Hi @yerrag
Eating only sugar could clearly work Indeed, I think the part about fasting is more about protein restriction than the two other macros, but I may be wrong. Indeed, it is amino acid restriction that has been shown to promote NFAT5 expression (provided the study I saw could be extended to an in-vivo physiological amino acids restriction situation) in addition to dehydration. Moreover, If I'm not mistaken, dehydration deactivates mTor which has for effect to increase autophagy (don't quote me on that).
Sure, sugar is an osmolyte and could participate to the osmotic stress and the activation of the NFAT5 protein.
Currently, I'm not fasting but reducing the fluids I drink to a "minimum" ala @Scenes, 1L, which is not so much reduced after all if you add in the water that comes with food. For the moment, I plan to only drink along with my dinner.
I think that I'm experiencing in some extent the immunopathologies that are supposed to happen with the Marshall Protocol, if you had a look at this theory: except his stance on vitamin D which is controversial but central to his theory, his pathogenesis is quite interesting. I experience some fatigue and brainfog (there could be an adaptation period to fluid reduction, see citations below), some mild rosacea sometimes and some swollen lymph nodes in the armpit (I have mild CFS and I think it's a common symptom for CFS patients) that I normally never have in this area, or at all.
Note that, even while there seems to have a high cure rate for the type of diseases treated with the Marshall Protocol, i.e. especially autoimmune diseases, the Marshall Protocol could take more than 3 years on average. But if that's needed to heal...
However, dehydration seems to be a conserved way to activate the innate immune system, from Drosophila (Dehydration triggers ecdysone-mediated recognition-protein priming and elevated anti-bacterial immune responses in Drosophila Malpighian tubule renal cells), to snakes (When less means more: dehydration improves innate immunity in rattlesnakes, even if these snakes are adapted to aride environments), and to humans it seems, so it might (I hope) be more efficient than the treatment developed by the Professor Marshall. According to him, taking the drug he recommends (Olmesartan) activates the vitamin D receptor (while its activation was not possible without it, due to pathogens and imbalances of vitamin D metabolites) and allows the production of LL-37, which should be able in theory to neutralize LPS (provided there is enough of it and at the right place of course). So, if we follow the logic, immunopathologies might be reduced to a minimum. Yet, his patients report profound symptoms. Could also be Olmesartan side effects after all. Sorry for the digressions
Note that a dehydration treatment has already been studied regarding epilepsy, which has nothing to do with hypertension, but which could be considered to be caused by pathogens in the CNS according to Marshall. Some excerpts:
"This degree of fluid limitation is followed by some discomfort on the part of the patient for the first ten days, but in all cases where this initial period has been accomplished, they have maintained the restriction of fluids without difficulty and with no ill effects. It must be born in mind that: unless absolute fluid regulation is maintained, little or no results can be expected.
During the first few days of fluid limitation at this low level it is interesting to note the high output of urine in contrast to the intake. The accumulation of body fluids in excess, from former free intake of fluids, persists for about six days. Following this, there may be a drop in volume of urine passed to below the intake level; again a sharp rise above the intake point with fluctuation for several weeks may occur."
"It is of interest to note that there has never been any pathological urinary findings due to dehydration except, of course, high specific gravity."
"Bauer pointed out that of 25 infants, maintained on a ketogenic diet, he had obtained symptomatic relief on approximatively 35%. When these same infants were placed on fluid limitation and dehydration for one year, he was able to establish 100% symptomatic relief in his group."
"In a later report, he mentions that he had observed 86-88 cases, with similar results."
"We believe that the effectiveness of fasting and the ketogenic diet is due not so much to the presence of ketosis per se as to the associated dehydrating effect."
By the way, I think that NFAT5 expression could be increasing nitric oxide production, which is not something good if we listen to Ray Peat IIRC, which could be the reason why your hypertension is decreasing rapidly when you dry fast as nitric oxide is a vasodilator right? But nitric oxide also seems to be needed by the immune system as a signaling molecule and to kill cells or pathogens.
Thanks for this! It looks like I may be able to solve my blood sugar regulation after all, so that I won't have to resort to taking sugar while on a dry fast. It is probable that if I could manage to lower my monocyte levels that point to endotoxin levels being lower than a threshold, I would be able to restore my blood sugar regulation to where I could be able to fast for a day without my blood sugar levels dropping below 70, the point at which I would feel the effects of low blood sugar.
I will then be able to undergo dry fasts that would in time be longer in duration as I steadily increase the length of the fast. While the sugar idea may work also, I would still prefer to undergo a fast having my blood sugar regulation system in excellent condition.