PT 360 March 2019

PT 360 March 2019

Getting you back to the life you want to live.

360

M arch 2019

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THE SLIM SCIENCE BEHIND FASTING DIETS

G ood L uck B ad L uck

old when attempting to stretch his hamstring and he didn’t quite get the instruction, pushing the heck down on my outer arm instead of my upper trap. I was hurt again 7 years ago in a car accident, and then last year, I picked up a heavy box, immediately put it back down, but shifted the weight to my right arm first. That was all it took to separate my shoulder — again. I was in PT myself for the early part of the year, digging in hard to get this thing settled and DONE once and for all and working all year on my upper body strength. Things were looking good. Then last week, I was in a car accident. I got T-boned at a great speed, and my car was totaled. What’s good about that? Well, I’ve been exercising all year, and I didn’t get that hurt. I know what to do a little too well to walk my way out of this now not very deep hole. I’m grateful. My wish for you is that you heed the little voice: The one that tells you to go for a walk, take a break because you really need it, or that this is the right thing FOR YOU, right now, convenient or not. Maybe turn up that little voice volume just a little bit; it’s usually trying to keep us on the good and healthy path. We’re just extra good at derailing it. Shelly Coffman

Through my now lengthy career, I find there are always life lessons that get pushed onto us, whether we are ready for them or not. I have said this many a time to patients in front of me, particularly patients that have been involved in an accident caused by someone else. Sometimes we need to be forced into taking care of an issue and taking care of ourselves when it gets so loud that it’s no longer possible to turn away from. Throughout the story, there are “bad” things that happen that later turn out to actually be “good” and then “bad” again later. The point of the story is that events are neither good nor bad, and there’s no good luck or bad luck. An “unlucky” event can bring about happiness, and something that comes easily may not have any benefit in the long run. At work, this has always led into a discussion of how sometimes, something bad isn’t so bad because the ultimate outcome is that the patient will come out stronger, more capable, and more knowledgeable about how to care for their body and optimize daily function going forward. What I do not anticipate time and time again is when it happens to me. Last year for me, was my janky shoulder. I was hurt on the job 20 years ago by a super strong 75 year There is a Chinese folk story that I love called A Blessing in Disguise.

I nvestigating the H ealth T rend T hat ' s A ll the R age

If each new year brings with it a new diet plan that promises the world to those who follow it, 2019 is shaping up to be the year of fasting. If you’ve missed the hype, fasting is quite a bit simpler than other nutrition trends like the keto diet or Weight Watchers program. Instead of counting calories or limiting sugars, you just don’t eat. Supporters argue that by putting your body into a “fasting state,” you can shed pounds and damaged internal tissue, increase your energy, promote cellular repair, lower bad cholesterol, and even protect against neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Chances are you have a friend or loved one who’s tried out some form of fasting and discovered dramatic benefits. But before everyone starts skipping meals, it’s important to examine the research. Writer Julia Belluz at Vox splits the fasting trend into four categories. The first, “intermittent fasting,” cuts out or drastically limits your calorie intake intermittently. For example, thousands of people follow the popular “5:2 diet,” during which you eat normally on weekdays but consume less than 500 calories on Saturday and Sunday. Second is the “time-restricted feeding,”where you only eat during a four- to six-hour window each day — followers usually skip breakfast or dinner. The third category is “periodic fasts.” With this diet, extreme fasters abstain from food for several

–-Shelly Coffman

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fasting. As the thinking goes, the faulty cells die first during fasting, enabling the stem cells to start regenerating key tissues. The science backs up some of these claims, but there are a few issues regarding fasting research. Most of the research behind fasting

days, opting for calorie-free fluids instead. Finally, there is the “fasting mimicking diet,” which involves intaking highly limited, plant- based calories for several days each month. People who use this technique like it because they believe they get the benefits of fasting without missing out on key nutrients. The underlying philosophy behind fasting for weight loss is pretty self-evident — if you don’t eat for periods at a time, you’re bound to burn off some weight. But proponents say the diet’s success can be attributed to more complex factors as well. They argue that as the human race shifted from hunter-gatherers to world-conquering agriculturalists, we left our evolutionary path. Before crops existed, we weren’t wired to eat three square meals every single day. Instead, we made do with what we could find, often fasting for days at a time out of necessity. In addition, some researchers who advocate fasting point to the benefits it can offer regarding disease prevention and longevity. Autophagy, the process by which the body eliminates and replaces damaged cells, is believed to accelerate during intermittent

doesn’t examine its effect on weight loss, and most of it comes from animal trials, not human trials. Though there are a few human trials on fasting that show it can improve health, they have very small sample sizes, and there is not enough >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

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