Fast Like A Girl – Part 1
A critical factor in staying healthy is cultivating a highly efficient immune system. We all have thousands of cells in our body becoming cancerous every day, but our miraculous, fully functioning immune systems typically handle these mutated cells through a process called “autophagy”. Briefly, autophagy is a process that happens when your body expels old or excess cells that don’t benefit or potentially harm your health, while recycling any healthy cell components to be used in the creation of new ones.
Autophagy happens as a result of cellular stressors, such as nutrient deprivation from fasting, exercise, or significant temperature change.
I have used intermittent fasting as an important component in my recovery from stage 4, metastatic melanoma and ran across a podcast by Dr. Mindy Pelz, who is the author of the book Fast Like A Girl: A Woman’s Guide to Using the Healing Power of Fasting to Burn Fat, Boost Energy, and Balance Hormones. Inspired by the thousands of women she has worked with who have reclaimed their health with fasting, Dr. Mindy wrote this book because “once a woman knows how to build a fasting lifestyle around her cycle, she becomes unstoppable.”
Part 2 of this post will go into more detail about autophagy and its relevance to cancer, but I wanted to introduce you to the concept here and perhaps encourage you to begin your educational journey into fasting through her book.
Fast Like A Girl – Part 2
In Part 1 of Fast Like A Girl, I introduced the topic of autophagy and emphasized its importance with respect to a healthy immune system and overall physical well-being. In Part 2, we’ll take a deeper dive into autophagy and its relevance to health and longevity. Autophagy and Its Role in Longevity This process can be triggered during times of perceived nutrient shortages, such as fasting or calorie restriction. This recycling of broken-down molecules is what enables our bodies to regenerate and repair damage.
As we age and because of bad diet and lifestyle choices, autophagy diminishes, and that leads to the accumulation of cellular junk, which in turn causes cellular damage, especially in cells with a low turnover rate. Nerves are particularly prone, including the nerves that make up our brain mass, as there is little cellular turnover to remove “junk” particles and cells. Over time, the buildup of cellular junk “junk” particles and cells. Over time, the buildup of cellular junk caused by the decrease of autophagy leads to aging.
It should come as no surprise that the way you eat will have a direct impact on autophagy. Here are some tips and hacks you can implement today in order to aid autophagy and slow down the aging process:
- Lower meat consumption. High amounts of protein, and especially animal protein, compromise autophagy. Reducing animal protein intake will help your immune system clean out the “junk” in your body.
- Eat more healthy fats. Coconut oil, ghee, avocadoes, olive oil, and other plant-based fats will provide the energy your body needs to function but won’t compromise autophagy.
- Limit your intake of sugar-forming carbohydrates and starches. Sugar-forming carbohydrates such as bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, cereals, sweet desserts, sugary drinks, highly processed and most fast and deep-fried foods all raise insulin levels, which signal your body to go into cell replication mode, not the repair and clear mode of autophagy.
- Minimize stress. Stress has been proven to impact autophagy negatively. Stress also raises blood glucose, which in turn triggers insulin release and impedes autophagy.
- Take care of your gut microbiota. Environmental changes in the gut and gut bacteria composition can negatively affect autophagy leading to more rapid aging and a higher risk of chronic disease and immune system malfunctioning.
As Dr. Mindy Pelz shares in her book, fasting is a way to substantially improve autophagy. The last 8 hours of the 16-hour intermittent fast is when autophagy really kicks in and effectively regenerates your body.
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