SELF-HEALING OF THE BODY: WHAT IS AUTOPHAGY AND HOW TO ACTIVATE IT THROUGH FASTING

"Most of the people die not from hunger, but from overeating." These words by thinker Leonard Orr, along with his other works, once inspired me to try fasting. In his book Give Up the Habit of Dying, Orr explains, that the primary cause of premature death is the contamination of the body: both physical contamination through food and toxins and energetic contamination, caused by our past or interactions with others.

According to Orr, the key to longevity lies in cleansing faster than the body accumulates contaminants. But how can we achieve this? The answer lies in the unique process of autophagy, a natural mechanism, that is triggered during fasting.

This process is activated when the body faces a deficiency of nutrients. About 16–24 hours after the start of fasting, insulin levels decrease, while glucagon levels rise and cells begin to use their internal resources for energy. As a result, the body does not only survive, but also rejuvenates at the cellular level.

Paul Bragg, the author of “The miracle of fasting”book, writes: if you fast during 7-10 days four times a year (at the change of seasons) and during 36 hours once a week, you can reset your body on a cellular level, thus activating anti-aging mechanisms. During fasting catabolic processes slow down and physiologically active substances — metabolites — appear in tissues. These metabolites stimulate the synthesis of nucleic acids and proteins, contributing to the renewal of the body and slowing down aging

Science and the benefits of autophagy

The process of autophagy was discovered in the 1960s. However, researchers were unable to understand the intricacies of the mechanism fully. Nobody knew how the so-called autophagosomes were formed, how their activity was regulated or which genes controlled the process. A breakthrough in this field was made by Japanese molecular biologist Yoshinori Osumi, who in the 1990s provided a detailed description of the autophagy process in his publications. He has been continuing his research for decades and ultimately received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2016. The Nobel Committee noted, that the scientist's work helped to study a variety of processes, that occur in the human body, such as cell mutation or infections, which can lead to Parkinson's disease, diabetes, cancer and other illnesses.

Autophagy (and, by extension, fasting, which triggers this process) can help to cure autoimmune diseases, allergies, arthritis, osteochondrosis, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases as well as skin and joint conditions.

David Rubinstein, a professor of molecular neurogenetics at Cambridge University and the British Dementia Research Institute, mentioned in a comment for a BBC article the experiments conducted on mice. "In these experiments the process of autophagy in rodents was triggered, using genetic tools, medications or fasting. In these cases the animals lived longer and were generally healthier," says the professor. "A number of studies have shown, that proteins form clumps in the nerve cells of humans, leading to diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. By activating autophagy these proteins can be quickly removed, protecting the body from neurodegenerative diseases and some types of dementia."

Fasting in the fight against chronic diseases and serious ailments

This method is used to treat various chronic diseases, including autoimmune conditions, chronic inflammatory processes and metabolic disorders. Fasting for over 21 days is also considered as one of the preventive and therapeutic approaches for cancer. Interesting research on this topic was conducted at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Educational Center in the United States. The researchers found that patients, even those with severe forms of cancer, felt better during fasting and chemotherapy was more effective while causing less harm to healthy cells. One of the organizers of the study, Dr. Jethro Hu, logically explained this phenomenon. According to him, one of the main molecular differences between cancer cells and healthy cells is that cancer cells consume significantly more glucose than normal cells. When glucose levels in the body decrease — which, as we remember, happens during fasting — healthy cells switch to an alternative food source: ketones. Cancer cells, however, lack the ability to make such a metabolic switch.

Dr. Steven Friedland, a colleague of Hu, compares healthy and cancer cells to bears and hummingbirds. "Without food bears enter hibernation while hummingbirds die." Cancer cells become more vulnerable to the effects of chemotherapy. At the same time healthy cells are in a sort of deep sleep, that protects them from the toxic effects of specific cancer treatments.

Fasting Against Covid-19

Once I cured Covid-19 through fasting. In January 2022 I became seriously ill with the disease. It was already going out of fashion, but that didn’t make it any less unpleasant.

A seemingly crazy thought appeared — to start fasting in the very first days of the illness.

It was the fourth day of my conscious fasting and it was a turning point. I’ll say more: on that daythe illness retreated. The following days — from the fourth to the seventh — got better and better. An important note: you shouldn’t start fasting when you have a high fever. I started fasting while still having the virus, but by that point, my temperature had already stabilized.

They say, that the days we fast don’t count toward our lifespan. During fasting the body triggers survival processes and all aging mechanisms are turned off. If you fast at least twice a year for 10 daysand once a week for one day, then 70 days a year don’t count toward our life expectancy. Over 10 years of practice, that’s 700 days — two extra years of life. Two whole years! Isn’t that a gift for yourself?

Finally I’ll note: whatever we practice, the responsibility for our life lies entirely on us. Of course, I recommend consultinga doctor before starting a 7- or 10-day fast. Also, keep in mind, that traditional medicine’s attitude toward this practice is very cautious due to the lack of relevant protocols.