The Weekly Thread: this is your body on fasting, a seasonal recipe we love, and the universe is conspiring with you.

A consistent fasting protocol is probably one of the most important things one can do to increase the likelihood that they extend their life and health span, free of disease, along with consistent exercise, getting ample amounts of quality sleep, and a good diet. 

This includes a daily or almost daily intermittent fasting protocol, as well as doing periodic extended fasts every 2 to 3 months. In general, any bit of fasting is better than none and can add up over time. 

My intermittent fasting protocol usually consists of 14-16 hour fasts in 24 hour windows, 6-7 days per week. 

Four to Six times per year I do a 36-40 hour fast, typically starting at 8pm on a Sunday night, and ending at 10am-12pm on a Tuesday morning. 

My next one is coming up right before Thanksgiving (more on that at the end of this segment). 

I wear a Whoop strap to measure certain biometrics like overall recovery, HRV, and sleep quality & quantity. 

Doing an extended fast (over 24 hours) can jumpstart ketosis in your body, rejuvenate cells and reverse some of the effects of cellular aging, rebuild your immune system, improve gut microbiome health, and even kill off senescent “zombie cells” that could be become cancerous or autoimmune through a process known as “apoptosis”. 

Below is a breakdown of my biofeedback from sleeping after the second night (Monday night) of my most recent extended fast in September. 



OVERALL RECOVERY
My overall recovery score was 97%. Basically my body was almost at 100%, fully recharged and ready to go. I’ve had a Whoop for probably 3 years, and it’s very, very rare to hit a recovery score this high.



SLEEP SCORES
These images are the breakdown of my overall sleep, and individual sleep numbers from the 4 respective stares of sleep: Awake, Light, REM, and Deep. 

Ideally, you’re after as much REM and Deep as possible, as these are the “restorative” sleep states. 

When it comes to sleep, as so many other things, Quality > Quantity, although the greater the quantity the sleep, the greater the likelihood of also getting a quality night’s sleep. 

A quality night of sleep for a grown adult would be around three total hours spent in REM and Deep cumulatively, or 1:30 each respectively. 

For an adult who sleeps pretty well, it will usually take around 8 hours to achieve this. 

However, for those who understand how to hack your sleep, you can achieve this three hour goal, sometimes more, in less than 8 hours. 

As you can see from the images below, I did just that during my fast. 

The below image shows my overall sleep numbers. So, in 7h04m (7:04) of total sleep on the second night of my fast (Monday night), I achieved 3h57m (3:57) cumulative of REM and Deep sleep. 

In short, highly productive, efficient sleep, which is what you’re after, and ideally, would be expected if your body is in a deep, healing, restorative state, as it should be in an extended fast. 

If you look at the below image, it shows the actual breakdown of my sleep cycles, indicating that I got 1h57m (1:57) of Deep and 2h (2:00) of REM, so both key metrics were well above my goals for the night. 



Resting Heart Rate (RHR) & Heart Rate Variability (HRV)

RHR is the rate at which your heart is beating with respect to total beats per minute. 

Ideally, you’re after a number under 60. 

In short, the slower the better, as your heart is working less hard while your body is recovering. Makes sense. 

I had an average of 49 beats per minute, which to say the least, is a very solid number and a strong sign my body is in a deep healing and recovery state. 

HRV or Heart Rate Variability isn’t as obvious and straightforward. 

HRV measures how erratic your heart beat is in terms of time in between beats in milliseconds. 

This metric is gaining lots of momentum as one of, if not the most key metric to follow, as it indicates and measures your body’s stress response. 

The lower the stress response, means the less inflammation your body is producing, the more likely your body is to heal and recover from the day, the more likely you are to physically mitigate and relieve the stress from the day, and detox more effectively while you sleep. 

The higher the stress response, the opposite effect of the above takes place: more inflammation, less recovery, less stress mitigation, less detoxification. 

As odd as it may sound, the higher the HRV, meaning a more erratic heartbeat, the better, or lower the stress response. 

Think about it like this….

If you’re in a high stress situation, your heart is beating very rapidly with little time, and little difference between the beats. 

When your body is in a relaxed state, there is no need for your heart to beat as rapidly, with as much regularity, so there is more irregularity between beats. 

