The immune system is something that is highly misunderstood not just by everyday people but also by the many conventional doctors who we depend on for health advice.
Most people resort to things like synthetic vitamins and medicines (ignoring better natural alternatives) to deal with colds and improve immunity, but the cycle of sickness always seems to continue.
For people with compromised immune systems, there are many natural options, and now researchers have discovered what could well be one of the best ways to reset and recharge your immune system; one that happens to be free and is believed to work even in the elderly as well.
Three Days to a Whole New Immune System
According to researchers at the University of Southern California, the act of fasting for as little as three days can regenerate the entire immune system, even in elderly people.
The researchers said that fasting helps the body’s stem cells to begin producing new white blood cells, which help to fight off infection.
They added that the discovery could be especially effective for people suffering from damaged immune systems, including chemotherapy patients, who were protected from the toxic impacts of the treatment during the fasting period (note: we personally don’t recommend chemotherapy; consult a holistic doctor for more information).
White blood cells (right) help immune response, and they can be recycled through fasting, the study showed.
Flipping a “Regenerative Switch”
As the researchers noted, the act of fasting for as little as three days can regenerate the entire immune system, even in elderly people.
“Fasting gives the ‘OK’ for stem cells to go ahead and begin proliferating and rebuild the entire system,” Prof. Valter Longo, Professor of Gerontology and the Biological Sciences at the University of Southern California, told the UK’s The Telegraph.
He added that the body actually removed parts that were damaged, old or inefficient during the fasting process, creating “literally, a new immune system.”
According to Dr. Longo a person’s system recycles unneeded immune cells, especially damaged ones, in order to create energy while they are fasting.
Over the course of his study’s trials, participants were asked to regularly fast between 2-4 days over a 6 month period.
The study was released in June and Dr. Longo said that clinical trials must still be completed, but added that the research looks “very promising.”
You can read the full study in the journal ‘Cell Stem Cell’ by clicking here.
Note: This is for informational purposes only. Consult a doctor before fasting.
Source:
http://althealthworks.com/
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Prolonged Fasting Reduces IGF-1/PKA to Promote Hematopoietic-Stem-Cell-Based Regeneration and Reverse Immunosuppression
Chia-Wei Cheng, Gregor B. Adams, Laura Perin, Min Wei, Xiaoying Zhou, Ben S. Lam, Stefano Da Sacco, Mario Mirisola, David I. Quinn, Tanya B. Dorff, John J. Kopchick, Valter D. Longo
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- Graphical Abstract
Highlights
- •Prolonged fasting downregulates a IGF-1/PKA pathway in stem cells
- •Prolong fasting protects hematopoietic cells from chemotoxicity
- •Prolonged fasting cycles promote HSC self-renewal to reverse immunosuppression
- •Inhibition of IGF-1 or PKA signaling mimics the effects of prolonged fasting
Summary
Immune system defects are at the center of aging and a range of diseases. Here, we show that prolonged fasting reduces circulating IGF-1 levels and PKA activity in various cell populations, leading to signal transduction changes in long-term hematopoietic stem cells (LT-HSCs) and niche cells that promote stress resistance, self-renewal, and lineage-balanced regeneration. Multiple cycles of fasting abated the immunosuppression and mortality caused by chemotherapy and reversed age-dependent myeloid-bias in mice, in agreement with preliminary data on the protection of lymphocytes from chemotoxicity in fasting patients. The proregenerative effects of fasting on stem cells were recapitulated by deficiencies in either IGF-1 or PKA and blunted by exogenous IGF-1. These findings link the reduced levels of IGF-1 caused by fasting to PKA signaling and establish their crucial role in regulating hematopoietic stem cell protection, self-renewal, and regeneration.
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