5/31/2009 PERMALINK
The anti-aging and other benefits of fasting Researchers have previously reported that regular fasting might provoke a cell stress state similar to the state caused by a calorie restricted diet that appears to extend lifespans in animal models. Now a new study reports that fasting prior to cancer chemotherapy treatment may significantly enhance the cancer-killing effects of the drugs, while protecting healthy cells from damage. Starvation induces a protective shield around healthy cells, allowing them to tolerate a much higher dose of chemotherapy.

The results showed starving laboratory mice for two days prior to chemotherapy treatment protected them from potentially toxic high doses of the drug, and they gained back the weight they lost after treatment. Researchers say cancer chemotherapy can kill as many healthy cells as cancerous ones, but inducing temporary starvation increases the cells' resistance to stress, which may allow doctors to use higher doses of current cancer chemotherapy treatments to make them more effective.