HRV is the measure of this. The higher the HRV, the better. 

Typically you want to be over at or over 50ms. 

As you can see by the image below, my HRV was 70ms, indicating my body was in a very low stress, high recovery state while sleeping, which was also indicated by my overall recovery, sleep scores, and very low RHR. 

To check out the actual fasting protocol I use, and put together based on my research of fasting, CLICK HERE

To check out the fasting support kit I put together and use personally as part of my protocol CLICK HERE.

Whenever I do an extended fast, I run a fast collectively in a private facebook group I put together called “The Quest”. If you want to learn more about fasting, or may even be interested in joining me for my upcoming Pre-Thanksgiving fast CLICK HERE to join “The Quest”. (In the mail, add a button to tap to join)

NOTE: I am not a medical professional, and do not claim to be. I’m just a guy obsessed with experimenting and getting the most out of this amazing, complex organism we’ve all been blessed with, known as “the human body”. Any fasting is done on your own cognizance and at your own risk. 

If you haven’t read my deep dive on the magical superfood of mother’s milk called colostrum I highly suggest catching up it discusses the plethora of benefits from supplementation with colostrum including: rebuilding your immune system, reducing inflammation, supporting gut health and integrity, and even citing research that showed colostrum is 3x more effective at preventing infection from the influenza virus (flu) than vaccination. 

It also lends a lot of insight into what makes this Pumpkin Spice Colostrum Cream Cake recipe special. 

Pumpkin Spice Colostrum Cream Cake

It’s that time of year where all things pumpkin tend to hit just right. 

Whether you’re baking something festive this time of year for friends or family, or for the upcoming holidays, this seasonal cake is delicious, and has some NONA twists on it to make enjoying it that much more worthwhile.

This pumpkin spice cream cake is gluten free, contains no added sugar, and is infused with colostrum in the frosting to provide you, your family, friends, and guests with an immune boosting, gut nourishing treat. 

Pumpkin Spice Cake Ingredients

Here’s everything you need to make the cake:

• 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
• 3 eggs (room temperature)
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. cardamom
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 cups almond flour
• 1/2 cup arrowroot flour

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8×8″ or 9×9″ pan with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, combine pumpkin puree, eggs, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and salt. Mix until smooth.
• Whisk almond flour, arrowroot, baking soda, and baking powder.
• Spoon dry into wet ingredients until just combined.
• Pour batter into prepared baking dish and level.
• Bake at 350 degrees F. for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

NOTE: This cake tends to be pretty dense, and you may need to bake for longer. Trust the “toothpick method” described above as your tell that the cake is truly finished. 

Colostrum Cream Frosting Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup Colostrum
• 2 cups tapioca powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp salt
• Maple syrup to taste

Colostrum Cream Frosting Instructions

• Beat softened butter and cream cheese until well blended.
• Add tapioca, vanilla, and maple syrup to desired level of sweetness. Beat until creamy.

NOTE: We recommend adding pure maple syrup, an entirely natural sweetener to taste, but feel free to use stevia or monk fruit if you’d prefer. If you want the frosting more on the sweet side, feel free to be more liberal with the maple syrup, as long as it’s pure and unprocessed. 

Finishing Touch

Spread the frosting on top of the cooled cake with a spatula.

For an added nutritional boost, we crush and top the frosted cake with organic dark chocolate, which is one of the most antioxidant rich foods on the planet and provides a nice final touch. 

This recipe we love was originally inspired by Kion.

The universe is conspiring with you. 

Listen closely. 

Pay attention to what it’s telling you. 

The universe is conspiring with you, even if at times it doesn’t feel like it. 

Ever have something seemingly terrible or tragic happen?

But after you grind your way through it, through the thoughts and emotions, through the pain and difficulty, and after finding a way to keep going, possibly in a new direction, only to realize that that seemingly terrible thing was a blessing in disguise?

That was the universe giving you the nudge you probably needed. 

I truly believe things happen for a reason, as even the most difficult of circumstances instruct. 

Listen to your gut. 

Read the writing on the wall. 

Follow those instincts. 

We’ve been blessed with them for a reason. 

The universe is conspiring with you, know that, and stay tuned in to what it’s telling you.