A reader recently sent me this article about Dr. Weissman’s work using stem cell therapy to reverse type-1 diabetes in mice. This is really good news if you’re a mouse. Such research, however, is showing no signs of moving to human trials. As the article states, Weissman believes that “the pharmaceutical companies put profit over principle, preferring to keep diabetes sufferers dependent on costly insulin than to cure them once and for all.”
Now it’s disappointing that such promising research isn’t receiving any funding. Of course, it’s hardly unexpected. Not much money to be made in curing T1D compared to the billions made selling insulin, pumps and glucometer strips. Not to mention treating complications of erratic blood sugars provides some big back end sales (dialysis ain’t cheap).
Notwithstanding, such obstacles may redirect us down a safer path. After all, there are at least two ways stem cell therapy can be done at home in a far more natural (and possibly more effective) way. While clinical experiments use stem cells from aborted embryos, animals or unknown donors, people with T1D can use their very own stem cells. I’d wager the results would be higher using stem cells you make yourself rather than those extracted from the lining of a pig’s bladder.
I’ve already written about how you can topically apply amniotic fluid to regenerate damage done from T1D complications. This approach could be used to treat T1D itself. Essentially you would be rubbing stem cells directly into the pancreas through the skin. My wife, Nicole, does this every day for a few minutes. A few hours may be needed. We will focus more on this approach when we’ve fixed the failed kidneys (which, also, benefit from external application of amniotic fluid). And, as I also wrote about, you can easily obtain amniotic fluid (made by your own body) in 90 minutes or less, for free, in the comfort of your own home.
Yet there is an even easier way to ramp up your internal assimilation of stem cells. It costs nothing. In fact, it’ll save you money. Studies show that refraining from food increases stem cells production. Fasting, preferably for at least 3-5 days, appears to increase stem cell production for the next three weeks.
For example, the University of Southern California conducted experiments where subjects fasted 2-4 days. The results were published in the journal Stem Cells Stem. “We could not predict that prolonged fasting would have such a remarkable effect in promoting stem cell-based regeneration…” said corresponding author Valter Longo, director of the USC Longevity Institute, in a ScienceDaily article.
They essentially found that fasting put the body in a conservation mode. Damaged cells appear to be recycled, with new cells being regenerated. Interestingly, fasting seems to initiate the process, yet the heightened regeneration takes place afterwards upon re-feeding.
Nicole has committed this year to a five-day fast every month. Five days with just distilled water. Two days of gradual re-feeding. Then three weeks of regular meals sans any animal products, oil, sugar or salt. This way she should remain in a perpetual state of heightened stem cell production and cellular regeneration.
Today, she’s on day four of her second prolonged fast of 2018. Having completed a 38-day fast last year, this is just a short sprint down the block for her. We suspect there will be more potential for sustained healing of her kidneys and pancreas by conducting a 5-day fast each month rather than a super-long fast just once a year.
Regardless of the outcome, she’s taking charge of her own stem cell production. She’s not waiting for drug companies to give the green light on stem cell trails on humans. Besides, her natural “do-it-yourself” approach to stem cell therapy may prove far more effective then anything medical science can concoct.
A few days of hunger sounds like a small price to pay for new beta cells and kidney tissue.
Thinking outside the type-1 matrix,
–John C. A. Manley
P.S. One of my favourite books on fasting is The Pleasure Trap: Mastering the Hidden Force that Undermines Health & Happiness by Drs. Alan Goldhamer and Douglas J. Lisle. It’s available from Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Amazon.co.uk.
P.P.S. To help support this blog and keep our experiments (and Nicole) going, consider making a donation at KidneyKarma.com.
