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Fasting triggers stem cell regeneration of damaged, old immune system

wildbill_52280

wildbill_52280

quote from the paper:

Even after WBC's(White Blood Cells) are severely suppressed or damaged as a consequence of chemotherapy or aging, cycles of PF(Prolonged Fasting) are able to restore the normal WBC number and lineage balance, suggesting that the organism may be able to exploit its ability to regenerate the hematopoietic system(Hematopoietic stem cells) after periods of starvation, independently of the cause of the deficiency.

Our results indicate that cycles of an extreme dietary intervention represent a powerful mean to modulate key regulators of cellular protection and tissue regeneration but also provide a potential therapy to reverse or alleviate the immunosuppression or immunosenescence caused by chemotherapy treatment and aging, respectively, and possibly by a variety of diseases affecting the hematopoietic and immune systems and other systems and organs. The clinical data shown here provide preliminary results supporting the possibility that these effects can also be translated into effective clinical applications.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hematopoietic_stem_cell

obviously it may take quite a bit more reading for most folks to fully comprehend what this all means and how it could apply to medicine, but the bulk of it is the benefits of caloric restriction and prolonged fasting and every other type of self induced starvation that exists, which people have written about for thousands of years, really does have some health benefits. After all we have likely evolved far longer as a hunter gatherer then as this modern agricultural being, so one variable to health is that we simply eat too much and for too long, the body needs a break from food every once and a while.
 
wildbill_52280

wildbill_52280

I was trying to find more info on what ramadan fasting actually is, here is a source from colorado university, it seems they eat one meal in the morning which isn't defined in caloric amount or anything like that, then one meal at sunset. This lasts for one month out of the year it seem they are only really going 12 hours or so without food, which is no more then what we do when we sleep, although i guess they are getting 2x the amount of time in between meals then the average person would get, and the calories are likely lower. I suppose that would count as caloric restriction/fasting, and its interesting that there was some research on its effects on IBD.
http://www.colostate.edu/orgs/MSA/events/Ramadan.html

FIY I practice caloric restriction ranging from 1600-1800 calories/day and sometimes going as low as 1200 but only that low for 1-2 days at a time. I probably require 2500 calories to be in the higher end of healthy weight. So I'm well below normal caloric intake, and im in the low range of the healthy weight for my body.

i started to consider the possibility of intermittent fasting being a better option where i would get all the calories i need, then take in much less on 1-2 days out of the week. For this new research what they are saying is that taking in no food at all for 2-4 days(prolonged Fasting) has more pronounced benefits then caloric restriction or intermittent fasting. ill probably try a total fast like this for 24 hours and see what happens. of course ill take in water though.
 
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wildbill_52280

wildbill_52280

mf15 said:
WB here is a thread on Ramadan fasting and colitis.
Old Mike
http://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=38&m=2360894
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very interesting. This poster STILL doesn't give an objective, concrete, specific definition of what they even did so that the result might be replicated by someone else.

From what i gather, the poster defines Ramadan fasting as not eating or drinking ANYTHING for 30 days, which differs in the definition that the university of Colorado link states.http://www.colostate.edu/orgs/MSA/events/Ramadan.html
I realize that the university websites definition may be wrong and i should consult a few other sources for the definition but i give a little weight to their authority that its generally a reliable source.


So it seems this person is doing more of a prolonged fast rather then what is defined as a ramadan fast. But its hard to verify any of that with certainty, as its just some persons bad testimony from a website. I'm not discounting its value, but I'm a pretty hardcore scientist so i try to hold these standards of intellectualism wherever i go. I know that science begins with peoples general observations about the world, buts its unfortunate people are not highly trained to give a good testimony to benefit mankind. I have read studies that demonstrate markers of inflammation declining during reduced caloric intake, it takes 5 days for them to get to their lowest level, after those five days, no further benefits seem to be achieved at least in the measurement of inflammatory markers like CRP. From what i recall these reduced levels of inflammation can last quite a while like maybe a few weeks even after the person returns to normal caloric intake.
 
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