Intermittent fasting, an increasingly popular diet on social media, continues to cause concern among experts who have been able to link this eating habit to the onset of several health problems.
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Scientists at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York found that starving mice’s immune cells rush into their bone marrow when fasting. When the animals started eating again, these cells returned to their bloodstream, causing inflammation.
Followers of intermittent fasting claim that this practice helps to lose weight and extend lifespan by reducing inflammation in the body. The phenomenon would limit the appearance of symptoms of several health problems such as Alzheimer’s, arthritis or asthma.
“It is important to understand how white blood cells work since they are essential in the prevention of certain diseases such as cancer,” explains Dr.r Filip Swirski, the immunologist who conducted the study.
In the study, researchers separated mice into two groups. The first was able to eat normally, while the second was fasted for 24 hours. After only four hours of experiment, 90% of the immune cells had disappeared from the blood system of the starved mice. The production of white blood cells from the bone marrow had also dropped.
The animals were able to eat after 24 hours. White blood cells quickly returned to the bloodstream. In addition to causing inflammation, the mice entered a stress phase characterized by feelings of hunger and anger.
“This study shows that fasting can temporarily reduce the inflammation produced by white blood cells, explains Dr.r Swirsky. However, the reintroduction of food creates a wave of immune cells in the blood, which can become problematic. Fasting causes the body to program an inadequate response to infections.
Many celebrities like Jennifer Aniston and Mark Wahlberg have touted the effects of intermittent fasting in their lives.
The latter do not consume any food before dinner time.
According to information from Daily Mail.