Yes, I think "Toughen the cells" as you said is the right way of distilling this article; also note that subjecting yourself to periods of high heat or cold can

Yes, I think "Toughen the cells" as you said is the right way of distilling this article; also note that subjecting yourself to periods of high heat or cold can produce a similar response. The mechanism, in part, is thought to be from what is called "Heat Shock" proteins. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_shock_protein http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_shock_protein As I said before, these proteins are made not just from heat exposure, but from other stress such as fasting and extreme cold exposure. Anyway, I think it is interesting as there is a reasonable amount of ancient literature linking fasting with health(for instance, Isaiah 58:8). Interesting how long science can take to "rediscover" certain basic things the ancients picked up on.