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Unless the act of donating blood releases some endorphins because you're helping someone else, then this is just bloodletting or phlebotomy, which is considered

Unless the act of donating blood releases some endorphins because you're helping someone else, then this is just bloodletting or phlebotomy, which is considered pseudoscience by the medical community. [1] https://books.google.com/books?id=vH1EAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT293&dq=bloodletting+pseudoscience&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0VL3VJfPJIagyQTLkIGICg&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=bloodletting%20pseudoscience&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=vH1EAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT293&dq=b...

nwah1 10y ago
Donating blood can remove some excess iron in your bloodstream, which could be the source of some purported health benefits of blood donation.
mrob 10y ago
Phlebotomy is still the standard treatment for iron overload. Humans usually regulate iron levels effectively by reducing absorption when iron levels are high, but there are genetic diseases where this regulation malfunctions, and very high dietary intake (usually from supplements) can overwhelm it. Iron overload affects many different organs so mild cases might not have any obvious symptoms beyond a vague sense of bad health. There has been some research suggesting health benefits to phlebotomy even in patients without obvious iron overload, eg: http://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1741-7015-10-54 http://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1741-7...
- AstralStorm 10y ago
  Iron overload, of all things, in a diet? Not likely. You will not be able to scarf down that much of it unless you're a habitual liver eater. About the only way to experience such an overdose is to overdose on supplements.
crpatino 10y ago
So, it does not matter what physiological effects may be triggered by the lose of blood. Someone has already decided to label "bloodletting" as "unscientific", so no person that sees themselves as rational may investigate the phenomenon ever again? In the words of the immortal Professor Quirrel (of HPMOR fame): "So the nasty Italian fascists believed that unity is stronger than division. Perhaps they also believed that the sky is blue, and advocated a policy of not dropping rocks on your head."
ivanhoe 10y ago
So is fasting :) Some researches that I've heard of suggest that after the initial significant drop in a total number of lymphocytes, about 2 weeks after the blood donation body will restore the previous immunological status. This is obviously done by generating new leukocytes, which is similar to the effect of fasting: when you start eating normal after the fasting period body will regenerate it's blood cells. The suggested gain here is not "a boost" of immune system, but getting rid of damaged, mutated cells.

nwah1 10y ago

Donating blood can remove some excess iron in your bloodstream, which could be the source of some purported health benefits of blood donation.

mrob 10y ago

Phlebotomy is still the standard treatment for iron overload. Humans usually regulate iron levels effectively by reducing absorption when iron levels are high, but there are genetic diseases where this regulation malfunctions, and very high dietary intake (usually from supplements) can overwhelm it. Iron overload affects many different organs so mild cases might not have any obvious symptoms beyond a vague sense of bad health. There has been some research suggesting health benefits to phlebotomy even in patients without obvious iron overload, eg: http://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1741-7015-10-54 http://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1741-7...

AstralStorm 10y ago
Iron overload, of all things, in a diet? Not likely. You will not be able to scarf down that much of it unless you're a habitual liver eater. About the only way to experience such an overdose is to overdose on supplements.

crpatino 10y ago

So, it does not matter what physiological effects may be triggered by the lose of blood. Someone has already decided to label "bloodletting" as "unscientific", so no person that sees themselves as rational may investigate the phenomenon ever again? In the words of the immortal Professor Quirrel (of HPMOR fame): "So the nasty Italian fascists believed that unity is stronger than division. Perhaps they also believed that the sky is blue, and advocated a policy of not dropping rocks on your head."

ivanhoe 10y ago

So is fasting :) Some researches that I've heard of suggest that after the initial significant drop in a total number of lymphocytes, about 2 weeks after the blood donation body will restore the previous immunological status. This is obviously done by generating new leukocytes, which is similar to the effect of fasting: when you start eating normal after the fasting period body will regenerate it's blood cells. The suggested gain here is not "a boost" of immune system, but getting rid of damaged, mutated cells.