![feed a cold starve a fever or vice versa feed a cold starve a fever or vice versa](https://purewows3.imgix.net/images/articles/2021_02/woman-sneezing-into-tissue.jpg)
The water was used to control for gastric distension. After overnight starvation the participants received a liquid meal on one occasion (800 ml of Nutridrink, which contains 1,200 kcal, 40 g of protein, 144 g of carbohydrate, and 88 g of lipids) and an equal volume of water on the second occasion. The medical ethical committee of our hospital approved the study. Six nonsmoking healthy male volunteers (mean age, 28 years age range, 26 to 33 years mean body mass index, 23.8 body mass index range, 21.5 to 26.3) were studied on two occasions. We decided to study the Th1-Th2 balance in the blood of healthy volunteers in response to food intake. Whereas gamma interferon (IFN-γ) is the hallmark Th1 cytokine ( 1, 4), interleukin-4 (IL-4) is an important Th2 cytokine ( 2, 5).
![feed a cold starve a fever or vice versa feed a cold starve a fever or vice versa](https://www.wow4u.com/graphics/theforest.png)
Th2 cells favor the B-cell-dependent humoral immune response against extracellular organisms ( 2, 5). So-called Th1 cells primarily stimulate the cell-mediated immune response against intracellular invaders by activating macrophages and CD8 + cytotoxic T lymphocytes ( 1, 4). A subset of T lymphocytes, the CD4-expressing T helper (Th) cells, are important in directing this strategy ( 3). The adaptive immune response uses different strategies to ward off infection by pathogens.
![feed a cold starve a fever or vice versa feed a cold starve a fever or vice versa](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/517B8F72-C026-41F6-A06925FBFB310DB6_source.jpg)
Even though popular wisdom holds that one should “feed a cold and starve a fever,” it is, to the best of our knowledge, not known if nutrient availability acutely modulates the immune response.