A study late last year is out of the University of Southern California presents new information on how to maximize our immune systems in a very short time. It was an update of a similar study performed in 2014.
Participants fasted for two to four days over a six-month period. An unexpected result was a noted decrease in the enzyme PKA (protein kinase A) and the hormone IGF-1(insulin-like growth factor 1)
PKA and IGF-1 have many functions. However, when both are decreased, the risk of cancer and tumor growth decreases. The latest study also noted that the immune system got a total renovation.
Further research discovered that fasting flipped a switch in our bodies to be regenerating stem cells. Fasting initiates the consumption of all glucose and eventually all fat and ketones. After this reduction of fuel sources, the body starts to break down white blood cells.
This loss of white blood cells was responsible for to body to regenerate new immune system cells. Professor Longo (University of Southern California) stated that “when you starve, the system tries to save energy, and one of the things it can do to save energy is to recycle a lot of immune cells that are not needed, especially those that might be damaged.”
Healthy fasting means that you follow fasting with healthy nutritionally-balanced meals. This is needed to provide the immune system to regain what it has lost quickly.
Fasting improves body composition/fitness, stimulates satiety, enhances your metabolism, sustains fat loss and ketosis, fosters better insulin sensitivity, encourages cardiovascular health, and a dozen more benefits.
Some health professionals believe that fasting has risks. The United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) warn that your health can suffer because many people fasting become dehydrated. It also increases stress levels and disrupts sleep.
Dehydration and hunger exacerbate headaches. The NHS also cautioned that fasting could cause heartburn and escalates the risk binge eating.
There are many ways to fast. Consult a nutritionist or your family physician before you arbitrarily begin any extended fast. The fasting studies in the group noted above average 72 hours without eating food.
I fast eighteen hours daily. I do it for longevity purposes. I plan a twenty-four-hour fast once weekly. It usually averages between thirty and fifty hours depending on many factors. I have not experienced any of the risk factors noted above during my daily or extended fasts.
The study’s co-author, Tanya Dorff, MD, suggested that fasting might work well with chemotherapy. Chemotherapy destroys our immune systems. Fasting might be a way to regenerate our immune systems quickly. She says that more clinical studies are needed.
My wife went through six months of chemotherapy a few years ago. She had many side effects of the drugs. The one side-effect-symptom that seemed insurmountable was fatigue. She was taking one or two two-hour naps daily.
During her first radiation therapy session, she started adhering to the Wahl’s Protocol for dietary options only. Within forty-eight hours, her fatigue disappeared and remained gone from that day till now. The last day of radiation treatment, we left Houston, Texas and drove to Jacksonville, Florida to get my mother’s estate items out of storage.
I rented a U-Haul truck and drove 500 miles each day with my wife following me by herself. She had no problems making 1000 miles in two days following months of chemotherapy and weeks of radiation treatments. This is testimonial evidence at best. The Wahl’s Protocol is based on balanced nutrition across thirty-plus nutrients the body needs daily.
Combining an occasional 72-hour fast with nutritionally-balanced meals should be a great way to ramp up your immune system. A healthy immune system means that you are the only one who is not sick when everyone else is.
Wow, those are impressive results. I used to fast weekly when I was in my twenties. I need to go back to doing it.