Introduction: Fasting is the most well-known natural trigger for a process that removes and recycles cellular "trash." The process that handles this deep cellular cleansing is called autophagy.
🔬 What is Autophagy? (Cellular Self-Eating)
Autophagy comes from the Greek words auto (self) and phagy (eating). It is a highly conserved, natural process essential for cellular maintenance and survival.
- The Function: Autophagy is essentially the cell's internal recycling and garbage disposal system. It involves forming a double-membrane sac, called an autophagosome, that engulfs damaged, dysfunctional, or unnecessary components—the "cellular trash."
- The Trash: This "trash" can include:
- Misfolded or aggregated proteins (linked to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's).
- Damaged organelles, particularly old and broken mitochondria (which produce harmful free radicals).
- Intracellular pathogens (like viruses or bacteria).
- The Recycling: The autophagosome then fuses with a lysosome (the cell's digestive organelle), where potent enzymes break down the trash into basic components (amino acids, lipids). The cell can then reuse these breakdown products to build new, healthy cellular parts.
⏳ How Fasting Triggers Autophagy
Fasting is a primary way to activate or "kick-start" this process.
- Nutrient Deprivation: When you fast, your cells sense a lack of incoming nutrients (especially glucose and amino acids).
- Energy Switch: The cell shifts from a "growth mode" to a "survival/repair mode."
- Key Molecular Sensor: The central molecular sensor that controls this switch is the mTOR (mechanistic Target of Rapamycin) pathway. When nutrients are abundant, mTOR is highly active, suppressing autophagy. When you fast, mTOR activity drops, which effectively turns on the autophagy process.
- Recycling for Fuel: The body needs energy, so it begins to break down internal components to generate fuel and essential building blocks—this is the cellular "trash" being recycled.
⏱️ When Does Autophagy Start?
The induction of autophagy is not an "on/off" switch; it's a gradual ramp-up. The exact timing can vary based on the individual's metabolism and physical activity, but research suggests:
- 12–16 Hours: Autophagy may begin to increase, particularly in the liver, as glycogen stores are depleted.
- 24 Hours: Autophagy levels are considered notably elevated, leading to deeper cellular clean-up.
- 48 Hours: This duration is often cited as a "sweet spot" in some research for maximizing the intensity of the autophagic response.
Last words
In short, fasting is one of the most powerful and effective natural methods currently known to stimulate the cellular cleansing process that removes damaged parts and recycles them for cellular renewal.
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🙋♂️ Author: Shortsegments
This post was written by @Shortsegments, an author who has been covering cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, decentralized finance, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and digital ledgers for seven years.
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Good day, @shortsegments. 😃
Is this the same as the fasting that we do in church 😀
I believe so.
This really makes me think differently about fasting,so much more than just weight loss.Now I’m curious to learn more about how timing affects fasting benefits.
That is my next article
I have always hear about the different kinds of fasting that we have and actually sometimes, it still confuses me sometimes
It is a confusing topic