Feed that cold! New study shows that lower food intake has a negative effect on immune system

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A deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus). Credit: Photograph by Clint Cook University of South Carolina courtesy of the Peromyscus Genetic Stock Center
A deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus). Credit: Photograph by Clint Cook, University of South Carolina; courtesy of the Peromyscus Genetic Stock Center

Researchers studying deer mice have discovered evidence to support what mothers everywhere have long suspected: the immune system needs food to function properly. In an article titled “Food Restriction Compromises Immune Memory in Deer Mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) By Reducing Spleen-Derived Antibody-Producing B-Cell Numbers,” Lynn Martin and coauthors find that reduced food intake leads to a decline in immune function in their subjects. The findings, which will be published in the May/June 2008 issue of Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, could have profound implications for human health.


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