Autophagy: The Cellular Recycling System Fasting Activates
Autophagy — from the Greek for 'self-eating' — is the cell's intrinsic quality control and recycling mechanism, by which damaged proteins, dysfunctional organelles, and intracellular pathogens are sequestered within double-membraned vesicles called autophagosomes and delivered to lysosomes for enzymatic degradation and component recycling. This process, for which Yoshinori Ohsumi was awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, is the primary mechanism by which the cell removes the molecular debris that accumulates with age and toxin exposure — making it a fundamental anti-ageing and anti-disease process. Autophagy is powerfully activated by caloric restriction, intermittent fasting, and specific plant compounds including spermidine, resveratrol, and sulforaphane, whilst being suppressed by chronic nutrient overabundance, mTOR activation, and insulin resistance — the metabolic state now endemic in Western populations consuming ultra-processed food.
