{"id":30240,"date":"2025-04-25T16:10:25","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T14:10:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/?p=30240"},"modified":"2025-05-13T07:59:39","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T05:59:39","slug":"the-mere-thought-of-being-hungry-alters-your-immune-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/04\/the-mere-thought-of-being-hungry-alters-your-immune-system\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mere Thought of Being Hungry Alters Your Immune System"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

B2 – Upper Intermediate<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a long time, scientists believed that fasting altered the immune system simply because the body was deprived of nutrients. However, new research in Science Immunology is rewriting that story. It turns out that neurons in the brain ,and not the gut, play the key role in regulating immune cells. AgRP neurons in the hypothalamus, which trigger feelings of hunger, can influence immune cell levels purely by creating the perception of hunger, rather than actual food deprivation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s read the article and know more details about the connection between perception of hunger and the immune system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.sciencealert.com\/the-mere-thought-of-being-hungry-could-alter-your-immune-system<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vocabulary Questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. What does “first line of defense<\/strong>” mean? “These cells are part of the immune system’s first line of defence<\/strong> and play a critical role in regulating inflammation.<\/em>” Use it in a sentence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. What does “to dial down<\/strong>” mean? “When the hunger neurons were turned on, they dialled down<\/strong> nutrient-sensing in the liver by reducing sympathetic activity.<\/em>” Use it in your own sentence and give a synonym.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. What does “wasting syndrome<\/strong>” mean? “If these findings are confirmed in humans, this new data could, in future, have real-world implications for diseases where the immune system becomes overactive \u2013 such as cardiovascular diseases, multiple sclerosis, and wasting syndrome <\/strong>in cancer patients.<\/em>” Use it in a sentence.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Discussion Questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. What are your thoughts on the findings of this research?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. How does hunger affect how you feel or how much energy you have?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. What comfort foods help you when you’re unwell?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. What aspect of the human brain do you find the most remarkable?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    5. If you were a medical researcher, what field would you specialize in? Why?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      B2 – Upper Intermediate For a long time, scientists believed that fasting altered the immune system simply because the body was deprived of nutrients. However, new research in Science Immunology is rewriting that story. It turns out that neurons in the brain ,and not the gut, play the key role in regulating immune cells. AgRP […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[291,292,8706,289,293],"class_list":["post-30240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homework","tag-b2-upper-intermediate","tag-first-certificate-fce","tag-health-and-medicine","tag-reading","tag-text"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Mere Thought of Being Hungry Alters Your Immune System | phone english blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/04\/the-mere-thought-of-being-hungry-alters-your-immune-system\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Mere Thought of Being Hungry Alters Your Immune System | phone english blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"B2 – Upper Intermediate For a long time, scientists believed that fasting altered the immune system simply because the body was deprived of nutrients. However, new research in Science Immunology is rewriting that story. It turns out that neurons in the brain ,and not the gut, play the key role in regulating immune cells. 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