Fasting and Its Effects on the Immune System

Fasting is one of the acts of worship that God has commanded in which a person must abstain from eating and drinking and, in some cases, even refraining from talking during specific periods and at certain hours of the day and night. Also, in terms of medical science and nutrition, given that the pattern and diet during this month are very different from other months of the year, the amount of protein, fat, and carbohydrate intake changes, so this month can serve as a model.

During fasting, about 36% of the required energy comes from the consumption of unsaturated fatty acids.

Many scientific studies show that fasting effectively treats or prevents many diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, gastrointestinal disorders, metabolic syndrome, and atherosclerosis, all of which reduce the intake of nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. On the other hand, many studies show the effect of fasting on reducing anxiety, stress, and depression and increasing self-esteem in different people. Given the direct relationship between anxiety and corticosteroid levels and its effect on lowering the level of immunity, the above research emphasizes the effect of fasting on the immune system and its effect on body health.

Fasting and the immune system

Fasting has a significant effect on the immune system by reducing food intake and hunger resulting from it, and starvation or reducing the amount of food intake at certain intervals affects cellular and humoral immunity. In a study of young and older adults, after 36 hours of starvation and 6 hours of re-feeding, the total leukocyte population, which included lymphocytes, monocytes, and neutrophils, increased in both groups of all ages.

Fasting and wound healing

One of the functions of the immune system is to help heal wounds. Immune system cells travel to the wound site and secrete cytokines and several other chemicals to help the wound heal. Research on human skin fibroblasts in vitro has shown that these cells secrete proteins under starvation conditions for 16 hours, accelerating wound healing in the laboratory and animal models.

Fasting and fighting cancer cells

An essential function of the immune system is to fight malignant cells in the body. Today, with the increasing number of patients with various types of cancer and the importance of this issue, much research has been done worldwide to increase the body's resistance and immune system in the treatment of this disease. One of the most critical findings of fasting is treating various types of cancer, which is of particular importance due to the increasing number of patients with this disease. Fasting alone can have a cytotoxic effect on many different types of tumors, which is enhanced by the combined use of fasting and chemotherapy. Fasting has reduced cancer cells' growth by reducing the available nutrients, especially glucose, which is the preferred source of carbon for cancer cells. Also, tests performed on mice in various types of cancer have shown that in fasting, even without the use of chemotherapy, tumor progression is delayed.