Fasting And Autophagy
What is autophagy and why would you care. There was recently a Nobel Prize in medicine awarded for work on autophagy and the reason is that this shows great promise in reversing things like cancer, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, improving immune system, reversing degenerative disease, and it has also shown promise for anti-aging.
Today we’re going to talk about what autophagy is, we’re gonna explain some of the mechanisms.
Some of the principles that will help you understand why this can be so profound to the health of the body, and then of course we’ll show you some ways that you can start applying this in your life.
The word autophagy means self eating. The word auto means self and phagy means to eat or consume.
Right on the surface that would seem like a really bad thing to most people, but there’s more to it than that.
Benefits of Autophagy
Some of the benefits that have been discovered are things like anti aging, it can slow or even reverse aging.
It improves detoxification, it improves the body’s clean up, it improves the immune system.
it can improve the tissue quality, and it will improve your overall hormone balance in the body.
It will reverse insulin resistance, reduce insulin, and increase growth hormone, which is associated with maintaining muscle mass and anti-aging.
It can help reduce skin sag and improve recovery for a concussion or traumatic brain injury.
It has been shown to reduce or possibly even reverse the early stages of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Growth vs Breakdown – Understanding the Body
We think that we eat so that we can build new tissue and that’s basically end of story. We think growth is good and breakdown is bad, but it’s not that simple.
The body is not a statue, the body is more like a river.
The cells in the body are constantly changing; they are wearing out, breaking down and being replaced with healthier cells.
Instead of thinking of growth as good and breakdown as bad, we want to think of them as equally important and that they have to happen in balance.
The breakdown and the cleanup are every bit as important as the building.
Why Cleanup is Important
If you’re gonna build a new house and you don’t create a smooth surface first, that’s going to be a terrible house. That’s exactly how the body works.
Healthy bone needs to be broken down, you take away the old worn-out bone and then you put in new protein and mineralize it.
If breakdown does not happen properly, the quality becomes terrible.
Every cell in the body is the same way, the quality is depending on proper breakdown first.
Most diseases of adulthood like cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s and cancer are related to buildup.
There is too much growth and not enough cleanup.
How Autophagy Works
Autophagy happens when we fast, when we don’t eat for a while.
Normally, if you eat all the time, you keep adding protein into the body and the body does not have to become very efficient at recycling.
But when we fast, we add zero grams of protein.
The body still has the same requirement of building tissue, so it has to get better at recycling.
The body puts an extra crew on the recycling team and starts cleaning all the unwanted debris, damaged cells, and unused material.
Fasting and the Body’s Cleanup System
Fasting is a powerful upgrade of your cleanup crew. The breakdown is just as important as the build-up.
The immune system is upregulated, it becomes more effective.
Tissue quality improves, insulin goes down, growth hormone goes up, and the body starts preserving muscle mass.
The body becomes more efficient, starts pulling out old fibers, debris, and damaged cells.
Brain, Healing and Autophagy
For concussion or traumatic brain injury, autophagy can assist recovery.
The brain has a different system and slower cleanup, but when autophagy is activated, the cleanup improves.
Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s are accumulation of neural debris.
When the cleanup improves, the body can remove that debris more effectively.
Balance is the Key
It doesn’t mean that you should just stop eating. It is about balance.
We need balance between anabolism and catabolism, between activation and recovery, between exercising and resting, and between feasting and fasting.
Historically humans had periods of feast and famine, and the body is perfectly equipped to deal with that.
How to Start Autophagy
There are two tools that are powerful:
- High-intensity interval training
- Fasting
Fasting forces the body to start recycling better and burn fat instead of other fuels.
If you are new, you can start with low carb, then move into ketosis, then extend fasting.
Skip breakfast, eat lunch and dinner, and create a fasting window. Once your body is used to that, try longer fasts.
FAQs On Fasting & Autophagy
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What is autophagy in simple words?
Autophagy means self-eating, where the body cleans up damaged cells and recycles them.
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How does fasting trigger autophagy?
Fasting forces the body to recycle old cells and improve the cleanup process.
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How long does it take to activate autophagy?
It can take around 24 to 72 hours depending on metabolism and diet.
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Is autophagy good for anti-aging?
Yes, it helps in slowing aging and improving tissue quality.
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Can autophagy help in diseases like Alzheimer’s?
It helps in cleaning neural debris which is linked to such diseases.
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What is the best way to start autophagy?
Start with low carb diet, intermittent fasting, and gradually increase fasting duration.
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