Our body turns into survival mode whenever it follows a weight loss regimen. To protect itself from starvation, it begins to produce more cytokines and other compounds that stimulate the immune system. While this may seem like a bad thing, it’s actually the opposite because a stronger immune system can help us fight off infections faster when we start eating again.

In fact, studies have shown that people who go on diets tend to have stronger immune systems afterwards than before.

Immune System Adapts to Protect You from Starvation

When we diet, our body goes into survival mode to protect itself from starvation. During this process, our body releases more cytokines and other compounds that stimulate the immune system. This boosts our immune system, making it stronger to fight off infections.

Scientists have also discovered that when we diet, our immune system produces different cytokines compared to when we eat normally. Oftentimes, our immune system produces more interferon, an anti-viral compound, than when we’re eating normally. This is especially true for people who go on very restrictive diets.

Interferon is mostly responsible for protecting us from viral infections, like the flu or the common cold. So, when we diet, our immune system produces more anti-viral compounds to protect us from potential infections caused by eating less.

Your Ability to Fight Off Infections Improves

As we’ve seen above, when we diet, our bodies produce more cytokines and other anti-viral compounds to protect us from potential infections caused by eating less. And when we’re sick, our bodies produce less of these compounds to fight off the infection. When we’re sick, our immune system isn’t as strong as it usually is. And when our immune system is weaker, we’re more susceptible to infections.

But when we diet, our bodies produce more anti-viral compounds that make our immune system stronger. This means we’re less susceptible to infections because our immune system is more able to fight off infections and viruses.

Studies have found that people who go on diets have a stronger immune response to viruses than people who don’t diet. People who don’t diet have a weaker immune response when they’re sick, which makes them more susceptible to infections.

Dieting may Lower Your Risk of Cancers

People who go on diets have a lower risk of developing certain cancers, such as breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer. This is partially due to the increased production of immune-boosting compounds when we diet.

Scientists have discovered that when we diet, our immune system produces different immune cells in the blood. Some of these immune cells protect us from infections while others destroy carcinogenic cells in the body.