Immunomodulatory Effects of Fasting in Healthy Adults

Inclusion Criteria: * Age: 20-40 years, to constitute a young study population * Gender: male subjects, to control for gender differences * BMI: 19-27 kg/m2 to constitute a normal/healthy weight population * Weight: 120 lbs or more * Fasting glucose: 70-100 mg/dL, to ensure that fasting can be tolerated without inducing dangerously low levels of blood glucose * Subjects must be willing to undergo a period of 36 hours of water-only fasting * Subjects must be willing to collect samples of each bowel movement produced throughout the entire study period for microbiome analysis * Subjects must be willing to collect blood pricks for blood glucose levels using a Contour Next One Blood Glucose Testing Kit during the fasting stage of the study protocol. Exclusion Criteria: * Current smoking * Anemia * Pregnancy or current breastfeeding * Chronic diseases including diabetes mellitus, thyroid disease, metabolic syndrome, cancer, or previous cardiovascular events * Gastrointestinal diseases including irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, celiac disease * Consumption of \>1 alcoholic drink/day * Extreme dietary or exercise patterns * Recent weight fluctuations (greater than 10% in the last six months) * Regular use of over-the-counter allergy or pain medications (\>1/week) * Taking prescription lipid medications (e.g. statins) or other supplements known to alter lipoprotein metabolism such as isoflavones * Use of hormonal birth control including oral contraception pills, hormonal IUDs or rings, or hormonal birth control patches