In related news, another recent study has found that a three-day long fast can regenerate your entire immune system, even if you're elderly. The researchers described the findings as "remarkable." Fasting for a few days, they found, has the power to kick-start your stem cells into producing more white blood cells, which are part of your body's natural defense arsenal. As reported by Daily Life:
"Scientists at the University of Southern California (USC) say the discovery could be particularly beneficial for those suffering from damaged immune systems, such as cancer patients on chemotherapy. It could also help the elderly whose immune systems become less effective...''And the good news is that the body got rid of the parts of the system that might be damaged or old, the inefficient parts, during the fasting. Now, if you start with a system heavily damaged by chemotherapy or ageing, fasting cycles can generate, literally, a new immune system."
They discovered that longer fasts (two to four days) led to the reduction of an enzyme called protein kinase A (PKA), which previous research has linked to life extension in simple organisms. Starving the body for a couple of days turns off the gene for PKA, and this is the trigger that tells your stem cells to shift into regeneration mode. According to Valter Longo, professor of gerontology and biological sciences at the University of Southern California, this is what "gives the OK for stem cells to go ahead and begin proliferating and rebuild the entire system." Fasting for three days also led to a reduction of IGF-1, a growth factor hormone linked to aging, cancer, and tumor growth. According to co-author Tanya Dorff:9 ''The results of this study suggest that fasting may mitigate some of the harmful effects of chemotherapy."
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