Autophagy turns our bodies into efficient machines. See what it is and how to achieve it

How to activate the autophagy mechanism in our body

Many important things happen in the small space of a biological cell. Some of its parts break down, and other times, it is invaded by foreign bodies. In order for the cell's machinery to maintain optimal function, the house must be kept clean, with no waste here and there. Autophagy does just that.

If the autophagy mechanism cannot be triggered, diseases such as infections, inflammatory diseases, neuronal degeneration, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, obesity, type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's and cancer, among others, occur.

Since the 1960s, it has been observed under the microscope that the cell destroys its own organelles, forms a vesicle that surrounds the decomposed material and takes it to the recycling compartments of the cell called lysosomes. But it was not until the 1990s that biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi discovered the mechanisms of autophagy (Nobel 2016).

From there, it has been known that there are several types of autophagy: macrophagy, which is the decomposition of large parts of the cell such as organelles; microphagy, where smaller parts are decomposed; and xenophagy, which is the decomposition of invading bacteria and viruses.

It is important to understand the concept of autophagy to better understand the causes of aging, where a group of diseases ends the lives of human beings.

How can fasting modulate autophagy so that it has the appropriate effect and in the part of the body that needs it?

In preclinical studies, dietary restriction has been shown to extend life expectancy and reduce the development of age-related diseases because dietary restriction promotes metabolic and cellular changes in organisms from prokaryotes to humans that allow adaptation to periods of limited nutritional availability.

Major changes include decreased blood sugar levels and growth factor signaling plus activation of stress resistance pathways affecting cell growth, energy metabolism; as well as protection against oxidative stress, inflammation and cell death. ( 1 )

Nutritional restriction also activates autophagy in most cell culture lines and organs such as liver and muscle as an adaptation mechanism to stressful conditions. ( 2 )

More studies show that dietary interventions can reduce tumor incidence and enhance the effectiveness of chemo and radiotherapy in certain types of tumor and also depending on the stage of the tumor; and highlighting that dietary manipulation is an adjuvant to standard therapies used for cancer, for example. ( 3 )

Can a normal person benefit from autophagy to keep their body functioning like a young person and prevent degenerative diseases?

The answer is yes. Autophagy turns our bodies into efficient machines, capable of getting rid of their own waste, stopping the growth of cancer cells, and halting metabolic dysfunction such as in diabetes and obesity.

How to stimulate autophagy in the body 

As mentioned above, autophagy is a stress response, so you'll need to put a certain amount of strain on your body to achieve it.

According to Dr. Colin Champ, Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, USA and author of the book Misguided Medicine ,

“Autophagy is our ancestral, evolutionary response to the stress of dealing with feast-famine cycles. Because too much of either would kill us, it makes sense that after millions of years we have adapted those mechanisms for the positive.”

Here are three ways to activate autophagy in your body

1. Entering a state of ketosis

The idea is to reduce your carbohydrate intake to the point that your body starts using stored fat as a fuel source.

In ketogenic diets, the majority of your diet consists of healthy fats (60-70%). Proteins make up 20-30% of calories and carbohydrates only 5%.

Entering a state of ketosis can help a person lose fat while maintaining muscle density. There is some evidence that this state helps fight cancer cells, lowers the risk of diabetes, and protects against brain conditions, especially epilepsy. ( study )

We have talked about the ketogenic diet before and if you decide to do it please check out my articles on this subject here .

2. Try intermittent fasting

Skipping a meal can be another stressful activity that your body may not like but that ultimately provides benefits. Many studies show the many benefits of intermittent fasting.

As we saw above, intermittent fasting together with autophagy can make cancer treatments more effective by protecting normal cells and reducing side effects.

In experiments where intermittent fasting was applied (alternating days of fasting for 16 hours or 48 hours a week), positive effects were seen in the treatment of Glioma, Neuroblastoma, Melanoma, fibrosarcoma, and breast, colon, pancreatic, lung and hepatocellular cancer. ( 4 )

Remember, however, that fasting is not recommended for children, some people with type 1 diabetes or other blood sugar conditions, or pregnant women.

