Our forefathers were not wrong when they practiced and advocated intermittent fasting as their essential lifelong chores for good health and that is where the evidence based modern science is reaching now.
Autophagy (cells eating own cells) is key to keeping our body system disease free, healthy and long serving.
Japanese scientist Professor Yoshinori Ohsumi was awarded Nobel prize in the year 2016 for elucidating the molecular mechanism of Autophagy, which is augmented by intermittent fasting, a preserved basic cellular function through human evolution in which lysosomes present within the cells, degrade and recycle its own Intra cellular endogenous products (damaged organelles, mutant & ill formed proteins etc) and exogenous microbes (bacteria, viruses etc) .
At the end of such processes harmful products are broken down into innocuous simpler molecules, useful substances are retained and reused.
Professor Ohsumi elucidated the molecular process and genetic control of autophagy in simple baker’s single cell ‘yeast’ which consists of vacuoles analogous to lysosomes in animals and humans
Fasting— where one restricts calorie intake for an extended period of time appears to bring remarkable health benefits. These include weight loss, control of diabetes and blood pressure influencing heart function favourably and thus increasing longevity.
Monkeys and mice fed on such low calorie diet have lived significantly longer than regularly fed peers.
Researchers have discovered that restricting calories turn on our genes into preservation or famine mode. In this mode they are remarkably resistant to disease, cellular stress and it kick starts the cellular process called Autophagy. In this mode the body begins to clean out the old and harmful materials, start fixing by recycling and reconstructing the damaged components.
It also stimulates production of favourable hormones such as growth hormones that regenerates fresh cellular materials and fuels up cell renewal. In infected states it even clears up lingering bacteria and viruses and make it germ free.
Intermittent fasting by augmenting Autophagy helps in delaying and preventing the occurrence of Neuro degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. Recently very encouraging data has emerged regarding its usefulness in preventing and even treating cancers with or without other interventions.
How to initiate Autophagy?
Calorie especially protein deprivation have been seen to trigger Autophagy and there are several ways to achieve this.
There are two such molecular switchs, which deserve attention.
mTOR, a molecule that targets Rapamycin and regulates the nutrients that affect cellular growth, protein synthesis and anabolic (building up )process by activating insulin receptors etc . Opposite to that is AMPK, which helps to maintain energy homeostasis and backup cellular fuel level by catabolic (break down) initiatives.
These two are primarily to decide where it will enter - either into Autophagy (AMPK) or activate growth mode (mTOR). Starvation or fasting trigger catabolic (APMK) mode.
Autophagy is also closely linked to two other well known hormones ,Insulin and Glucagon . When you fast you drop insulin and increase glucagon which again stimulates Autophagy.
In order to induce Autophagy you have to deplete glycogen stores present in the liver as instant source of energy negating the initiation of starvation and it lasts for for 14-16 hours .Therefore ,Autophagy start only after glycogen stores in the liver are depleted .
To take advantage of Autophagy one has to have been fasting for at least 14-16 hrs or preferably for 24 hrs. Liberal Intake of Calorie free water is fine with such a fasting schedule.
Most Asian cultures practice intermittent fasting which may have backing of centuries of observational studies it appears.
A widely held idea that keeping the stomach free from food leads to peptic ulcers or digestive diseases doesn’t have scientific backing at all.
This epoch making brilliant study on Autophagy by Nobel laureate professor strongly backs our traditional chores of intermittent fasting to augment the game changer “Autophagy”.
The Author is Currently Professor of medicine at Manipal Tata Medical College and Formerly Professor and Head, Department of Medicine at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi, Jharkhand.
