Autophagy – To Eat Thy Self

Worried About Aging? Want to Feel Awesome?

Do you ever sit up at night thinking about how time is passing? Every week seems to go faster and faster and getting older is not easy. Do you ever wonder if there is a way to slow the aging process? I do. I wonder all the time. It’s a new thought for me. I woke up one morning and realized that my daughter was turning ten, TEN! I guess that meant that I was ten years older too. What was I doing to prepare myself for getting older? I couldn’t think of very many things.

I have recently been exploring the nutritional and health benefits of fasting and along the way, I came across the concept of autophagy. Ever heard of it? Neither had I. The word autophagy breaks down into “auto” which means self and “phage” which translates to devour or eat. Together it means to eat thy self. An interesting concept.

Autophagy is the process the body uses to get rid of excess. To get rid of that old “stuff” that builds up and debris that needs to be broken down and removed. Through this process, the body recycles parts of cells and rebuilds damaged tissues. At its root, it’s the process the body uses to turn back time and keep us young and strong. You are probably thinking “Why have I never heard of this and why is my body still aging if it can use this autophagy?” Well, your body IS doing it! It’s just that this, like so many of the body’s natural processes, slows down as we age. It’s also only active in a fasted state and in this day and age, there is a fear of being hungry. A little growl of the stomach and we run for food. With the exception of a few religious holidays, there are not a lot of us who think about fasting regularly.

Here’s a little secret, most of us do not need to eat every two hours like we have been conditioned to think. In fact, I truly believe many of us are eating too often. Our body rarely gets the time needed to do the housekeeping needed to clear up junk and gunk (yes, those are technical terms!) that builds up and slows our body down. A simple way to start giving your body a little extra time is to simply stop eating after dinner and not eat again until the next morning. Giving yourself that overnight fast of at least twelve hours is a fantastic way to get into fasting. Once you feel comfortable with that amount of time try pushing it an hour or two more once or twice a week. You may be surprised at what changes for you with just this small amount of fasting.

Every time we eat, we spike the hormone insulin which responds to blood sugar and we activate our digestive system and all our digestive enzymes and processes. There is a type of fasting called time-restricted eating that begins to restrict the amount of time each day you are spending eating. To break it down, it means you are spiking that insulin and activating your digestive system fewer times and for fewer hours each day. An example of this might look like restricting your eating to 8 hours and then you fast for 16 hours. This is NOT a calorie restriction diet; it simply means you only eat in an eight hour period of the day. 

Different fasting techniques and ways of activating autophagy are being researched and tested. Its an interesting topic that deserves your attention if you are interested in lowering your insulin levels, if insulin resistance is a concern for you, if you want to lose weight, if you are concerned with aging and all the degenerative issues that come with aging and/or you just want to feel your best for as long as you can. I experienced some amazing results from just trying this once or twice a week. I have enjoyed it SO much that I now regularly fast and am pushing the extremes to see how my body feels and see what benefits I experience. When just starting out I recommend you speak with your health care provider or seek support from a health and wellness coach.

Are you looking to get even healthier? Are you concerned with aging? Do you feel yourself slowing down but want to continue living your fullest life? Could you use some support figuring out what type of fasting would work for your lifestyle? Curious about how nutritional health coaching can help you make healthy changes? Let’s talk! Schedule an initial complimentary consultation with me today—or pass this offer on to someone you care about! Visit www.noshoesnutrition.com and sign up for a FREE consultation.  I work with people from all over the world individually or in groups so don’t let anything hold you back!