Autophagy: What, Why and How We Can Leverage This Cellular Mechanism

The cellular housekeeping mechanism we can all induce to reap incredible health benefits

You won’t hear the word autophagy utilized in the common vernacular as the vast majority of people have never heard of it and don’t know what this biological mechanism is. It's is a real shame because science has shown that we can invoke autophagy and reap miraculous health benefits. A zero-cost powerful driver of good health that can be utilized by the masses.

What is it?

The word literally means “self-eating”. Autophagy is a natural biological process in which a cell breaks down and destroys old, damaged, or abnormal proteins and other substances in its cytoplasm (the fluid inside a cell). The breakdown products are utilized for important cell functions by healthy cells, especially in periods of stress and starvation. This process also helps to destroy bacteria and viruses that cause infection and may prevent normal cells from becoming cancer cells.?

In other words, bad or defective cells and waste product are hunted down and destroyed and turned into useful resources for healthy cells. Your body has a built-in cleansing and recycling process which has incredibly powerful health benefits. And the main form of benefits come in the form of anti-aging principles – one could say that it’s your body’s way of turning back the clock to create younger cells. Scavenge and remove old cells and feed newer healthier cells.

So what’s the problem?

Well, unfortunately, like all good things in the physical realm, autophagy seems to decline with age. Which means that bad or defective cells aren’t removed as effectively and may be allowed to multiply. This is exactly how cancer operates by proliferating defective cells that aren’t removed by autophagic processes.

But there’s good news

And the good news is that we can naturally boost autophagy through dietary manipulation. Intermittent fasting and ketogenic diets are known to trigger autophagic processes. Animal models suggest that curcumin may also trigger autophagy. Fasting appears to be the most effective trigger.

Fasting and calorie restriction puts the body’s cells under stress as these cells receive fewer calories than they need to function correctly. When this happens, the cells must work more efficiently and the body needs to kick in processes to find alternative sources of fuel. In response to the stress brought on by fasting or calorie restriction, autophagy causes the body’s cells to clean out and recycle any unnecessary or damaged parts.

The current literature suggests that autophagic processes kick in at around the 18-hour mark of a fast with benefits increasing and peaking as one approaches 48-hours.

How to utilize safely

Excessively inducing autophagy could undoubtedly be harmful. For example, studies have shown that excessive autophagy may kill cells in the heart, and scientists have linked excessive autophagy to some heart problems. However, utilized periodically, it should be completely safe and create miraculous health benefits. I believe the key to any lifestyle change is to ensure that it can be sustained and turned into a habit. I'm combining fasting with the use of curcumin daily. To my knowledge, there aren’t any studies looking at the combination of fasting and the use of curcumin together but I believe the evidence is strong enough to give this a go.

I have decided to do a 24-hour fast once per week, and a 48-hour fast once per month, following the guidance of Dr. Sten Ekberg. I have also limited my consumption of meals to 6-hour window eating twice per day to ensure my body has a break from insulin spikes. Furthermore I take Mend’s Perform Daily Inflammation product two times per day, which has the most bioavailable form of curcumin on the market. Through this approach, I’m following the evidence and giving my body the best shot at inducing autophagy regularly to cleanse my body of bad cells and feed the good cells.

Final words

Fasting periodically doesn’t cost a penny. Restricting calories and eating in limited windows also reduces wasteful consumption of food and saves money. It is a win win model that can be scaled to just about every person on the planet.

On my mission to help improve societal health, I'm looking for highly scalable low cost models. Intermittent fasting with curcumin seems to be one of those models.