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Fasting can have a negative impact on the immune system and increase the risk of heart disease
There is ample evidence of the benefits of fasting. However, a new study has warned that fasting can also pose a health risk. It suggests that fasting can negatively impact the immune system and increase the risk of heart disease. The effects were observed even when breakfast was skipped. In the study on mice, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found that skipping meals can trigger a reaction in the brain that negatively affects immune cells. Based on these results, they suggested that chronic fasting has long-term effects on...
Fasting can have a negative impact on the immune system and increase the risk of heart disease
There is ample evidence of the benefits of fasting. However, a new study has warned that fasting can also pose a health risk. It suggests that fasting can negatively impact the immune system and increase the risk of heart disease. The effects were observed even when breakfast was skipped.
In the study on mice, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found that skipping meals can trigger a reaction in the brain that negatively affects immune cells. Based on these results, they suggested that chronic fasting could have long-term effects on the body. The results were published in the Feb. 23 issue of the journal Immunity.
How fasting affects the immune system
To understand how fasting affects the immune system, researchers studied two groups of mice: one group was given breakfast immediately after waking up, while the other group skipped breakfast. Blood samples were taken from both groups shortly after waking, four hours later and eight hours later.
When blood reports were compared, a difference was found in the number of monocytes, which are white blood cells that play a crucial role in fighting infections, heart disease and cancer. Monocytes are formed in the bone marrow and from there migrate throughout the body.
At the start of the study, all mice had the same number of monocytes. But after four hours, 90 percent of the monocytes in the fasting mice had disappeared from the bloodstream. After eight hours the number continued to decrease. However, the number of monocytes in the non-fasting group remained unchanged, the researchers said.
In addition, the researchers found that in the fasting mice, monocytes migrated back to the bone marrow to remain there, and at the same time the production of new cells decreased.
When the mice were fed food again after a 24-hour fast, the monocytes that had been hiding in the bone marrow migrated back into the bloodstream within a few hours. This sudden increase in monocytes in the bloodstream led to increased levels of inflammation. The changed monocytes no longer protected against infections, and the body became less resistant to infections.
Fasting triggers a stress response in the brain
The study also examined the connection between the brain and monocytes during fasting. They found that fasting triggers a stress response in the brain, which immediately triggers a large-scale migration of monocytes from the blood into the bone marrow and back into the bloodstream shortly after refeeding. This stress response to fasting also causes people to become hungry and angry,” say the experts.
The risks associated with fasting occur after resumption of food as this results in a flood of monocytes rushing back into the blood. In this way, fasting may impair the body's ability to respond to infection, the researchers explained.