The strongest evidence of the benefits of fasting surrounds the treatment of an autoimmune joint disease known as rheumatoid arthritis, as I detailed in my last video. There was a German study suggesting benefits for osteoarthritis as well, with reported improvements in pain and joint function. But we’d really need randomized controlled studies to know for sure. The researchers despair that they only had 30 patients, but that’s 30 times more than many reports on fasting in the medical literature, which may detail only single cases.
For example, a woman with a rare autoimmune disease known as mixed connective-tissue disease, which can cause all sorts of painful and distressing symptoms, treated with steroids in an attempt to suppress her immune system; but 21 days later, off her medications, her symptoms improved with fasting and, more importantly, seemed to stay away. So, does fasting work for mixed connective-tissue disease? Well, all we can say is that hey, at least it worked at least once.
