Can you ever imagine getting yourself a brand-new you-literally? A recent study says that within 3 days, you can have newly regenerated white blood cells.
But for you to achieve this, you need to do one thing: fast. When fasting, that means you have to excessively limit your food intake. Some prefer to drink liquids only when they're fasting.
According to the research, however, this may be worth the effort since you'll receive a brand-new immune system. How can it happen?
To understand how it works, you need to understand the body and how it uses energy. When you eat, the body breaks down the food and produces glucose to help cells become more receptive to nutrients from the food. Any excessive glucose is then stored as fat, which you will serve as reserved energy.
When you fast, the body stores as much fat as it detects that you're in starvation mode. It is then forced to use up whatever fat you have for energy. Scientists, however, discover that by fasting, the body also breaks down white blood cells, especially the old and damaged ones. This then triggers the body to produce a new set of white blood cells. Since these types of cells are responsible for your immunity, you therefore have a more effective way to fight off infection.
Because of the supposed effectiveness of fasting to replenish your immunity, some advocates recommend it to patients who have undergone chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is a very popular and common way of dealing with rogue cancer cells by killing them. However, in the process, they also destroy good cells, including those that help in the body's immunity. This leaves cancer patients more vulnerable to infection.
Nevertheless, some have also criticized the plan, believing that fasting is unhealthy since it deprives the body of the needed nutrients. Others also think that the study requires a more intensive investigation.
