Age in reverse
Nobel Prize–winning science has revealed the cellular glitch making millions of women heavy and tired. Discover the easy meal-timing fix that will help you lose stubborn fat, triple energy and age in reverse—in 15 days!
Nobel Prize–winning science reveals the easy meal-timing fix to help you drop 20 pounds in 15 days and increase your energy
Call to mind your computer. As you search the web, scroll through Facebook or put together a digital album of your travel photos, programs run in the background, eliminating viruses and updating software to keep the machine running smoothly. If the operating system skips an update, though, your computer might start acting buggy: The system takes longer to boot up, websites don’t load as fast or your keyboard lags when you type.
Now imagine that a similar operating system is responsible for keeping the cells in your body functioning optimally. As cells tackle
day-to-day functions like pumping out hormones and producing energy, a mechanism called autophagy runs in the background, clearing away the cellular waste and free radicals created by these metabolic processes. “Autophagy is an essential cleaning process that the body uses to ‘recycle’ the damaged or non-useful parts of our cells,” explains Richard Wang, M.D., Ph.D., a scientist at the Center for Autophagy Research at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. “The by-products are broken down into their components, which can then be used to build new cells.” In effect, autophagy allows the body to continuously update itself, reusing damaged parts and materials to build fresh, new cells. And these new cells work to maintain the proper function of weight-regulating organs and glands, balance hormone levels, prevent illness and stave off signs of aging.
The problem: As we age, the body’s natural self-cleaning system slows down—and causes metabolism to slow with it. “Our natural ‘recycling centers’ become less efficient as we age,” says Dr. Wang. “And there is evidence that the decreased efficiency of this process causes disease and aging.” He explains that as cellular debris and free radicals build up in cells, cellular energy production engines (called mitochondria) become damaged. This makes metabolism run less efficiently and hinders cells’ ability to optimally produce hormones and energy. And while the body is still able to build new cells (using nutrients from the food we eat), this process also slows as we age. That means there is less cellular turnover to repair organs and other tissues. “It’s not just that the deterioration of our cells is bad, it’s also the decline in our ability to fix it,” says certified nutritional consultant Naomi Whittel. “This combination accelerates aging at a cellular level—and later, at an observable level in the form of weight gain, dull skin and low energy.”
Fortunately, Nobel Prize– winning science has uncovered a strategy that reignites cells’ selfcleaning system to make slimming effortless. “Research shows that the best way to turn autophagy up is to naturally induce a small amount of stress on your body by creating a short-term nutrient shortage,” explains Whittel. Indeed, the research published in the journal Cell revealed that simply cutting back on proteinrich foods a few days a week creates an amino acid shortfall and acts as a painless physiological stressor that automatically engages the body’s cellular cleanup cycle. As a result, cellular debris is quickly cleared away and cellular tissue repair is restored, helping to kick-start metabolism and send fat burning into high gear. The payoff: Women FIRST spoke to report effortless slimming at a rate of up to 10 pounds per week.
As cells begin self-cleaning again, the benefits multiply. “The best part about this is that you can make small changes and your body will start experiencing big results,” affirms Whittel. “You will boost your skin’s radiance, get better sleep than ever, have endless energy and restore your cells to the ways they worked when you were young.” This brings incredible anti-aging benefits, including 30 percent fewer wrinkles and 25 percent more even skin tone. Research also shows that boosting autophagy can improve cognitive function, strengthen the immune system and reduce cancer risk. Read on for the easy meal-timing tweaks that will set your cells to self-clean so you can look and feel your best!
“You can make small changes and your body will start experiencing big results—in just days!”
—Naomi Whittel