Autophagy: Want to look younger, vibrant and healthier?

People I meet for the first time assume I am a teenager based on their off cuff comments. They say I look like a 25 year old man only to be shocked that I am above 35 years of age.

In addition, since I started 'embracing' intermittent fasting 2 years ago, I have only suffered a bout of a viral infection once which I considered to be a very mild infection in respect to previous infections.

I credit this youthful appearance and stronger immunity to autophagy.

Autophagy is also known as cellular self-digestion. It is a process inside the cells that involves the degradation of useless proteins, organelles and other wastes inside the cells. It is a 'self-cleaning' exercise or a 'housekeeping' process inside the cells.

Autophagy is a ubiquitous process simply described as a recycling process whereby cellular contents of the cells including organelles are consumed in membrane-bound vacuoles (autophagosomes) and delivered to lysosomes for subsequent destruction by a cache of destructive enzymes in the lysosomal compartment.

A broken autophagic process has a ramifying association to human disease and physiology. This includes,

• Cancer

• Neurodegeneration e.g.

• Chronic infections

• Ageing.

• Insulin resistance

Autophagy frequently comes into play during starvation, allowing cells to survive periods of deprivation.

The human cell.

Lysosomes

Lysosomes were discovered by Belgian cytologist and biochemist Christian de Duve who later came up with the word ‘autophagy’ while studying lysosomes and glucagon hormone. Lysosomes are the digestive organelles of the cell.

In 1974, de Duve won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine which he shared with Albert Claude and George E. Palade for their discoveries about the structural and functional organization of the cell.

Lysosomes are membrane-enclosed organelles that contain a number of enzymes capable of breaking down all types of biological components like proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, and lipids. Lysosomes function as the digestive system of the cell, serving both to degrade material taken up from outside the cell and to digest old and useless components of the cell itself.

Lysosomes contain about 50 different degradative enzymes that can hydrolyze proteins, DNA, RNA, polysaccharides, and lipids. Any defection or dysfunctional error on these enzymes leads to certain chronic diseases because undegraded material accumulates within the lysosomes of affected individuals.

On 3rd October 2016, Japanese cell biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries on the specific mechanisms for autophagy.

He refined the description of autophagy as an intracellular degradation process that helps maintain the homeostasis inside the cells.

Benefits of Autophagy

1. Fighting neurodegeneration

Neurodegenerative disease is a general description for a range of conditions which primarily affect the neurons in the human brain.

Neurons are the cells of the nervous system. They are the building blocks of the nervous system which includes the brain and the spinal cord.

The most common neurodegenerative diseases are

• Alzheimer's disease

• Parkinson's disease

A number of these neuro-degenerative disorders are characterized by accumulation of toxic proteins collectively known as proteinopathies.

Several reports have clearly demonstrated that a deficiency in autophagy induction can lead to accumulation of these toxic proteins with subsequent onset of neurodegenerative disorders.

Also, it is proven that the impairment of autophagic processes can also lead to onset of neuro-degenerative disorders.

2. Cancer Prevention.

Autophagy can act as a suppressor against the development of cancer especially in precancerous stages by decreasing the overall genetic error load on the cell.

Cancer cells: Studies suggest Autophagy prevents precancerous activities.

This is achieved by the homeostatic function of autophagy whereby damaged mitochondria can be eliminated, thus reducing exposure of cellular DNA to toxicity and mutation influences such as free radicals and cell transformation.

3. Promotes Longevity

A common characteristic of all ageing cells is the accumulation of damaged proteins and organelles. These damaged proteins and organelles are destructive in nerve cells and cells of the heart known as cardiomyocytes.

As you age, there is a gradual decrease in autophagic activity. This leads to functional deterioration of ageing organisms.

Some predicted consequences of the decline in autophagy with age are the inefficient clearance of damaged components, a poor response to stress, and a possible precipitating effect on disease.

Restriction of caloric intake is the only intervention known to slow down ageing. It improves autophagy induction, due to lower levels of insulin. This insulin hormone inhibits autophagic processes in the cells. Reduced calorie intake without malnutrition or calorie restriction (CR) has long been shown to effectively expand lifespan in various species including primates

4. Fighting bacteria, viruses, protozoa and other foreign substances.

The autophagic machinery that selectively captures toxic proteins and defective cellular organelles is used for the selective delivery of microorganisms to lysosomes for destruction in a process known as xenophagy.

The process of autophagy

Studies indicate that autophagy delivers microbial antigenic material to the immune system for destruction, as well as in maintaining the strength of lymphocytes in fighting these organisms.

Lymphocytes are subtypes of the white blood cells that are primarily immune cells functioned to fight kill micro-organisms and other foreign substances.

How can you stimulate autophagy?

As discussed above, stimulating autophagy does several things:

• It clears out old, unwanted cellular materials and proteins

• It stimulates the production of growth hormone.

• It regenerates and renews fresh cellular material

• It destroys lingering bacteria or viruses if you recently had an infection.

Fasting

During fasting, Insulin hormone goes low while glucagon hormone goes higher. This hormonal see-saw promotes the utilization of liver glycogen.

To induce autophagy, liver glycogen has to go low, which is usually achieved after about 16 -18 hours of fasting. It may also happen beyond 24 hours with maximal benefits occurring at the 48–72 hour mark.

If you are struggling to understand intermittent fasting, you can click this link, to learn more about it.

Go low carb

Going low carb induces ketosis. The idea is to reduce carbohydrates to such low levels that the body has no choice but to use fat as a fuel source.

Restricting calories turns on genes that tell cells to preserve resources. The cells go into a preservation or “famine mode,” where they are, remarkably, much more resistant to disease or cellular stress. It is at this "famine mode" that the body begins to clean out the old, unwanted, and unneeded cellular material, as well as fixing and recycling damaged parts.

Studies suggest that Ketosis helps the body fight cancerous tumors, lower the risk of diabetes, and protect against brain disorders, particularly epilepsy. This magical healing is attributed to autophagy.

Exercise regularly

Physical activity stimulates autophagy in a wide range of tissues, including the skeletal muscle, heart, liver, pancreas, and adipose tissue.

Working out injures muscles, causing microscopic tears forcing to body then rushes to heal. This makes the muscles stronger and more resistant to any further “damage” you might cause them.

If you are looking for personal attention on how to activate your autophagic process in order to maximize your health, send me an email eric@amerix.co.ke, I will gladly help.

Let us all get #BetterTogether.