In a world where a new health/detox trend emerges weekly, today we want to dig deeper into autophagy AKA your body’s natural ability to detox and heal. 
For many years, it was thought that the only way to induce your body’s autophagy was through caloric restriction, and supplementation, however, today we want to share with you all about inducing autophagy in a healthy/easy way. Let’s go!

What is Autophagy?

Autophagy means “self-eating”. Autophagy is the method by which your body cleans out damaged cells and toxins, helping you regenerate newer, healthier cells.
Over time, our cells accumulate a variety of dead organisms, proteins, and particles that clog the body’s inner workings. This accelerates the effects of aging and age-related diseases because cells aren’t able to function normally.

How Does Autophagy Works?

Think of your body as a kitchen that you just used to prepare dinner. After using it you need to pick up dishes, clean counters, and take out the trash for it to be optimal for your next meal right? The same happens with your cells. 
Imagine that you don’t clean properly and trash gets accumulated, the stove has grime, and suddenly is super hard to get it clean in one session, so it just keeps getting dirtier.


When your cells are having a difficult time working properly, it resembles the same scenario. Autophagy usually hums along quietly behind the scenes in maintenance mode regulating cellular functioning. When it’s not properly achieved, your cells accelerate the aging process and are prone to age-related diseases. Thus the importance of helping your body in this matter.

Additional Benefits of Autophagy 

Besides keeping your cells in optimal conditions, autophagy plays a major role in many crucial body fucntions such as:

  • Controlling inflammation, slowing down the aging process and protecting against neurodegenerative diseases.
  • Fighting infection and supporting immunity.
  • Helping you live longer by improving the metabolic fitness of cells through the removal of damaged organelles and proteins.

How Can I Help My Body Induce Autophagy?


There are several ways you can turn up your body’s autophagy process.
To cleanse your cells and reduce inflammation, and generally keep your body running in tip-top shape, take these five simple steps to increase the autophagy process. 

1) Go Keto: A keto diet gives you an edge when it comes to autophagy. The shift from burning glucose (carbs) to ketones (fats) mimics what occurs naturally in a fasted state—and this may increase autophagy in its own right.  

2) Limmit Your Protein Intake: For a couple days a week, limmiting your protein intake to 15g-25g a day can work wonders to trigger authopagy, by recycling proteins, which will help reduce inflammation and cleanse your cells without any muscle loss.  

3) Fast:  In a 2010 study, mice fasted for 24 or 48 hours to promote autophagy with incredible results. It’s not clear how that translates to humans (yet), but we do know that intermittent fasting is associated with weight loss, insulin sensitivity and lower disease risk.  

4)Workout: In a 2018 study, 12 men completed an eight-week exercise program consisting of continuous state cycling or high-intensity interval cycling for three days per week. The researchers concluded that both styles of training supported autophagy, which backs the idea that all movement is good movement.  

5) Rest: A 2016 rodent study suggests that autophagy follows circadian rhythms, and sleep fragmentation—or short interruptions of sleep—seems to disrupt autophagy. In other words, sleeping properly enhances your body’s natural ability to regenerate and heal. 


At Rehealth, we believe that having informed patients is the only way to deliver optimal healthcare. Visit our website to find out more interesting content and be a part of an amazing health integrated community!


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References:

https://www.bulletproof.com/diet/intermittent-fasting/autophagy-for-longevity-detoxification/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21106691
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3106288/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3106288/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5889490/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3463459/

Michelle Ibarra