Autophagy: Activating Your Body's Detoxification System

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Autophagy: Activating Your Body's Detoxification System

Autophagy: Activating Your Body's Detoxification System Autophagy is a mechanism that our body’s cells possess that allows for recycling of cellular products. When an organelle (small functional unit within a cell) becomes dysfunctional, our bodies phagocytose (consume and digest) it and use the broken-down particles to build new organelles or produce energy.

Autophagy has many uses, as it helps to recognize and rid the body of components that are no longer working properly or no longer needed, such as proteins, enzymes, muscle fibers, and more. The ability of the body to reduce oxidative stress (caused by free radicals and Reactive Oxygen Species) ultimately suppresses cancer, inflammation, activity of viruses, accumulation of fat in the liver, and age-related degradation of tissues and neurons.

Autophagy as an Antioxidant

Most of the oxygen we take in as we breathe is used for cellular energy, but about 5% of that oxygen is turned into a reactive oxygen species. These reactive particles are similar to free radicals and carry an electric charge. This electric charge makes them unstable, so they readily bind with other elements in the area.

Free radicals are also charged particles and can be produced by the body as a natural byproduct of many of our metabolic processes or come from carcinogens (cancer-causing interactions). Carcinogens can include exposure to radiation/chemicals, cigarette smoking, pollution, etc.

Oxidative stress is caused by the reaction of free radicals or reactive oxygen species with your body’s proteins, fats, cells, and even your DNA. Free radicals and reactive oxygen particles are electrically charged, causing them to bond with and change components in your body.

Antioxidants, often found in ”superfoods”, help rid your body of oxidative stress by bonding with the particles and removing them from the body as waste products. Autophagy also acts as an antioxidant of sorts, identifying and consuming damaged cells and free radicals, to minimize the effects on your health.

Oxidative stress is associated with numerous chronic pathological processes, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, atherosclerosis, thalassemia, cancers, chronic kidney disease, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s.⁽²⁾So autophagy’s antioxidant activity has many applications when it comes to prevention of these health complications.

Autophagy for Cancer Suppression

Many causes of cancer come from free radical damage. Free radicals are specifically implicated in cancers/diseases of the liver and gastrointestinal tract. Any reduction in the amount of reactive species in our bodies is going to be a positive factor in our health, decreasing their ability to damage our cells. The cells and cellular products that are already damaged are targeted for destruction by autophagy, and their materials are recycled to create structurally sound and well-functioning organelles, enzymes, and proteins. This ultimately promotes cell survival in the face of cancer.

One gene, called p62, is often implicated in the regulation of a cancer cell’s reproductive capabilities. Cells that express this gene at high levels are selectively targeted by autophagic processes, therefore preventing expression from becoming too high. Under these conditions, tumor growth is suppressed.

Autophagy and Detoxification

The body’s main toxicity-removing organ is the liver, and 20-30% of US adults have a harmful fat buildup in their liver called Hepatic Steatosis. In the obese population, its presence jumps to a staggering 70-80%. This fat buildup decreases the effectiveness of hepatocytes, your liver’s functional units that filter out toxins in the blood. Long term, this decrease in hepatocyte function can lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer.

We have learned that autophagy disposes of maladapted organelles and proteins, but it can also rid the body of blood-bound cholesterol, waste products that cause toxicity problems (when they exceed allowable levels), and those harmful fats found in the liver. The removal of these fats is called microlipophagy and is essential to maintain the health of your liver.

Autophagy and COVID

Virophagy is the type of autophagy that is employed when your body is under attack by viral agents. Activation of this type of autophagy promotes recognition of the particle as a virus, increases the presence of inflammatory markers that activate the immune system, and disposal of the virus. Autophagy prioritizes your cell’s survival by selectively degrading damaged organelles in the face of a virus’ attempt to hijack your cellular machinery to reproduce or damage your organelles.

How Can Autophagy Be Activated?

Fasting

Nutrient deficiency is a pathway for activation of autophagy. Short-term fasting has been shown to increase the expression of ATGs (autophagy-activating genes) because it emulates disease pathology. Many of these processes are controlled by hormones, which are produced cyclically in respect to your circadian rhythm. This suggests that autophagy is directly activated by your nutrient levels, coming into play when your body’s cells are deprived and in need of energy. This energy comes from autophagic processes degrading extra materials into their usable parts to give to your cells for continued function when nutrients are lacking. You can further optimize the role of fasting for autophagy activation by leveraging intermittent fasting, syncing it with your circadian rhythm.

Exercise

Another way to boost autophagy is exercise. Though all exercise boosts autophagy, endurance exercise has been found to be the most effective. For muscle adaptation to happen (increase of muscular endurance or strength), re-use of cellular products is necessary. Specifically, your body is generating new blood vessels and mitochondria to better fuel the increased demand from your muscles. This turnover is always in flux based on your activity level, which is why long-term endurance adaptations are superior in increasing autophagy.

Diet

Another way to boost your body’s ability to detoxify itself is by consuming antioxidant or anti-inflammatory foods such as those that contain;

Flavonoids - often found in fruits
Iso-Flavones - found in legumes
Resveratrol - found in grape skins and peas
Circumin - found in turmeric

These foods have antioxidant capabilities themselves, but they also increase the expression of genes that encode for increased autophagy or apoptosis (intentional cell death) when cells are damaged. They reduce disease prevalence, neuro-degenerative pathologies, oxidative stress, and negative effects associated with aging.

References

Disclaimer

This article “Autophagy: Activating Your Body's Detoxification System” was originally created and published by LoveandCompassion.com under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Mika Ichihara, M.S., L.Ac., LL.M., B.Phar., Founder, Owner and Grand Master in Eastern Medicine and Energy Soul Medicine. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution and author bio. For more information about her and her practice, please visit www.loveandcompassion.com.

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Autophagy: Activating Your Body's Detoxification System

Autophagy: Activating Your Body's Detoxification System