Fasting and low-calorie diets have become quite fashionable in the recent past, all in the name of health benefits. These nutritional habit alterations have been positively working and have been noticed not only in people but also in other organisms constituently minimizing the aging factors and even diseases associated with aging Though, like most aspects of science, the matter is not as cut and dried as it may be made out to be.
The Effect of Fasting
The fast Augustine K. at MIT has made it his position to investigate further the science behind the effects of fasting on the body. Prior research established that fasting increases the self-renewal potentials of gut stem cells and therefore the same could help recover the gut system from damages and inflammation. This was rather an entertaining observation but it raised more inquisitions to scientists than it gave them answers.
The Refeeding Revelation
In a recent publication in Nature, the authors present the shocking new twist. It is not the fasting period that causes increased regeneration – it is the refeeding of cells after the fast.
Reports found out:
Stem cell replenishment gets hounded during fasting.
When refeeding starts, there is a huge increased in activity of stem cells.
This spikes up the rate of cell division than if the mice had not been starved.
The Surge and Its Backing Understanding
What has changed to create the higher rate of regeneration? The mTOR signaling pathway appears to be the answer. mTOR:
When activated at the time of refeeding:
Controls the processes through which messenger RNA is converted into proteins
Initiates the formation of polyamines, which are small but essential immediately for cellular growth and division
This protein synthesis is said to be required for stem cells to multiply and repair the epithelial of the gut.
The Dark Side of Regeneration
Nevertheless, such regenerative capacity is associated with certain disadvantages. The scientists found out that stem cells in this proliferative mode are likely to turn into cancer cells.
Mice, when offered food and forced to finish all in the first sitting, and refeeding when cancer inducing genes were introduced had a higher tendency of precancerous polyp development as opposed to:
The activation stage in the fasting state
The activation stage on mice that did not undergo fasting and refeeding cycles
Implications and Cautions
The senior author of the study, Dr. Omer Yilmaz, expresses that he does base these findings on well-defined models of mice and cancer mutations. The reality is likely to be way more sophisticated within human species.
Still, one aspect of this study may be interpreting the research too broadly. On the one hand, while water only fasts can be very beneficial, at this time of refeeding could be a risk period. One such risk may come from food such as charred meat which is consumed during this period and may raise the likelihood of certain cancerous states.
Where Do We Go From Here
This study paves the way for new lines of investigation and possible therapies:
It is reasonable to expect that due to the regenerative effects of calorie restriction, people subjected to radiation therapy or any other form of intestinal injury would greatly benefit from such recovery.
Other studies are testing the landscape for polyamine enhancement of regeneration without fasting.
Nevertheless, more work needs to be done in order to apply these results to human subjects, and to design protocols that allow the use of fasting and all its benefits while being perfectly safe.
As we progress further into the fat linking of reaffirmation of the diet, stem cells, and cancer risk factors it is becoming apparent that there is hardly any weight biological system absence would relations – or the rest from them comes – however, worse still, when no food is within the picture.
The study received funding from the Pew-Stewart Scholars Program for Cancer Research, MIT Stem Cell Initiative, Koch Institute Frontier Research Program and other institutions.
