Autophagy: renewal of body organs

 

What is autophagy?

Definition of autophagy:

Autophagy is a process in which the body undergoes to clean out free radicals and toxins inside the cell and regenerate new and healthier cells.

Autophagy is a fundamental cellular process by which cells capture and degrade their own dysfunctional or superfluous components for degradation and recycling. 

Autophagy is an evolutionary self-preservation mechanism through which the body can remove the dysfunctional cells and recycle their parts and which helps in rejuvenating the older tissues and organs of the body.

The Word autophagy is derived from the Greek word, an auto which means self, and phagus means eating.

Autophagy is the mechanism of "self-eating".

It is a Nobel Prize-winning science of 2016. 

Autophagy, a critical intracellular degradation pathway that plays a key role in human health, has attracted the attention of cell biologists for decades, resulting in the award of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) Specially Appointed Professor Yoshinori Ohsumi in 2016 for his work uncovering the mechanisms of this process, autophagy.

What is the mechanism of autophagy?

The mechanism of autophagy is very complex. In the first step of autophagy, the isolation membrane, a key functional structure of autophagy made up of a double-layered lipid membrane shaped somewhat like a flattened tennis ball, grows in size, bends to form a cup-like shape, and ultimately forms a spherical structure known as the autophagosome. Autophagosomes capture cytosolic and other cellular material such as droplets, isolating this cargo from the rest of the cytosol, following which the cargo is broken down and its building blocks recycled by the cell. 

How to activate or switch on autophagy inside our body?

There is no medicine that can switch on or activate the mechanism of autophagy, it is yet to come. Scientists are working in search of such molecules that can activate the autophagy inside the cell.

But there are several other ways to activate and trigger autophagy.

Following are the triggering factors:

1. Ketogenic diet - high fat, low carbohydrate diet:- 

Ketogenic diets, the diet consist of 75 percent fats, 10 percent carbohydrates, and 15 percent other nutrients. 

2. Protein fast diet plan:- 

Limit protein consumption to 15-25 grams a day once or twice a week.

The normal protein requirement is 1 gram per kg body weight per day.

3. Intermittent fasting:-

Fasting is the most effective way to activate autophagy. This is required to maintain the body’s own recycling mechanism that is autophagy during this fasting period. 

Two different ways for intermittent fasting.

1. 16/8 hours fasting and eating means, eat in 8 hours window period with 16 hours fast.

2. 12/12 hours fasting means you fast for 12 hours and eat in 12 hours. 

If you are taking your dinner at 9 pm then your breakfast is at 9 am the next morning. This is the simple and easiest way to practice for common people.

One can drink water during fasting but better to avoid at midnight because the function of kidneys is also slowed down at night.

4. High-Intensity Interval Training Exercise (HIIT):-

High-intensity interval training exercise requires 30 min alternate day or 15 min every day.

High-intensity interval training exercise deviates the simple energy generating aerobic, glycolysis pathway to non-anaerobic, HMP pathway.  In non-aerobic, HMP pathway more energy production and fat burning occur in a short period of time.  

5. Good and adequate sleep:-

Adequate sleep is needed for the activation of autophagy. How much time you have to take for sleep is depend upon the individual, this is called the sleep cycle. 

6. Exercises:-

Exercise together with caloric restriction through fasting can also increase autophagy in many body tissues.

What are the Benefits of autophagy?

Autophagy renovates the cells and tissues which is very important for living beings.

When activating autophagy, we get the following benefits.

Following are the benefits of autophagy:-

1. Autophagy slows down the aging process, prevents or delays lifestyle diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and all metabolic disorders as well as reduces inflammation.

2. Boost our body's natural ability to function well to combat autoimmunity and enhance immunity.

3. Remove toxic protein from the cell that causes neurodegenerative disease i.e. Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.

4. The process of autophagy removes debris and self-regulate back to optimal smooth function by recycling residual proteins in the cell and used for repairing. 

5. Promotes regeneration and healthy cells and thus promote reversal of many metabolic disorders like diabetes and many more. 

Note:- Pregnancy, lactating mothers, cardiac patients, diabetic patients, and other serious patients must take expert opinion regarding their problems and diseases.

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References:

- www.nobelprize.org