Can Fasting Boost Immunity? 

 

While fasting can help a person meditate and focus, plus assist in weight loss efforts, researchers are discovering that a prolonged fast may do much more.

A study was first performed in mice, but scientists at the University of Southern California recently completed a similar study in humans. The study indicated that fasting for two to four days — taking in no food, but drinking water — triggers bodily responses that can help to restore and strengthen the immune system.

Researchers believe that fasting may be particularly beneficial for senior citizens or for people who have immune systems that are weakened by cancer treatments.  Prolonged fasting also protected against toxicity in a pilot clinical trial in which a small group of patients fasted for a 72-hour period ( drinking water, but not eating any foods) prior to chemotherapy, supporting this research. Some scientists believe that prolonged fasts will be proven to “reboot” the immune system. Although more research is needed in this area, fasting is known to have several benefits:

• As soon as a fast is begun, the body goes into “starvation mode” and begins burning excess fat, glucose and ketones for fuel.
• Old, weakened white blood cells are also burned when the body needs fuel.
• After the older white blood cells are broken down, the body starts producing new cells, which scientists believe will create a stronger immune system.
• The USC study indicated that the body has a greater ability to fend off disease after a fast, but it will also be better at resisting the ill-effects of chemicals, such as chemotherapy and radiation used for cancer treatments.

One of the authors of the study asserted that fasting shows promise, especially for cancer patients. “While chemotherapy saves lives, it causes significant collateral damage to the immune system. The results of this study suggest that fasting may mitigate some of the harmful effects of chemotherapy,” said co-author Tanya Dorff, assistant professor of clinical medicine at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital.

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