Is Autophagy The Secret to Lifelong Wellness?

Most people have never heard of autophagy, but it seems to be the key to living a longer, healthier life.
 
The term was coined by a Belgian biochemist back in 1963, but it wasn’t until 2016—when a Japanese biologist won the Nobel Prize for his autophagy research—that this cellular function started getting a lot of attention.
 
Here’s a definition from the National Cancer Institute: “A process by which a cell breaks down and destroys old, damaged, or abnormal proteins and other substances. The breakdown products are then recycled for important cell functions, especially during periods of stress or starvation.”
 
In simpler terms, it’s a form of internal housekeeping that gets rid of dead or damaged cells and proteins so the body can regenerate healthy cells. Autophagy keeps inflammation under control, increases muscle repair and resilience, boosts immunity, promotes brain health (by removing the misshapen proteins whose accumulation is associated with the development of neurological disorders including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and dementia), and may even prevent diabetes and obesity.

Although autophagy slows as we age, there are ways to kick-start it:

• Intermittent fasting  By reducing the hours during the day that you eat to 8 and fasting for the other 16, you put your body under a bit of stress which helps trigger autophagy.
   

• Short bouts of intense movement  High intensity interval training (HIIT) and vigorous exercise in general for at least 30 minutes a day helps activate autophagy by lightly stressing the body.
   

• A good night's sleep consistently  Do your best to get 7-8 hours to help induce autophagy, much of which happens while you’re sleeping.

The key to being able to skip your morning meal and  “break fast” after 16 hours (i.e. finishing dinner at 8pm and not eating again until noon the next day) is to have a really filling, healthy dinner that will prevent you from waking up starving.