☝️ Your body has an internal mechanism called autophagy that helps clean things up. This process is simply induced by intermittent fasting.
The literal definition of autophagy is self-eating (“auto” means self and “phagy” means eat), which means your body cleans itself through the consumption of its own dysfuncional cells. It’s also referred to as “self-devouring.” While that may sound like something you never want to happen to your body, it’s actually beneficial to your overall health.
According to a board-certified cardiologist Dr. Luiza Petre, autophagy is ”an evolutionary self-preservation mechanism through which the body can remove the dysfuncional cells and recycle parts of them toward cellular repair and cleaning.”
This way the materials don't go to waste. “It is recycling and cleaning at the same time, just like hitting a reset button to your body. Plus, it promotes survival and adaptation as a response to various stressors and toxins accumulated in our cells,” she adds.
Autophagy is great because it:
Keeps you youthful through cell regeneration;
Recyles residual proteins;
Helps ward off diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and even cancer, according to some studes.
Intermittent fasting is the easiest and most effective way to induce autophagy. Many experts agree that the process initiates after 18-20 hours of fasting.
One non-diet area that may also play a role in inducing autophagy is exercise. According to one animal study, physical exercise may induce autophagy in organs that are part of metabolic regulation processes.
This can include the muscles, liver, pancreas, and adipose tissue.
👨⚕️ Please always consult your doctor before beginning a fast longer than 16 hours.