The Science of Fasting, What We Often Overlook

Fasting has long been a spiritual and cultural practice, deeply ingrained in traditions like Ramadan and Hindu fasts.

But how often do we pause to ask → Are we fasting the right way?

A recent study from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center reveals that fasting can reprogram the metabolism of natural killer (NK) cells, boosting their ability to fight cancer.

This aligns with what we’ve seen in lifestyle medicine fasting, when done correctly, enhances metabolic resilience, reduces inflammation, and strengthens immunity.

Yet, many traditional fasting practices miss these benefits due to common mistakes

→ Overeating after breaking the fast, leading to insulin spikes
→ Consuming processed or sugary foods, negating metabolic gains
→ Lack of hydration, affecting cellular detoxification

If fasting is meant to heal, we must do it with scientific precision.

(Original study linked here → https://lnkd.in/dCj7rAHF)

A team of researchers from MSK has shown for the first time that fasting can reprogram the metabolism of natural killer cells, helping them to survive in the harsh environment in and around tumors, while also improving their cancer-fighting ability.

Periods of fasting reprogram the immune system’s natural killer cells to better fight cancer, according to a new study in mice from researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK).

Fasting and other dietary regimens are increasingly being explored as ways to starve cancer cells of the nutrients they need to grow and to make cancer treatments more effective.

Now a team of researchers from MSK’s Sloan Kettering Institute and their collaborators have shown for the first time that fasting can reprogram the metabolism of natural killer cells, helping them to survive in the harsh environment in and around tumors, while also improving their cancer-fighting ability. The study, led by postdoctoral fellow Rebecca Delconte, PhD, was published June 14 in Immunity.

The findings could help explain one of the mechanisms by which fasting may help the body defend against cancer — along with more generally reducing fat and improving metabolism. And while more research is needed, the results also suggest fasting could be a strategy to improve immune responses to make immunotherapy more effective, the study authors note.

“Tumors are very hungry,” says immunologist Joseph Sun, PhD, the study’s senior author. “They take up essential nutrients, creating a hostile environment often rich in lipids that are detrimental to most immune cells. What we show here is that fasting reprograms these natural killer cells to better survive in this suppressive environment.”

What are Natural Killer Cells?
Natural killer cells, or NK cells for short, are a type of white blood cell that can kill abnormal or damaged cells, like cancer cells or cells infected with a virus. They get their name because they can destroy a threat without ever having encountered it before — unlike T cells, which require prior exposure to a specific enemy to mount a targeted response.

In general, the more NK cells that are present within a tumor, the better the prognosis is for the patient.

For the study, mice with cancer were denied food for 24 hours twice a week, and then allowed to eat freely in between fasts. This approach prevented the mice from losing weight overall, the authors note.

But these periods of fasting had a profound effect on NK cells.

Source : https://lnkd.in/dfAhU9UU

Courtesy: Dr. Pramod Tripathi, Dr. Malhar Ganla