Fasting Can Regenerate Your Immune System

Fasting literally to totally abstain from in take of any food. It is the process of abstaining from consumption of solid food, sometimes even liquids, for spiritual, medical or experimental reasons. Religious scriptures describe the process of fasting as a medium to make us realize the fragility of our existence and how much we depend on things beyond ourselves for survival.

However, in the medical literature, the effects of fasting have been highly debated. Some scientists believe and propagate depriving the human body of the food, which is responsible for production of energy in the body, causes weakness and  fatigue. On the other hand, recent scientific researches have concluded that abstaining from meals for a certain period of time can actually help in regeneration of the immune system in human body!

Far from being a potential hazard for health which many label it as, fasting has been proved in recent studies to boost the immune system and regenerate it entirely. As remarkable as it sounds, it is an exercise that is absolutely cost free too. Even intermittent abstinence from consuming food, for a small period of 8-10 hours, can prove to be beneficial for the overall health of the body. To evaluate the history of mankind, in ancient times regular meals were not accessible. Food was eaten when available, rest of the times were spent on an involuntary fasting. Until a prey was caught for meals, our ancestors went for long with the absence of food.

And, they evidently lived healthier lives. A hypothesis given by scientist Valter Longo, based on extensive studies describes the benefits of fasting. When the body is starving, the whole system functions to conserve energy stores of the body by recycling the unwanted immune cells of the body, majorly the damaged ones, and saving energy. This decrease in the number of white blood cells triggers the stem cells to form new immune cells. The enzyme protein kinase A (PKA) and IGF-1 levels are reduced in the body during fasting, which leads to a transduction change in the hematopoietic stem cells that promote self-renewal and regeneration. PKA enzyme is also related to aging, so the decrease in its levels promotes anti-aging. 

Prolonged period of fasting forces the body to use the stores of fats and glucose. The benefits of fasting can prove beneficial for patients who have undergone chemotherapy or are susceptible to diseases or even for the people seeking anti-aging treatment.

The basic mechanism of destruction of the unwanted population of white blood cells and replacement of these old cells by triggering a fresh release of new immune system cells, aids in the regeneration of the immune system. 

The dietary intervention in the patients who have undergone chemotherapy is, however, being further evaluated, before being suggested for use in patients.

Other harmful effects of chemotherapy may be mitigated by fasting, hence dietary changes should be made only after proper diet consultation from the physician.

A 72-hr fasting period is a long time period, and can be very difficult for a normal, healthy person to follow.

To avoid any hypo-glycemic episodes, prior expert consultation is advised.

Mild side effects like feeling of fatigue or drowsiness can be experienced while fasting.

Other important factors to be ensured prior to a long fasting period is that a person should consume a liquid diet 2 days before fasting.

This prepares the body to sustain during the absence of food during the 3-days fasting period.

Currently, research work is being conducted to study the benefits of fasting on other parts of the body apart from the immune system.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                    PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/                                                                                                                                                         FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                  https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/           

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Mexican Salamander Could Hold Key to Spinal Cord Regeneration in Humans

The axolotl, also known as a Mexican salamander or Mexican walking fish, is closely related to the tiger salamander.
 
The axolotl (pronounced ACK-suh-LAH-tuhl) is a superhero of tissue regeneration. These foot-long creatures, which live in an array of lakes outside of Mexico City, often repair or regrow limbs, tails, hearts, spinal cords, eyes and even parts of their brains. Researchers announced that they'd assembled the axolotl's genome, a major step toward more in-depth studies that could impact human health in years to come.

With its smiling countenance and frilly gills, an axolotl's genome (32 billion base pairs) is 10 times larger than  a human's (3 billion base pairs), a fact that complicated scientists' efforts to unravel the animal's healing capabilities. However, they were able to do it using a technique called linkage mapping. This is the first time a genome of this size has been mapped and could be a template for other animals with large genomes.

When human beings experience spinal cord injuries, cells nearest the damage tend to result in scar tissue. In the axolotl (or Mexican salamander or Mexican walking fish), however, those cells often repair much of the worst nerve damage , restoring function in ways that human bodies just can't. But what if the amazing regenerative properties of this animal's physiology could somehow be translated into human medicine?

It turns out that salamanders don't have some sort of miraculous healing genes ; they actually share many genes with humans. It's just that their bodies control the gene expression to repair injured nerves differently. If scientists can figure out how to manipulate those genes, they may be able to trigger those healing properties in people and find ways to rebuild damaged spinal cords or address any number of other neurodegenerative diseases, like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's that afflict millions of people.

The scientists hope that their genome studies will be cause for greater conservation efforts on the part of Mexico's government for the critically endangered axolotl. The amphibian is a close relative of the better-known tiger salamander, though the axolotl lives continuously in the water. It is suffering on the wild  due to habitat loss, urban pollution, hunting, invasive species, as well as the effects of climate change. Fortunately, the species tends to thrive in laboratory tanks, but the degradation of wild populations limits genetic diversity and could ultimately impact the breadth of medical research, too.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                    PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/       

                                                                                                                                                                    FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                  https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/           
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