Does fasting kill off parasites?

[Lizard]

I have a friend who is a bit wierd (he jokingly started smoking to "look cool" but then got addicted anyway).

Anyway he is going to start going for like a day at a time without food because his theory is that doing this will cause the parasites that live in the human digestive system to die. Is this really as stupid as it sounds or could he be right? Personaly I think hes been listening to too much system of a down (they have a song called needles which I think mentions a parasitic worm). But it would explain why people fast (especaily in hot crappy countries).

I need scientific enlightenment (or possibly some saner friends). Robert G where art thou?

[Thai Bri]

You fast for about 6 months.

It will kill off at least one parasite.

[decypheredbeats]

Originally posted by Thai Bri
You fast for about 6 months.

It will kill off at least one parasite.

HAHAHA
well I agree with you on this one


anyways fasting does not do shit, Unless you are pledging some sort of allegiance to whomever your chosen Diety is


One thing that will happen is if you are anyway concerned about your body is that your body will have nothing to supply its self with energy so it will start to breakdown your muscles to get energy supply amongst other things.


Please for the sake of all things smack your friend for me, You should have enough common sense to know that he is a complete idiot....


As a matter of fact, tell him to listen to Thai Bris advise, from the sounds of it natural selection will catch up to him soon enough.

[eXcessiveForce]

This is a side note about fasting.

In scientific studies on animals. Decreasing food intake by 40% a day caused animals to live almost double the normal life span.

Secondary studies showed that animals who were allowed to eat as much as they wanted one day and fasted the next lives almost as long as the animals who had their food intake decreased by 40%.


Human studies have not been studied over the long term, but similar results have occured with mice, dogs, cats, chimps, horses, and several other animals. the conclusion is that so far no mammal has not responded favorably to fasting in tests.

So it should work for ninjas.

Most people do not have parasites in their body that are not supposed to be there in developed nations.


fasting is used to clense the digestive track which is promoted as helping to avoid colon cancer. Just like eating High Fiber.

Fasting is also used for mental training and for religious ceremonies.

I have no idea if fasting could kill off something like a tapeworm without killing the host.

[Kingston]

Accualy fasting is very healthy for you. (i dont do it lol....but i know people who fast every week)

As far as the aging goes.....free radicals distroying your cells in what aging is......i forget the exact process, but food helps to create these free radicals which in turn age you.

Accualy there is a study of that on humans.....They study was about anti-oxydents (the reaction of oxygen when it is used to fuel the miotochondrea is what creates free radicals)

on earth worms.....giving them anti-oxydents (i forget in wich form, or how they did it) practicaly doubled there life span.

so this guy, eats like one apple a day or something lol. (not sure if it was an apple, some kind of food containing anti-oxydents)

basicaly.....they showed that his viens and arteries where as healthy as someone half his age, but because of the lack of nutrients in his diet, he had bad bone density, was very skinny, and in general a "frail" person.

I also heard the benifits of fasting described something like this....

all the "bad stuff" that lives in our bodies need to get nutrients just like we do... lucky for us, we have more cells that can die off then most parasites or bacteria. Those things will die first.

More importantly the way our cells regenerate themselves is by making an exact copy.....the weak cells in your body die off first, only leaving the healthy/strong ones, the healthy ones then continue to replicate themselves leaving you with more healthy cells, wich in turn lead to a more healthy life.

i aint no expert....but the main idea behind fasting...is to kill off the weak cells in your body, and leave the stronge to replicate. (as i was told.)

but it makes sence no?

[Kingston]

when i said "there's a study of that on humans"

Its really just one guy lol. Who's doing it on himself.

[Thai Bri]

But he is a human, right? I had an Anti Oxident. Or was it Auntie Olive?

I can't remember now. Pass me a Mars Bar. And a Twix.

[Szczepankiewicz]

Mmmmm chocolate bars....

[Stigma]

No, fasting would not kill any parasites. The host would likely die of starvation first. In any case, a single day would not have any effect on a parsite at _all_ , you would probably have to go weeks without food, close to your death threshold to have a hope of acomplishing something redicolus like that...

Why on earth does your friendhave parasites in the first place, and why dosn't he get medicine for getting rid of them instead? Go to any doctor, and getting rid of any known parasite is a relatively simple matter...

If your (slightly stupid) friend is refeering to the natural symbiotic organisms living in human bowels, those are first off all not parasites, but bacteria, and second of all, they are there for a good reason. Removing them would not be good (and impossible without drugs), and likely cause you uncomfortable digestive problems.

Fasting can be healthy, but for none of the reasons your friend thinks...

Oh, and smoking kills. Drop the habit, before the habit drops you. Just some friendly advice for your buddy

[Lizard]

Ok the general beleif is that it wont kill tapeworms (which most people in good countries dont have anyway). But it can slow aging, improve cells, improve willpower etc.

"Secondary studies showed that animals who were allowed to eat as much as they wanted one day and fasted the next lives almost as long as the animals who had their food intake decreased by 40%."

So... if I tried fasting for a day, then eating loads, then fasting for another day etc. It could make me more healthy? Might try it sometime...

[Sean Dempsey]

if I tried fasting for a day, then eating loads

This will increase your bodies retention of fat, and your bodyfat will go up.

In my professional opinion: quit looking for hokey newage hooey to try. you don't need to reinvent the wheel. Fasting, living off sunlight alone, using leeches, it's all mumbo jumbo.

Eat balanced, nutritious meals, avoid toxins like cigarettes and alcohol and candy, and you'll be better off than if you try all this other crap.

But if you are a heavy drinker like you say (because you're 17 and want to live it up), no new-age diet or fasting or meditation or Tai Chi or whatever else is gonna help.

[Disciple]

Lizard,

I agree that your friend is weird. What kind of parasite does he think he have? A parasitic worm, or is he talking about the bacteria that all people have in their intestines. If he is talking about symbiotic bacteria, he should know that a person needs these to digest their food properly. People on antibiotics sometimes kill the natural bacteria in their intestines. This allows overgrowth of another bacteria called Clostridium Difficile. This will cause diarrhea in a condition called Pseudomembranous Colitis. If your friend thinks he has a parasitic worm, he should go to his doctor and get some medication. Treatment is pretty simple and effective.

[eXcessiveForce]

Tell your friend it is easier to remove the gerbil from his ass rather than starving it.

[hoplite]

ÅÒº´Ôº

I have been told by friends that alcohol or chilies will prevent or kill intestinal parasites. However, I still contracted something from some spicy larb here in the US. It took about two months to get rid of it. While I had it, I was sick to the stomach and was passing copious quantities of blood daily.

Fasting might encourage some parasites to seek sustenance from some other organ. If your friend thinks he has something, he should see a physician soon.

Be warned, if your friend is a ninja he might flip-out and kill people.

[Stigma]

Naaah... ninjas don't have parasites! They have big shiny headchoppin' swords instead! Haaaayaaa!