Elevated Blood Sugar Alters The Immune System

Fasting gets a lot of airtime aimed at how it impacts metabolism and fat loss. 

But equally exciting is how fasting (e.g., intermittent fasting or time-restricted feeding) impacts inflammation. 

(As you likely know, inflammation naturally increases with age AND is linked to various ailments such as low energy, depression, achy joints and more.) 

This new study, controlled for calories, showed that a compressed feeding pattern reduced two detrimental cytokines compared to baseline, even when the same quantity of food was consumed during that time period. 

What makes this study important is cytokines were measured over a 24-hour period to control for the circadian rhythm effect. (Cytokines, like hormones, ebb and flow at different times of the day.) 

Here’s the key takeaway: eating the same total calories in a shorter feeding window has been associated with reduced levels of inflammatory cytokines.

This is important during these crazy times!

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It’s normal to be stressed and emotionally eat foods you normally wouldn’t during these uncertain times. But just remember that better blood sugar control is linked with various immune parameters, including better outcomes in critically ill patients and reduced surgical infections and more. So when/if you go off the rails a bit, do some push ups, air squats or take a brisk walk/sprint outside. Neutrophils have been shown to be important in the initial innate response to this novel Coronavirus and as this image illustrates, hyperglycemia (elevated blood sugar) alters various aspects of neutrophil function. For the record, I’m not saying Keto cures Coronavirus! But, based on the known immunological data, guzzling Mountain Due and Krispy Kreams is not going to help anyone right now (especially health professionals!). I’ve been taking 1-2 caps of @myoxcience Berberine HCl + ALA at night as my step count is way down. Feel that it helps. P.S. Just uploaded a new video all about the ‘exhausted immune system’ theory and COVID-19 on my YouTube channel/iTunes. If you like this immunology stuff, you may find that helpful, interesting! P.P.S This is a great time to test your glucose! Check out @nutrisenseio ‘s Continuous Glucose Monitor to see how the foods you eat impact your blood sugar. REF: 1. Jafar N, Edriss H, Nugent K. The Effect of Short-Term Hyperglycemia on the Innate Immune System. The American Journal of the Medical Sciences. 2016;351(2):201-211. doi:10.1016/j.amjms.2015.11.011. #immune #coronamemes #codvid19 #coronavirus #housearrest #selfquarantine #socialdistancing #functionalmedicine.

A post shared by Mike Mutzel, MS (@metabolic_mike) on Apr 1, 2020 at 11:20am PDT

Why Fasting is Important (mentally) Right Now

References

1. Jafar N, Edriss H, Nugent K. The Effect of Short-Term Hyperglycemia on the Innate Immune System. The American Journal of the Medical Sciences. 2016;351(2):201-211. doi:10.1016/j.amjms.2015.11.011.

2. Delamaire M, Maugendre D, Moreno M, Le Goff MC, Allannic H, Genetet B. Impaired Leucocyte Functions in Diabetic Patients. Diabetic Medicine. 1997;14(1):29-34. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1096-9136(199701)14:1<29::AID-DIA300>3.0.CO;2-V.

3. N DG, M P, R M, Raghavan L. Study of neutrophil lymphocyte ratio in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and its correlation with glycemic control. Int J Adv Med. 2019;6(5):1637–5. doi:10.18203/2349-3933.ijam20194233.

4. Toniolo A, Cassani G, Puggioni A, et al. The diabetes pandemic and associated infections. Reviews in Medical Microbiology. 2019;30(1):1-17. doi:10.1097/MRM.0000000000000155.