Researchers at the University of Southern California believe that a two day fast before chemotherapy may set in motion a protective reaction in healthy cells, guarding them from chemo side effects.

Valter D. Longo, a USC associate professor of biological sciences, explained to HealthDay News that anti-aging research has revealed that certain stressors activate a protective “shield mode” in healthy cells. One of those stressors is starvation. Longo and his colleagues believe that healthy cells may be protected when chemo is given while those cells are in shield mode.

So far, the USC team has conducted three tiers of study: first on yeast, then on human cells in a lab, and most recently on mice.

In the mouse study, animals were injected with brain cancer cells. Some of the mice ate a normal diet, while others were given no food for 48 hours prior to receiving a high dose of the chemo drug etoposide. Within 10 days, all of the normal-diet mice displayed toxic side effects and nearly half of them died. Only one of the mice in the 48-hour fasting group died, and none of the mice in this group displayed toxic side effects.

After treatment, normal-diet mice lost an average of 20 percent of their body weight, while most of the mice in the 48-hour fasting group regained their lost weight within four days.

Longo and his colleagues are now planning a human trial. I’ll keep an eye out for their further research and let you know as soon as it’s published.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson