Fasting before and during exposure to Salmonella enterica bacteria was found to protect mice from developing a full-blown infection, due to changes in their gut microbiomes, according to a new study from the University of British Columbia, Canada.
When people or animals develop an infection, they often lose their appetite. However, it remains controversial whether fasting protects a host from infection, or increases their susceptibility.
In the new study, mice were fasted for 48 hours before and during oral infection with the bacteria Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, a common cause of foodborne illness in people.
The scientists found that fasting decreased the signs of bacterial infection compared to fed mice, including nearly eliminating all intestinal tissue damage and inflammation. When fasted animals were re-fed for a day after their fast, there was a dramatic increase in Salmonella numbers and invasion inside the intestinal walls, but the associated inflammation was less than if fed on a normal diet.
"These data suggest that therapeutic fasting or calorie restriction has the potential to beneficially modulate infectious and potentially non-infectious gastrointestinal diseases," the researchers commented.
They hope that limiting food at certain times - and eating meals when necessary rather than repeatedly snacking - could limit people's susceptibility to severe food-related illnesses.
However, the results did not hold true when mice were exposed to Salmonella intravenously instead of orally, and fasting did not fully protect germ-free mice - suggesting that some of the protection was due to fasting's effect on the microbiome.
Experiments using the bacteria Campylobacter jejuni confirmed that the effect of fasting was not limited to Salmonella, with similar results seen.
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