3. Prioritize some foods over others

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Eat your healthy fats first and carbs last whether you are following the intermittent fasting protocol or not.

According to Naomi Whittel, author of the Glow15 method, “ On the day you are not doing intermittent fasting, you should have a breakfast with mainly healthy fats and your last meal should be carbohydrates, but with the quality carbohydrates that we need for our health.

Likewise, if you consume carbohydrates in your last meal, you will get the benefits of recovery, helping you relax and get ready for sleep.”

I would add that even in any meal, start with fat and finish with carbohydrates on your plate. Don't forget to take into account your Dosha .

In my article about the 4-day keto challenge I propose some delicious and easy recipes that provide you with this dietary protocol. Give it a try and check them out here

4. Exercise regularly

Exercise puts stress on the body, actually bruising the muscles a little by causing microscopic tears so the body immediately goes to work on healing. This makes the muscles stronger and more resistant to the next bruise.

Regular exercise is one of the most common ways people help their bodies detox. This is manifested in the release of endorphins and the overall feeling of feeling refreshed, light, and clear after exercise.

In 2012, a study looking at autophagosomes, the vesicles that form around parts of cells that the body chooses to recycle, found that rats in which autophagosomes were detected with a bright green light (like in humans) found that the rate at which the rats destroyed their senescent (unusable) cells increased dramatically after they ran for 30 minutes on a treadmill. The rate at which senescent cells were self-destructed increased even further when these little animals ran for 80 minutes. ( 5 )

As for humans, it is difficult to calculate the amount of exercise needed to stimulate autophagy in the body and in any case, we already know that exercise has many more benefits.

Is there a pill that can achieve the benefits of autophagy?

There are supplements based on Nicotinamide riboside to stimulate the production of NAD+ (Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide), as well as Quercetin, Resveratrol and Glycine that can stimulate autophagy, but I will soon talk about these nutrients in more depth.

The best option (that I know of) is cyclical intermittent fasting to stimulate autophagy.

Through experiments on myself I have realized that cells are either building (anabolism) or detoxifying (catabolism) and each phase has different requirements.

On the one hand, fasting activates autophagy, the mechanism by which the cell recycles parts of organelles that are no longer needed, so that cells behave in a youthful manner. But autophagy does not have to be kept activated all the time; cells need to be allowed to rebuild themselves, and that happens during the construction phase.

Neither extreme is good and being in a permanent state of ketosis, just like permanent fasting, are not healthy.

If you decide to do intermittent fasting, try to follow a ketogenic diet and skip one meal of the day. Starting the next day, during the days you rest (rebuild), try to eat a balanced, plant-based diet until you decide it's time to do your intermittent fasting again.

There are several methods:

12:12 Method : Fast for 12 hours and eat within the other 12-hour period. For example, if you had dinner at 7 p.m., your breakfast the next day could be at 7 a.m.

20:4 Method: Fast for 20 hours and consume your meals of the day within the 4-hour window.

Method 16:8: This is the most commonly used method. The last meal is at 7pm or so and the next meal is the following day at midday. The advantage is that you spend part of those 16 hours of fasting sleeping, which makes the goal easier.

Method 5:2: Eat normally for 5 days a week. For two days, men should consume 600 calories, while women should consume 500 calories per day.

And what to eat?

A couple of weeks ago I published an article on why and how to moderate sugar consumption, in which I present a table with plant-based and low-carb foods. Check it out here

Other considerations

An interesting insight from Ms. Whittel is that on normal days she consumes 45-50 grams of protein (the basic requirement is approximately one gram of protein per kilogram of body weight). But on the days when she is following the intermittent protocol, she reduces it by 5% of her total caloric intake. That is, she consumes 25 grams of protein per day.

There are also some foods that help activate autophagy, such as Bergamot tea, better known as Earl Grey, green tea, and turmeric. If you decide to try intermittent fasting, remember to have these ingredients.

One more thing: make sure you drink enough PURE WATER. The water you eliminate through sweat and urine is taking out toxins and all the waste that your body is eliminating. Keep that in mind.