nature in a experiment i don't know yet why is it like so far like it sounds so simple they had no idea

but now the data's i find this not only refreshing but but at some level astounding nature

welcome back to the nature podcast.

This week, how having breakfast can boost immunity.

And lessons from the 40th anniversary of Chernobyl.

I'm Marin Hansberger.

And I'm Nick Petrich Howe.

Okay. I'm Marin Hansberger. And I'm Nick Patrick Howl. Eating is good for you, according to science.

Well, more specifically, having food may give some immune cells known as T-cells a boost.

In other words, the best time to get an infection may be after breakfast.

Something like that. If you're going to go out, at least be well-fed.

This is Greg Delgoth, author of a new paper in nature that's looked at how T cells respond to feeding.

There's the old adage, like feed a cold, starve, fever, that kind of thing, and we think that there's some value in this.

Now, T cells are a group of white blood cells that coordinate the body's immune responses, activating in reaction to threats.

If they come across something that's not supposed to be there, like a bacterium, virus, or even a

tumour, they respond to it and begin to call in the troops, sending chemical messages to other

immune cells and dividing rapidly themselves.

This is something known as activation.

And if it sounds like it would require a lot of energy, you'd be right.

The activation and kind of the training up of your immune system is incredibly demanding.

That's why when we get sick, we get tired,

we get fatigued. That is your body demanding that energy to allow your immune system to thrive.

...