I have an account at a fitness forum. It's rare, but occasionally I will jump into the fray. Someone recently started a thread that asked if anyone there did Intermittent Fasting, because she was thinking about doing it herself. Several regulars (who seem to do nothing but hang out at the forums to disparage anything but CICO and "get your ass to the gym" - and, presumably, go to the gym themselves) immediately jumped in and disparaged the idea, stating that there was "nothing magical" about IF.

OP then says, "OK, thanks, I guess I'll just continue with what I'm doing," all things in moderation, and the like.

I was torn. I wanted to contribute to the conversation, but knew I would be mercilessly "woo'd". Furthermore, I was tempted to not waste my time answering someone lazy enough to take this health advice as gospel, without doing any further investigation on her own. Maybe she was trolling?

Nevertheless, without insulting anybody, I told her of my own limited experiences with IF, told her how I felt doing it, that it seemed a natural adjunct to being "fat adapted," from my perspective, and posted links to an interview with Dr. Fung, whom I described as a leading expert in the field, as well as his lecture at Low Carb Downunder. I posited that the OP should do a little research on the subject, and make her own decision as to whether or not to try it.

Well, that got a lot of derision. These folks really seem to hate Dr. Fung, think he's akin to Dr. Oz, doesn't know what he's talking about, experts in the field think he's full of $^*!, and such.

Hmmm. You know, it's not my job to defend Dr. Fung's qualifications. I'm not even qualified to do so. I haven't even read his books. I just can't figure out why these people hate him so much. Is it because he's charging money for weight loss counselling? Because he's a published author? Challenges their belief system that CICO is IT? They don't like ketogenic diets, either. They sneer at mention of Andreas Eenfeldt.

Seems to me, based on what I know of Dr. Fung, he IS an expert. He's got his doctorate, has a specialty in nephrology, did his residency at UCLA, set up practice in Toronto, and furthered his education. He noticed that many of his patients also had Type 2 diabetes or were obese. In response to his recognition of a growing problem, he began treating them with a protocol to try and improve their health, with promising results. Some of these case studies show remarkable success in reducing or eliminating required medications, effectively reversing their Type 2 Diabetes, and helping them lose weight. The case studies contribute to the body of scientific knowledge in the field of autophagy.

So, what's the problem?

Bluesinger, I hope the other staff and other premium content aren't as annoying as Megan.