Saturday, June 7, 2014

science is finally catching up with conventional wisdom.

Refraining from food for as little as two days can regenerate the immune system, helping the body to fight infection, according to a new study.

Scientists at the University of Southern California said the findings could have major implications for the elderly and people suffering from damaged immune systems, such as cancer patients.

Researchers tested the effects of fasting for two to four day periods over the course of six months on both mice and humans.

In both cases, long periods of not eating significantly lowered white blood cell counts.

And in mice, each cycle of fasting then “flipped a regenerative switch” that triggered stem cell-based regeneration of new white blood cells, thereby renewing the body’s defence system.

Valter Longo, Professor of Gerontology and the Biological Sciences at the University of Southern California, said:“It gives the OK for stem cells to go ahead and begin proliferating and rebuild the entire system.

“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.”

He added: “Now, if you start with a system heavily damaged by chemotherapy or aging, fasting cycles can generate, literally, a new immune system.”

The study also found that fasting reduces levels of the enzyme PKA, an effect which is known to increase longevity in simple organisms, as well as levels of the hormone IGF-1, which has been linked to ageing, tumour progression and cancer risk.

In addition, a small pilot clinical trial found that fasting for a 72-hour period prior to chemotherapy protected patients against toxicity.

“While chemotherapy saves lives, it causes significant collateral damage to the immune system. The results of this study suggest that fasting may mitigate some of the harmful effects of chemotherapy,” said Tanya Dorff, assistant professor of clinical medicine at the University of Southern California.

“More clinical studies are needed, and any such dietary intervention should be undertaken only under the guidance of a physician.”

Researchers are now carrying out further studies to investigate the link between diet and stem cell regeneration.

Professor Longo said: “We could not predict that prolonged fasting would have such a remarkable effect in promoting stem cell-based regeneration of the hematopoietic system.

“We are investigating the possibility that these effects are applicable to many different systems and organs, not just the immune system.”

cleanliness is next to allergies

Early child life Bacteria infection results to Asthma and Allergy protection

Posted on Jun 6 2014 - 2:49pm by Mark Labbe

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Babies who are exposed to bacteria within the first year of their life will be less likely to develop asthma and allergies later on, a new study finds. The new study finds that babies exposed to certain types of bacteria may be less likely to get asthma or allergies later in life.

According to a new study done by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, babies will be far less likely to asthma and allergies later in life if they are exposed to germs early on. The hypothesis behind the study is that early exposure to bacteria will train a person’s immune system to attack bad bugs while ignoring harmless things, like pollen or pet dander.

However, babies must be exposed to specific types of bacteria for them to reap the benefits later in life. The study claims that infants exposed to bacteria in the Bacteriodes and Firmicutes groups were less likely to develop asthma and allergies. If a baby was exposed to bacteria in both groups, then they did even better.

The study looked at young inner-city children who grew up exposed to cockroaches, rats, and other disease ridden things. Based on that, it might be assumed that the children would be more immune to contracting asthma or allergies. But, the kids are actually getting sicker.

“We’ve talked for a number of years about how the inner city really does contradict the hygiene hypothesis,” says Dr. Robert Wood, one of the authors of the study, which was published recently in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. “There’s such a high rate of allergies and asthma in the inner city. The inner city must be a very dirty area where kids must be protected.”

As a result, cities have been attempting to clean up dirty areas to protect their children’s health. The reason these inner-city children are getting sicker is because they are being exposed to the wrong kinds of bacteria, meaning not enough bacteria in the Bacteriodes and Firmicutes groups. As a result, their resistance to disease is staying basically the same, even though the children are getting sick.

Although researches have been observing kids in Baltimore, Boston, New York and St. Louis for eight years, they don’t recommend purposefully introducing babies to germs yet. Before that happens, they need to perform clinical trials on both animals and humans. They say a lot more work needs to be done before any action can be taken.

“We still believe that in kids with asthma that these allergen exposures are really unhealthy,” Wood added. “But it would appear that if we cleaned things up as a preventative measure it would backfire terribly.”

How to be Happy, Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise

Saturday, June 7, 2014

science is finally catching up with conventional wisdom.

Fasting for two days could regenerate the immune system, according to research

A study by the University of Southern California found that abstaining from food could trigger white blood cell regeneration

cleanliness is next to allergies

Early child life Bacteria infection results to Asthma and Allergy protection

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