Autophagy, or self-eating, is a term you may have heard mentioned in the news lately, but you might not know exactly what it means or why it’s important to your health. In order to answer these questions and more, here are three reasons why autophagy is important for your health. First, let’s look at what autophagy actually means…
What is autophagy?
Autophagy is the body’s way of cleaning out damaged cells, in order to regenerate newer, healthier cells. The word comes from two Greek words: auto means self and phagy means eat. So autophagy literally means self-eating. It can be a good thing because it allows the old cells to cannibalize themselves instead of spreading unhealthy cell decay through the body. However, chronic inflammation due to stress or poor diet can increase autophagic activity in the body which prevents new healthy cells from being created and then used.
Cells are essentially little packages of life that do specific jobs: they help your skin fight bacteria, supply nutrients to your hair follicles, maintain a steady heartbeat and so on.
Why it’s important
If you don’t eat well, your body will degrade and get sick. The opposite is also true – if you eat lots of healthy foods, the body will cleanse itself of toxins and provide a platform for developing good cells. It can be really hard to improve the way that you eat from one day to the next.
One way to help ease this transition is by using gentle techniques such as fasting, skipping meals periodically or taking an easy-to-follow regimen like Juice Plus+. These are techniques which enable your body to eliminate wastes without causing it stress, as would happen when forcing food into your system each day. This process also helps regenerate new cells on a cellular level in order to keep the immune system strong.
How you can incorporate it into your diet
Priya Khorana, PhD, in nutrition education from Columbia University states that auto means self and phagy means eat. So the literal meaning of autophagy is self-eating. This makes sense because the process of autophagy helps clean out your cells, in order to regenerate newer healthier cells.
The 3 main benefits to this process are:
1) Cell regeneration which lowers risk of aging
2) Fighting oxidative stress
3) Weight management through natural detoxification
Are there any side effects?
Dr. Khorana’s research shows that autophagy may help the body with recovery from trauma and diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and even extend life span.
When combined with chemotherapy treatments, autophagy enhances anti-cancer cell activity in the body to kill cancer cells. In animal studies, animals given a high-fat diet or infected with HIV experienced significantly more adverse effects than those on a low-fat diet undergoing autophagic treatment.
Tips to get started with an autophagy diet
An autophagy diet has been shown to protect against cancer, diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. Here are some ways to get started:
1 Cut down on carbs by replacing them with a moderate protein intake and high fat content. One way to do this is by drinking Bulletproof coffee in the morning. A perfect recipe for this coffee would be using half a teaspoon of butter or coconut oil plus one tablespoon of organic cold-pressed mct oil from a reputable brand like Keto MCT Oil Powder and mixing it in your favorite coffee brewer with a cup of hot water before drinking.
Conclusion
Autophagy can help you clean out the cellular buildup of old, damaged cells. By allowing your body to destroy and then rebuild these cells, it can clear up damage and give you healthier, younger-looking skin. That’s why cleansing methods that include autophagy are so popular. Plus, autophagy can help with other health issues like Alzheimer’s disease.
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