Fewer calories – better immunity
Researchers working under the leadership of Simin Nikbin Meydani from Tufts University (Boston, Massachusetts) have demonstrated that a low-calorie diet not only promotes weight loss, but also significantly increases human immunity. The results of the work are published in the Journal of Gerontology, Biological Sciences in the article "Calorie Restriction Enhances T-Cell–Mediated Immune Response in Adult Overweight Men and Women".This work was done within the framework of the project entitled "Comparative assessment of the long-term effects of reducing the amount of energy consumed", conducted by the Gene Meyer Center for the Study of the Effects of Nutrition on Human Aging, part of the structure of the US Department of Agriculture.
Aging of the body is associated with a general decrease in the effectiveness of the immune system. The ability of a low-calorie diet to stimulate immune responses has been demonstrated in animal models, but until now it was not known whether it has the same beneficial effect on human immunity.
As part of the work, 46 men and women aged 20-42 years who are overweight, but do not have a diagnosis of "obesity", followed a low-calorie diet for six months. At the same time, the participants were randomly divided into two groups, the caloric content of which was reduced by 30% and 10%. All the products consumed by the study participants during the specified period were provided by the organizers of the work.
Immediately before switching to a low-calorie diet and six months later, the researchers evaluated a number of functional indicators of the participants' immune system, namely: the activity of delayed hypersensitivity reactions developing when specific antigens enter the body; the activity of T-lymphocyte proliferation under the action of mitogens and the level of prostaglandin E2 released by mast cells when exposed to lipopolysaccharides.
Analysis of the results showed that a low-calorie diet contributes to the strengthening of delayed hypersensitivity reactions and the proliferation of T-lymphocytes, which are indicators of the strength of the immune response. However, these changes reach statistically significant values only when the diet is reduced by 30%. The level of prostaglandin E2, associated with the body's tendency to allergic reactions, decreases when switching to a low-calorie diet, on the contrary. However, this decrease also reaches statistically significant values only when the caloric content of the diet is reduced by 30%.
The results of the work indicate that the observance of a low-calorie diet for a fairly short time has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the human immune system.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru according to the materials of Agricultural Research Service: Less is More When Restricting Calories Boosts Immunity.
04.05.2010