(TRFW News) A study in the June 5th issue of the Cell Press journal
Cell Stem Cell clearly indicated how stem cells shift from dormant to
self-renewing when the body experiences prolonged cycles of
fasting.(1) A state of starvation activates recycling of white blood cellsWhite blood cells decreased in numbers, which is explained by
Valter Longo, the Edna M. Jones Professor of Gerontology and the
Biological Sciences at the USC Davis School of Gerontology, and director of the USC Longevity Institute: “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.” Once the person
would start eating again, new white blood cells are created. The
study has so far involved both mice and the first human testing
stage, phase 1 human clinical trial. Fasting generates new immune systemAnother huge benefit from prolonged fasting is how our levels of
IGF-1 lowers as a result. This is a growth-factor hormone linked to
the risk of cancer, the progression of tumors and also our aging.
Longo explains further: “PKA is the key gene that needs to shut down in order for these
stem cells to switch into regenerative mode. It gives the ‘okay’
for stem cells to go ahead and begin proliferating and rebuild the
entire system.” He and his team also found that: “…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 aging,
fasting cycles can generate, literally, a new immune system.” These are great news, especially since statistics show how nearly
14 million people were diagnosed with cancer during 2012 (2), and
this new discovery may have a very positive impact on how the
consequential damages of chemotherapy treatment will be
significantly reduced. Sources for this article include: - www.sciencedaily.com
- www.cancerresearchuk.org
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