Key points from article :
Restricting calorie intake raises arachidonic acid, a blood lipid that inhibits inflammation.
Inflammasome in response to injury/infection can sometimes trigger unwanted inflammation.
“The NLRP3 inflammasome is very important in a number of diseases such as obesity, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease,” - Clare Bryant, corresponding study author.
Researchers studied blood samples from 21 volunteers, who ate a 500kcal meal and fasted for 24 hours before the next 500kcal meal.
Found that fasting reduces NLRP3 inflammasome activity, likely due to increased arachidonic acid.
Regular fasting might help reduce chronic inflammation associated with aging.
High fat diets may increase inflammasome activity, while fasting decreases it.
Arachidonic acid may explain how aspirin reduces inflammation through a similar mechanism.
Study by University of Cambridge, published in Cell Reports.
