Autophagy - Your Body's Inbuilt Recycling System

Whether it’s taking the taking out the trash from your home or destroying dead cells in your body, cleaning needs to take place regularly for the optimal functioning of any system.

Autophagy refers to the cleansing of damaged, dead and unrepaired cells in the body. This process can also be compared to the way we take care of our automobiles by ensuring that they are cleaned and serviced every once in a while.

How Does Autophagy Occur?

Nutrient deprivation is the key activator of autophagy. When the body is on a fasting mode, it starts consuming stored foods. This condition allows for the stimulation of autophagy.

Cells in the body first attack the old and junky proteins. This happens because the insulin levels in the body go down and another hormone known as glucagon begins to work. When glucagon is activated, it starts looking for those old cells and other junk that require to be cleaned.

But even the slightest amount of food is easy to deactivate glucagon. You need to completely abstain from food for 12 to 36 hours in order for glucagon to be produced in your body.  And you also need to drink plenty of water.

A Boatload Of Benefits

Executive Director of Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences Foundation and Research Centre, Dr K Krishnaiah opines, “Japanese scientist Dr Yoshinori Ohsumi has shown that while fasting, damaged cells self-eat or self-destruct themselves and are able to keep the body in good condition. When this happens,  growth hormone is induced into the bloodstream, which allows for the generation of new cells.”

Exercise is also found to stimulate autophagy; sweating, grunting, post-workout pain applies stress to the body, which allows for the eating away of damaged cells. When the process of autophagy occurs, you actually end up feeling fresh and renewed.

The evidence of autophagy has opened up a completely new field for researchers. This discovery can potentially lead to the creation of medicines that target only diseased or infected cells in the body.