Fasting, whether it’s a drastic improvement for health or not, has been a long-time debate between researchers,nutritionists, even people who undergo this act and otherwise. One of the main and best points of fasting is that it can positively impact weight loss and dietary concerns. This is why a lot of people, who are trying to lose weight consume lesser amounts of food; when people are in need of them, fasting can be good. On the other hand, many professionals and nutritionists argue that it is something that just promotes different health risks and life-threatening instances.
In addition to weight loss, other major advantages of fasting, according to draxe would be:
- Improves secretion of the growth hormone
- It normalizes the sensitivity of insulin in our bodies
- Lowers cholesterol in the body – decreases triglyceride levels
- It normalizes Ghrelin levels
The list goes on and on and on. Otherwise, health-risk factors such as ulcer, digestive-impacting concerns, and other sorts of problems are being pointed out by nutritionists. They claim that fasting is nothing than something that can damage our bodies. They point out that although it does limit and eliminate the consumption of unhealthy treats in our bodies, we also deprive it of nutrients we should be getting on a regular and everyday basis.
However, one research done by the University of South Carolina might be something that can ring a bell. Although this research is something that brings fasting into the subject, it is something to be thought about. The team from the University collectively came up with a group of participants and told them in the initial stages to undergo fasting for 2-4 days on a regular basis; this should be done over a 6-month period. Imagine not consuming a solid meal in two to four days, how would that be even possible?And would it be safe?
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During this time, they were able to see drastic changes in the immune systems of the participants. The group saw a significant decrease in the production of the enzyme PKA. Enzyme Protein Kinase A (PKA) is a hormone which is linked with an exponentially increased risk of t***r and c****r growth in our bodies. Along with that, the immune system of the participants got a bit of a recondition.
“What we started noticing in both our human work and animal work is that the white blood cell count goes down with prolonged fasting. Then when you re-feed, the blood cells come back. So, we started thinking, well, where does it come from?” – Professor Valtor Longo, PhD
The researcher of the study was truly fascinated of what they’ve discovered because their findings can be something that can increase the chances of regaining the life taken by diseases. Moreover, they’ve seen that improvements by people undergoing chemotherapy or simply just the aging population can greatly benefit from fasting.
What they’ve observed is that fasting triggers a switch in the body signaling to begin regeneration of the hematopoietic system. With this process, our bodies break down large sums of white blood cells (WBCs), forcing our bodies to produce and generate new ones.
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In addition to what Professor Valtor Longo said, he also explains what our bodies try to do when we are starving. “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 the immune cells that are not needed, especially those that may be damaged.” What this simply means is that when we undergo fasting for 72 hours and follow it up with a healthy meal, it can drastically incorporate positive impacts to our immune system.
Although this is the case, researchers still want further detailed observation as regards fasting as it can be something that can be harmful for other people. Having this in mind, we are now sure that researchers are going deeper into this topic of course for the betterment of everyone. With the findings that the study was able to get, this discovery can be a milestone of the human race. Immune systems being better; white blood cells regenerating over an unthinkable amount of time; who knows? This great discovery can be something that can treat the “untreatable.”
