The Amazing Power of Autophagy

Autophagy is one of the body’s ways of repairing itself on a cellular level. While it might sound creepy or weird (it literally means "self-eating"), autophagy can be deeply beneficial when used correctly. Inducing autophagy on purpose and with care may lead to incredible health improvements.

How Does Autophagy Work?

In the process of autophagy, the human body essentially “cleans out” cells that are not in good health. While research is in the early stages, it appears that there may be benefits to encouraging the body to go through this process. However, like anything else the body does, there may be risks to encouraging or attempting to force it into this process so proceed with caution and care (and medical supervision).

What are the Benefits of Autophagy?

Autophagy may have some big benefits. A 2020 review article in Food and Chemical Toxicology found that this process may help protect the liver function of people who consume large amounts of alcohol or take drugs.

Other research suggests that autophagy may help prevent the progression of some liver diseases and conditions. This might include acute liver injury, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, Wilson’s disease, and chronic issues related to alcoholism. 

Additional benefits may include a boost to the immune system, a better outlook for neurodegenerative diseases and infections, and protection against microbes that attempt to invade the body. 

Can Autophagy Be Induced?

Restricting calories or fasting may induce autophagy, says a 2018 review of the process. Calorie restriction involves eating less than the body needs to sustain itself at its current weight, while fasting involves not eating for hours at a time. Fasting often leads to calorie restriction, but it doesn’t have to. 

Autophagy may happen in these cases because the body’s cells are under stress when they do not receive the calories they need or as frequently as they expect. 

The cells must then work more efficiently, and that may cause them to go through the autophagy process, clean out what they don’t need, and recycle what they can still use. Most of the studies into this issue have been conducted in animals, but the hope is that results may translate to humans.   

Are There Dangers to Inducing Autophagy?

A 2019 study published in Seminars in Cancer Biology addressed how autophagy may affect cancer cells. In the study, researchers found that autophagy may slow the progression of cancer in some cases. However, that same study showed that cancer growth could actually be promoted by autophagy if the tumor was in the right stage when the process occurred. 

A cardiology study from 2016 also indicated that autophagy could play a role in the death of heart cells and may lead to heart problems. Because of the potential risks associated with autophagy, researchers still need to determine if deliberately inducing this process is safe for humans by conducting further studies.

Autophagy occurs naturally in the body. Dietary restriction may encourage it, but the research into safety and efficacy regarding that issue isn’t clear yet. If you’re considering trying to induce autophagy, speak with a medical professional first.  

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