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Comment by aviv | Hacker News Reader

CFS and fibromyalgia are conditions that see incredibly positive results after prolonged fasting. Don't take my word for it, and do not do it without extensive research on your part - but do conduct this research. Look at 7 to 10 days of dry fasting (no food or water), or 20 to 40 days of water fasting (no food, just water).

CFS and fibromyalgia ARE NOT life-long diseases, not by a long shot. You CAN get rid of them rather quickly. I just hope you see this comment before it gets flagged here for absolutely no reason like my other comments do.

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You've posted so much about this topic to HN, and gotten involved in so many off-topic flamewars, that we need to ask you stop.

Obviously you're passionate about the topic of fasting, but beyond a certain point, passion on a divisive topic amounts to trolling. I'm sure it isn't intentional, but since this is the reliable effect of your posts, please drop the subject on HN from now on.

I believe I am acting well within the official guidelines you have posted for this site (the capitalized words for emphasis i used today are probably the only offense).

I am not introducing off-topic flamewars. Fasting as a healing mechanism has been around for centuries and is well documented in medical literature and I only raise it when it is relevant to a submission or ongoing discussion. I do not attack anyone personally and I believe I am being very civil with my comments. I do not find the basis for which you are asking me to cease bringing up a very valid option for one to explore when dealing with a health crisis.

I don't want to ban you and don't personally have any objection to your view on this. But you've created so many flamewars by posting about it that your account has basically become a troll on the issue. Indeed users were complaining to us the last time this came up.

If you keep doing it, we're going to have to ban you. Regardless of how right you are or feel you are, it's more important to avoid degenerate discussion here.

I'd say calling his beliefs degenerate may have been a bit far, mate.

He didn't say that. (Indeed he said "I [...] don't personally have any objection to your view on this".)

He said "it's more important to avoid degenerate discussion here".

He means discussions that degenerate into flamewars.

For what it's worth, misquoting or misrepresenting someone else's comments is another cause of degenerate discussions.

I disagree with my comments being grounds for a ban, at least according to your existing Guidelines.

I merely raise the point that fasting should be considered where relevant to the discussion. In each and every health related discussion I joined there is significant evidence that fasting is indeed a viable treatment option.

The flamewars you are speaking of are not started by myself, rather by a select few who have opposing beliefs and are using the site features (flagging, downvoting) to express such views.

As you mentioned, I've been speaking up about fasting for a long time on HN. I have since received several emails from members here who have taken my comments into consideration and have been successful at resolving various health issues in large part by undertaking a prolonged fast.

Banning me plays into the hands of those who would rather this treatment option be silenced and I believe the Flagging feature is being abused by those who are using it anonymously to prevent others from being exposed to it.

By banning me you are effectively hindering people's access to a wide variety of health options, and I believe you will be in the wrong by doing so. Therefore I would like to have my comments and activity reviewed by other moderators as well, since currently as things stand I think banning me will be a personal decision on your part that is not in line with the Guidelines that you have published and asked your users to adhere by. Who can I contact to further discuss this?

As someone who has overcome chronic, debilitating illnesses using unconventional healing techniques myself, I'm sympathetic to your point of view. Indeed dang hinted that he may also be sympathetic to your point of view.

But we're all responsible for phrasing our comments in a way that doesn't trigger flamewars.

The guidelines clearly state: "Don't introduce flamewar topics unless you have something genuinely new to say."

The same thing can be said in multiple different ways. You should make an effort to phrase your comments in the non-flamewar-triggering way.

> Look at 7 to 10 days of dry fasting (no food or water)

You can die of dehydration if you don't drink water for 3 days.

https://www.quora.com/How-long-can-a-human-live-without-wate...

Someone always has to jump into any vaguely health-related article and tout some absurd kind of fasting as a sure panacea, no matter the problem; it's like an unwritten law of HN. I'm surprised that nobody has suggested a classical eastern vegan diet yet, that's another good old chestnut.

Yet those who dismiss it continue to dismiss the fact that their lifestyle, including and primarily dietary choices [1], is the leading contributor to their various health ailments and the reason they require life-long drugs that do nothing but suppress various symptoms to create a sense of sustained "good health". And those who do undertake fasting, both to rid themselves of "auto-immune diseases" and other such sciency sounding names, and as a preventative maintenance regimen, are the healthy ones.

the unwritten law of HN is quite the opposite - to immediately dismiss and blindly downvote any non-mainstream answers.

[1] By "dietary choices" above I refer to any diet that is not 100% organic fruits and vegetables and as little water as possible (you are meant to be getting the vast majority of your water intake from fruits, not stand-alone glasses of water).

You are spreading false information. This is absolutely not correct.

not him, but I found this after a short search

https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/357718

Can you provide a credible source to your claim?

Please provide a citation

How do 10 days of no water not result in certain death?

Because your body is more capable than what mainstream modern medicine is telling you? Keeping you in the dark about the healing benefits of fasting is their No. 1 agenda along with pushing life-long "treatments".

I do two 8-day-long dry fasts every year, and have completed several 12-day ones as well.

I also water fast for 30 days twice a year.

You have no idea what you are missing out on, health wise, if you are suffering from any sort of disease modern medicine is telling you is incurable.

I'm skeptical and intrigued. Mostly about your world view since you are on HN and that does some selection. Apart from the water thing, who do you think defines agenda of "mainstream modern medicine"? Is there like some secret communication channel between all researches around the world to keep everybody in dark about how water is not necessary for well functioning brain? I'm sorry if it sounds offensive, but I'm sincerely curious how do you see it.

Sorry, but giving out potentially harmful "medical" advice is certainly a reason to have a comment flagged.

how is "CFS and fibromyalgia are conditions that see incredibly positive results after prolonged fasting. Don't take my word for it, and do not do it without extensive research on your part - but do conduct this research." a flaggable comment? He's very clearly stating to do your own research and not take his word for it.

I have chronic fatigue and my condition is improved by fasting. Fasting triggers autophagy and hgh release. Most of the symptoms of CFS are the same as low hgh levels, and people with CFS have low hgh.

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