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in collaboration with
Alexandra Murcier (Liberal dietitian-nutritionist)
Medical validation:
March 12, 2023
According to a new study, skipping breakfast can be detrimental to your immune system. The explanations of Alexandra Murcier, dietician-nutritionist.
While the benefits and harms of intermittent fasting are continually questioned, a new study published in the journal Immunity warns people who fast in the morning. Forgoing breakfast could affect your immunity and even promote the onset of heart disease.
90% of monocytes disappeared from the bloodstream
To reach these conclusions, the researchers analyzed two groups of mice. The first consumed food upon waking, while the second skipped breakfast.
Blood samples were then taken from both groups at different times of the day.
Result ? The scientists noticed that the number of monocytes (white blood cells that aim to destroy certain types of viruses and bacteria) varied between the two groups.
More specifically, after four hours of fasting, 90% of monocytes had disappeared from the bloodstream of mice having zapped breakfast. Eight hours later, the situation was even worse.
Conversely, the number of monocytes in the “control” group of rodents had not changed.
A drop in new cells
The other notable finding of the study? In fasted mice, monocytes returned to the bone marrow to “hibernate”.
The researchers also found that, in these rodents, the production of new cells in the bone marrow decreased.
“Cells survived longer due to their stay in the bone marrow and aged differently than monocytes that remained in the blood“, note the researchers.
Again, mice in the second group did not show similar changes.
NO to diets, YES to WW!
Inflammation harmful to immunity
The researchers then extended the fast to 24 hours and reintroduced the food to the mice at this precise time.
“After eating, more monocytes were again observed in their bloodstream. Nevertheless, this surge of altered monocytes led to increased levels of inflammation that would have made their bodies less able to fight infections.”, explicit Earth.
“The reintroduction of food creates a surge of monocytes flooding the blood, which can be problematic for the body’s ability to respond to a challenge such as an infection.”, specifies the main author of the study, Dr. Filip Swirski.
While further research is needed to confirm these early findings, the study remains one of the first to link the immune system to fasting.
“If the cause and effect link must be verified, one of the possible explanations is that fasting leads to a drop in the intake of minerals and vitamins, which will themselves impact the immune system.“, concludes for her part Alexandra Murcier, dietician-nutritionist.