Feed a cold, starve a fever?

Abstract

An English old wives' tale advises us to "feed a cold and starve a fever." Here we report that the nutritional status modulates the T helper 1 (Th1)-Th2 balance of activated T cells in human volunteers. Food intake resulted in increased levels of gamma interferon production, whereas food deprivation stimulated interleukin-4 release.

FIG. 1.

Changes in levels of IFN-γ (A) and IL-4 (B) production in response to intake of a meal (n = 6; closed circles) and fasting (n = 6; open circles) during a 6-h follow-up. The data represent the percent cytokine production relative to that at the baseline. Baseline levels (at time zero) of IL-4 production were 61 ± 22 pg/ml in controls and 62 ± 43 pg/ml in volunteers about to receive Nutridrink. Baseline levels of IFN-γ production were 76 ± 55 and 85 ± 38 ng/ml in the two groups, respectively. Statistical analysis was performed by using a two-factor repeated-measurement design with absolute measurements relative to the baseline level (6). The food-time interaction was significant for both cytokines (P < 0.001 for IFN-γ; P < 0.05 for IL-4).