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Intermittent fasting is defined as an eating pattern wherein an individual cycle between periods of eating and fasting. In fact, it poses as one of the most popular fitness and health trends in the world. People opt for intermittent fasting (IF) due to a wide array of reasons such as weight loss, simplified lifestyle, improvement of overall health and wellbeing. There is a growing body of evidence which suggests that this eating pattern has tremendous power to improve your immune system as well. Is that really correct? Keep reading to find out!
Intermittent fasting and immunity
Benefits of intermittent fasting for your immune system are well-documented. Scientists at the University of Southern California conducted a study which proved that this eating pattern can give a significant boost to your immunity. So, how can this happen? Well, fasting stimulates stem cells in your body into producing new white blood cells that are important for fighting off infections. This action regenerates the entire immune system. Researchers point out that this discovery can also prove to be beneficial for individuals with weak immunity, particularly elderly.
When you’re fasting, your body eliminates parts of the system that are old or damaged or parts that are inefficient. Moreover, fasting also stimulates the organism to use stores of fat and glucose while breaking down white blood cells. This cell breakdown during every fasting cycle leads to changes which trigger regeneration of new immune system cells.
During fasting cycle, your body is starving which is why it’s trying to save energy, but a great perk of this state is that it also recycles damaged or unneeded cells in your immunity thus strengthening the entire system.
Results of this research were published in the journal Cell Stem Cell.
There’s more…
Intermittent fasting benefits go beyond regeneration of immune system. It reduces free radical damage and it, also, regulates inflammatory conditions in your body thus preventing formation of cancer cells. When you eat, your immunity gets activated in order to increase inflammatory conditions. However, fasting allows the body to use more energy and focus onto the process of immune system regulation. IF is a tremendous regulator of your immunity due to the fact it controls the amount of inflammatory cytokines released in your organism. This eating pattern doesn’t only improve your health and strengthen immune system, it also prevents and helps you regulate allergies.
Conclusion
Although some nutritionists claim that IF doesn’t offer benefits to your overall health and wellbeing, scientific researches claim otherwise. In fact, researchers proved that this eating pattern triggers regeneration of immune system, helps you manage and prevent allergies and establish a healthier lifestyle.
This post was brought to you by Adaptive Chiropractic, experts in immune boosting through holistic chiropractic care.