AUTOPHAGY | CELLULAR CLEANSING

INTRODUCTION:

Autophagy has been one of the most used terminology nowadays among the nutrition experts. ‘Auto’ means self and ‘phagy’ means eating. Autophagy denotes “self-eating” and this concept was emerged during the 1960’s.

The mechanism of autophagy was not known until 1990s when Yoshinori Ohsumi, a Japanese scientists came up with his work on identifying the genes essential for autophagy and he won the Nobel Prize. This was a turning point for our understanding on how cells perform recycling of its contents. In medical terms, autophagy can be defined as the biological process that involves the breakdown of a cell’s contents such as proteins, within the lysosomes of the same cell.

It is necessary for us to maintain the homeostasis of our body so that we enjoy good health. This homeostasis is maintained by creating a perfect balance synthesis of protein and degradation within the cell. In this process of maintaining a balance, autophagy plays an important role in the degradation of long lived proteins, damaged organelles and malformed proteins. It also has a role in engulfing the invasive bacteria and other pathogens.

BENEFITS OF AUTOPHAGY:

• Reverse ageing: Aging is a physiological process that involves wear and tear of the body. Aging of an individual may result in variety of disorders like neuro generative disorders, heart diseases and other metabolic diseases. The major role of autophagy is that it contributes to healthy aging. Autophagy does its role here by avoiding the external and internal damages to the cell which eventually appears. 
• Managing Cardio vascular Diseases: Various studies show that Autophagy has a role in the treatment of Atherosclerosis, which is the leading cause of death worldwide. Additionally, it plays a role in protecting the cardiac muscles by eliminating the damaged organelles.
• Reducing Inflammation: Autophagy plays a vital role in checking the progression of inflammation and to regulate the innate and adaptive immunity, which in turn helps to reduce systemic inflammation in the body.
• Addressing Metabolic Disorders: Studies reveal that Autophagy plays an important role in the regulation of beta-cells of pancreas, from which insulin is secreted and also improves the insulin uptake by the target tissues like skeletal muscles, adipose tissue and liver, hence reduce the risk of metabolic disorders like Diabetes.
• Treating Cancers: Autophagy is a double edged sword when it comes to cancer. Researches show that in certain cancers, it helps in the tumor suppression during the initial stages. However, autophagy also promotes the cancer growth in certain cases.
• Liver Diseases: Autophagy plays a critical role in the regulation of liver physiology and liver metabolism. It helps in conditions like non-alcoholic fatty liver by removing the damaged mitochondria and the excess lipid droplets.
• Neuro-degenerative diseases: Neuro-degenerative diseases such as Parkinsonism, Alzheimer’s etc. are characterized by accumulation of proteins in the brain. Autophagy helps in removing these proteins and thus improves such conditions.

HOW TO INDUCE AUTOPHAGY?

Intermittent Fasting is one of the best methods to induce autophagy in our body. A minimum of 14-16 hours of fasting is required to induce autophagy. Studies show that autophagy kicks in after 16 hours of fasting but it might be more in some cases. Some of the other activities and herbs which induce autophagy are:

• Exercise: A regular exercise for about 30-45 min per day is required to induce autophagy. Exercise mainly induces autophagy in skeletal muscles, brain, liver, adipose tissue and pancreas. 
• Curcumin: Experimental studies shows that curcumin is responsible for certain cellular mechanisms in the body that promote Autophagy.       
• Sleep: Melatonin is a hormone playing an essential role in regulating the Autophagy mechanism which is produced by getting a good sleep during the night. There should be a regular sleep wake cycle to maintain the melatonin production. 
• Others: some other edible substances like Ginger, Cinnamon, Ginseng, Garlic and some varieties of Mushrooms are also capable of promoting Autophagy in the cell.

  Keto & Autophagy Being on a high fat, low carb diet helps to induce autophagy in the body. While following this diet, there is a shift in the body metabolism which produces the ketone bodies thus stimulating the Autophagy mechanism.  

 

CONCLUSION

Thus, Autophagy is an essential mechanism in the body which helps to maintain the homeostasis of the body. Any dysregulations in this will lead to various health condition. Also it is used as a treatment protocol in certain diseases. It acts as a double edged sword in treating various conditions. Hence, care should be taken and it should be done under any medical professional’s advice.