CAN THE SCIENCE OF AUTOPHAGY BOOST YOUR HEALTH?

LONDON - A little-known scientific process is being hailed as the new way to lose weight looN younger and prolong life.

Autophagy is a natural regeneration process that occurs at a cellular level in the body, reducing the likelihood of contracting some diseases as well as prolonging lifespan.

In 2016, Japanese scientist Yoshinori Ohsumi won the Nobel Prize for his discoveries into the mechanisms of autophagy. These have led to a better understanding of diseases such as Parkinson’s and dementia.

Since then, drug companies and academics have raced to find drugs that will stimulate the process, and diet and wellness experts are jumping on the bandwagon claiming that the process can be induced naturally by fasting, high-intensity exercise and restricting carbohydrates.

So what do scientists say?

“Certainly the evidence from experiments in mice suggest that would be the case,” said Dr David Rubinsztein, professor of molecular neurogenetics at the University of Cambridge and UK Dementia Research Institute.

“There are studies where they have switched on the process using genetic tools or drugs or fasting, and in those cases the animals tend to live longer and be in better overall shape.”

However, he said it was not yet clear how that translated to humans.

“For example, in mice, you see the effects of fasting on the brain in 24 hours, and in some areas of their body, like the liver, much more quickly. Yet even though we know fasting is beneficial, we don’t know yet exactly how long humans would need to fast to see the benefits,´ said Dr Rubins]tein.

That said, fasting does stimulate autophagy, he said, and its benefits had also been proven by other studies.