Posted on 06/23/2024 8:38:40 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
Periods of fasting reprogram the immune system's natural killer cells to better fight cancer, according to a study in mice.
Now a team of researchers have shown for the first time that fasting can reprogram the metabolism of natural killer cells, helping them to survive in the harsh environment in and around tumors, while also improving their cancer-fighting ability.
Natural killer cells, or NK cells for short, are a type of white blood cell that can kill abnormal or damaged cells, like cancer cells or cells infected with a virus.
For the study, mice with cancer were denied food for 24 hours twice a week, and then allowed to eat freely in between fasts.
But these periods of fasting had a profound effect on NK cells.
Just as happens in humans, the mice saw a drop in their glucose levels and a rise in free fatty acids, which are lipids released by fat cells that can serve as an alternative energy source when other nutrients aren't present, Dr. Delconte says.
"During each of these fasting cycles, NK cells learned to use these fatty acids as an alternative fuel source to glucose," she says. "This really optimizes their anti-cancer response because the tumor microenvironment contains a high concentration of lipids, and now they're able enter the tumor and survive better because of this metabolic training."
The fasting also led to a redistribution of NK cells within the body.
Many of the NK cells traveled into the bone marrow, where they were exposed to high levels of a key signaling protein called Interleukin-12. This primed the NK cells to produce more Interferon-gamma—a cytokine that plays an important role in anti-tumor responses.
Meanwhile, NK cells in the spleen were undergoing a separate reprogramming, making them better at using lipids as a fuel source.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
The processes appear to be similar to what happens in humans.
“Profound effect”
Humans with diabetes can't fast for 24 hours. Can diabetic mice?
These mice did not have diabetes.
If you can’t do it, you can’t do it.
They don’t define their “fasting” type so the article is enticing but not helpful.
Why can’t diabetics fast?
“Just as happens in humans, the mice saw a drop in their glucose levels and a rise in free fatty acids, which are lipids released by fat cells that can serve as an alternative energy source when other nutrients aren’t present”
Correct me if I’m wrong, but, isn’t that exactly what happens when you’re on the ketogenic diet?
They can fast and have to, usually for 12 hours before fasting bloodwork, surgery, or medical procedures. But if I have to fast 12 hours for bloodwork, and drink nothing but water during that time, I can't take my diabetic meds during that 12 hours because it will lower my blood sugar too much, and cause hypoglycemia, or worse. There have been times when I've been sitting at the lab waiting to have my blood drawn, after having fasted for 12 or more hours, and I've started having symptoms of hypoglycemia. In order for it not to get any worse, I've had to pop a life saver to get some sugar into my system for the symptoms to go away. Not eating for 24 hours or more can be very dangerous for diabetics.
I fast 4 1/2 days a week (usually). Sunday night through Friday afternoon. I love it.
I had Type 2 diabetes before I started fasting. I have been in remission for years now due to fasting.
(FMD is fasting mimicking diet, either with a proprietary food kit, or 600-800 calories, <16g protein, <100g carbs, and no meats or dairy for 5 days)
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