Fasting is (probably) the best antibiotic

The cheapest one, too

“To win a war without fighting, siege your enemy”

☝️During a seige, a king would surround the enemy and cut off major supplies.

Food. Water. Fuel. Medical supplies.

The result: the enemy would literally starve and surrender.

Fasting does the same thing, inside your body.

The result: a drastically different microbiome.

Let me explain.

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Bacteria in your gut eat one of two things:

1. Food that you eat (prebiotics)

You can learn more about what exactly gut bacteria eat, here.

2. Food that your body makes (mucus layer)

Your entire colon is lined in two layers of mucus.

If you imagine your gut wall to be bricks, the mucus is like a layer of plaster on top.

It provides protection from bacteria, and acts as food to bacteria.

When you fast for more than 24 hours, researchers have found that several bacteria that rely on prebiotics start to starve and die.

The result: they reduce in numbers.

At the same time, bacteria that live (and survive) off your mucus start growing rapidly, and replace the dying, starving bacteria.

The result: your entire microbial make up changes, significantly.

Look at the before and after in one experiment.

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Are these changes good?

Researchers don’t know for sure, but several bacteria that increase after fasting are known to:

1. Improve insulin sensitivity

2. Help balance weight

3. Reduce inflammation

So the initial signs are positive.

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This doesn’t just apply to bacteria, but also to infectious pathogens like yeast, fungus, viruses and molds. There are 2 incredible benefits:

1. Fasting can help to reverse antibiotic resistance

2. Fasting can helps to reduce the risk of reinfection

Reversing antibiotic resistance

You’re probably familiar with the concept of a ‘super bug.’

The idea is that some pathogens are so smart (and powerful), that no antibiotic or treatment can get rid of them.

The truth (in most cases) is that an average bug has learned to hide really, really well - making it seem super.

Specifically, a lot of pathogens create a bunker-like layer called a biofilm, and hide inside it.

Most medicines cannot penetrate the biofilm, and become ineffective against the bug.

So if you want to improve antibiotic resistance, you need to eliminate the biofilm.

Fasting helps you to do that.

When you starve, the bugs hiding inside the biofilm are forced to eat it.

Why? Because nothing else is available.

The result: pathogenic strains get exposed.

This is why I always recommend taking a tablespoon of coconut oil or Kalmegh Bitters right after a fast.

They contain acids and compounds which target the ‘naked’ pathogens, and help to remove them from your body.

Reduce the risk of reinfection

When fasting, several cells in the body begin the process of breaking down old parts to stay alive.

This is called autophagy.

As part of this clean and reuse process, baby fungus (called fungal spores) get targetted and destroyed too.

The result: you drastically reduce the risk of reinfection.

What happens after a fast?

Depends on what you eat.

If you eat a lot of sugar, sugar eating bacteria will thrive.

If you eat a lot of prebiotics, prebiotic eating bacteria will thrive.

Fasting helps you to remodel your gut microbiome.

Now it depends on how you maintain it.

This reveals two things:

1. For fasting to really have an effect, you need to do it regularly.

This allows your body to remodel the gut microbiome regularly and remodel.

I personally do a 36-hour fast from Sunday evening to Tuesday morning, every week.

2. What you eat before and after fasting is just as important.

Eat a lot of junk, and the effects of fasting will be short-lived.

Eat a diverse, local and seasonal plant-based whole-food diet and you’ll thrive.

That’s it from my end! All the best :)