Scientists have conducted on mice showing that fasting could have many health . Fasting is eating or drinking very little or for a short of time. It is usually around 24 hours but can be for a days. The tests were carried out by scientists at universities in the USA and Italy. They found that fasting in mice could reduce the risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other . The scientists fed mice for four days on a low-, low-protein and low-carbohydrate but high-fat diet. They then gave the mice just 10% of their normal calorie for three days. The scientists found this made the pancreas in the mice work better.
The pancreas is an in the body that uses special cells called beta cells to produce the insulin. The body uses insulin to break down glucose (a kind of ) in the blood. People with diabetes have trouble producing insulin so they have health problems because there is too much sugar in their blood. This can cause . In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas stops producing insulin. In type 2 diabetes, not enough insulin is produced or the insulin that is produced has no . Scientists said the mice on the fasting diet produced increased of beta cells and insulin. They said their were very promising and that tests now need to be done on .
