Autophagy is a cellular process that mediates the degradation of intracellular components.

It is over-activated during starvation (eg, calorie restriction) when the body searches for any energy source and building blocks it can find. When the signal of starvation is received, the body over-activates autophagy in all its forms: macro, micro and chaperone mediated, to sequester cytoplasm, cell organelles, damaged protein, whatever. The captured garbage is then broken down to produce useful amino acids, fatty acids, sugars, etc. Those are then used to combat the starvation problem. In the process, your organs and tissues are cleaned of garbage, restoring "optimal" function.

Normal autophagy function declines with age leading to intracellular accumulation of junk:

[www.jbc.org]

At least in yeast, activating chaperone mediated autophagy has life extension properties, while macro and micro autophagy do not

[www.landesbioscience.com]

The Cuervo paper demonstrated the power of activating chaparone mediated autophagy to restore the mouse liver to a more youthful state:

[blog.wired.com]

This is the paper:

[www.scribd.com]

So the question is how can we kick up the healthy autophagy function? Calorie restriction? Send ourselves into near starvation? Or, how can we activate autophagy function to get rid of the intracellular junk that we've already accumulated? Can we do this through diet? I wonder about diet, about the raw diet, I wonder if anyone else is into this kind of wonderment?

It appears there are FDA approved drugs that can activate autophagy, but these are used for other stuff right now.

The article:

"They screened 256 existing drugs in use for other medical conditions and found several which induce autophagy. Two drugs are of particular interest, verapamil and clonidine. Verapamil is prescribed for high blood pressure and many people take it for years. It is an L-type calcium channel antagonist and stimulates autophagy by reducing the influx of calcium into cells. Calcium handling is known to be a problem in HD. "

[hdlighthouse.org]

This is the paper:

[www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Most of the FDA approved drugs have side effects. I wonder if there are foods, or lack of foods that will induce autophagy? Does anyone give a flip about any of this? With all the yap here about "toxins" -- I thought maybe...

I would imagine that a fast would work. Several people on this board fast regularly and swear by it. Now I want to do a fast!

shane,

I agree with Sundancer, but also consider that the typical high-produce raw foods diet is already calorie-restricted, certainly when compared to that of control groups in studies. We are consuming huge amounts of oxygenaating foods, which would necessarily have an ameliorating effect on the intercellular environment of our cells. Perhaps what long-time raw foodists, like Dr. Fred Bisci, Tonya Zavasta, and Victoras Kulvinskas have done by naturally retreated from eating multiple meals and instead susbsisting on a couple small ones, is entered a condition of constant autophagy in super slow motion?

shane

<<I wonder if there are foods, or lack of foods that will induce autophagy? Does anyone give a flip about any of this? With all the yap here about "toxins" -- I thought maybe...>>

Of course I give a flip
why wouldn't I?
its a pretty germane central and powerful thing to discuss
and take action on
yeah, fasting does activate the process
caloric restriction and highly oxygenating substances ( like tamukha pointed out)
does it in "slow motion" as well

shane Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Autophagy is a cellular process that mediates the
> degradation of intracellular components.
>
> It is over-activated during starvation (eg,
> calorie restriction) when the body searches for
> any energy source and building blocks it can find.
> When the signal of starvation is received, the
> body over-activates autophagy in all its forms:
> macro, micro and chaperone mediated, to sequester
> cytoplasm, cell organelles, damaged protein,
> whatever. The captured garbage is then broken down
> to produce useful amino acids, fatty acids,
> sugars, etc. Those are then used to combat the
> starvation problem. In the process, your organs
> and tissues are cleaned of garbage, restoring
> "optimal" function.

..a cut-away of a cell showing lysosome action:



[search.aol.com]

..at the micro scale oxygen from aerobic activity increases the blood supply and speeds up cellular activity, I would think a good thing if one is eating and has energy to burn.