in treating disease?
Those are good questions.
They’re also part of why I’ve become comfortable eating the way I do.
Most days I go a fairly long stretch without food. I usually don’t eat breakfast. I eat when I’m hungry, generally within a fairly short part of the day.
I didn’t start doing that because I thought it would prevent cancer.
And I certainly wouldn’t tell somebody undergoing cancer treatment to copy me. Cancer, treatment, maintaining weight and getting enough nutrition make that a very different situation.
But I do think we’ve made constant eating seem far more necessary than it actually is.
For most of human history, food wasn’t available every three hours because somebody told us it was snack time.
We ate.
Then we didn’t eat.
Our bodies had to be pretty good at both.
That’s the part of fasting research that interests me most.
Maybe the time when we’re not eating isn’t simply empty space between meals.
Maybe things are happening during that time that matter.
We don’t know all the answers yet.
That’s okay.
I don’t need a final answer before I’m allowed to find the question fascinating.
And this one is definitely worth watching.