Fasting may help ward off infections, study in mice suggests (Starve a gut infection?)

Medical XPress / Public Library of Science / PLOS Pathogens ^ | Aug. 5, 2021 | Graef FA, Celiberto LS, Allaire JM, Kuan MTY, Bosman ES, Crowley SM, et al.

[ConservativeMind]

Fasting before and during exposure to Salmonella enterica bacteria protects mice from developing a full-blown infection, in part due to changes in the animals' gut microbiomes, according to new research.

When people or animals develop an infection, they often lose their appetite. However it remains controversial whether fasting protects a host from infection, or increases their susceptibility. In the new study, mice were fasted for 48 hours before and during oral infection with the bacteria Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, a common cause of foodborne illness in people.

Fasting decreased the signs of bacterial infection compared to fed mice, including nearly eliminating all intestinal tissue damage and inflammation. When fasted animals were re-fed for a day after their fast, there was a dramatic increase in Salmonella numbers and invasion into the intestinal walls, although the associated inflammation was still attenuated compared to normal. The results did not hold true when mice were exposed to Salmonella intravenously instead of orally, and analyses of the microbiomes of mice showed significant changes associated with fasting and protection against infection. Experiments using the bacteria Campylobacter jejuni confirmed that the effect of fasting was not limited to Salmonella, with similar results seen.

"These data suggest that therapeutic fasting or calorie restriction has the potential to beneficially modulate infectious and potentially non-infectious gastrointestinal diseases," the researchers conclude.

The researchers add, "Our research highlights the important role that food plays in regulating interactions between the host, enteric pathogens and the gut microbiome. When food is limited, the microbiome appears to sequester the nutrients that remain, preventing pathogens from acquiring the energy they need to infect the host. While more research is needed, fasting or otherwise adjusting food intake could be exploited therapeutically to modulate infectious diseases in the future."

[BobL]

“Experiments using the bacteria Campylobacter jejuni confirmed that the effect of fasting was not limited to Salmonella, with similar results seen.”

I was wondering if they would test Campylobacter Jejuni.

(not that I ever heard of it)

[rolling_stone]

methinks your body knows best if you are sick usually you dont want food when you start getting well you get hungry..eh?

[Enterprise]

I misread the headline at first. I thought it read that Farting would help ward off infections.

[erlayman]

A single day ? Probably. I go for 20 hours a day and have never felt better. But Extrapolating from 2 days of mice not eating is more like a week. Although the immune system can reset itself completely in as little as three days without food.

https://www.flowin.com/index.php?page=blog_post&blog_id=79#:~:text=Fasting%20for%20three%20days%20can%20regenerate%20entire%20immune%20system%2C%20study%20finds,-Home&text=Fasting%20for%20as%20little%20as,breakthrough%20described%20as%20%22remarkable%22.

[Vaduz]

Maybe granny was right starve a cold feed a fever.