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Mount Sinai Study Shows Skipping Breakfast May Compromise the Immune System

Fasting may be detrimental to fighting off infection, and could lead to an increased risk of heart disease, according to a new study by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Mount Sinai New York
Mount Sinai study shows fasting can trigger a negative effect on fighting infection on a cellular level in mouse models Fasting may be detrimental to fighting off infection, and could lead to an increased risk of heart disease, according to a new study by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The research, which focused on mouse models, is among the first to show that skipping meals triggers a response in the brain that negatively affects immune cells. The results that focus on breakfast were published in the February 23 issue of Immunity, and could lead to a better understanding of how chronic fasting may affect the body long term. “There is a growing awareness that fasting is healthy, and there is indeed abundant evidence for the benefits of fasting. Our study provides a word of caution as it suggests that there may also be a cost to fasting that carries a health risk,” says lead author Filip Swirski, PhD, Director of the Cardiovascular Research Institute at Icahn Mount Sinai. “This is a mechanistic study delving into some of the fundamental biology relevant to fasting. The study shows that there is a conversation between the nervous and immune systems.” Learn More