Last Updated on November 9, 2023 by Fasting Planet
Autophagy is beneficial for the human body, as cell parts are recycled to leave only the healthy cells. Through the autophagy process, you can improve your skin health (even pausing or rewinding the aging process), strengthen your immune system, and repair your digestive system for optimal health. If you’re fasting to activate autophagy, what will tell you that it’s started?
You’ll be aware of when you successfully induce autophagy in the following ways:
- Your skin may look younger and healthier
- You may lose some muscle mass (indicative of a long fast, which is needed for autophagy)
- Your appetite decreases
- You achieve weight loss
- Your insulin goes down
- Your ketones increase
In this post, we’ll talk more about the process called autophagy, discuss how long you have to go without food to induce autophagy, and elaborate more on the signs that tell you when you’ve entered an autophagic state.
Let’s begin!
How Do You Trigger Autophagy?
As we touched on in the intro, autophagy involves your healthy cells finding old and damaged cells and then eating these in whole or in part. By removing inefficient cells, all that remain are younger, more efficient cells that can keep your internal systems running optimally. You can even combat the signs of aging through autophagy, as younger fibroblast cells make enough collagen and elastin that your skin looks youthful.
That sounds great, but how do you enter autophagy? You have several options at your disposal.
Ketogenic Diet
The ketogenic diet, also known as keto, cuts carbs and increases your intake of fat. Carbohydrates are a big source of glucose, or the energy your body uses when you’re not fasting. By taking those carbs away, your blood sugar or insulin lowers. As insulin decreases, glucagon, a hormone that prevents too-low insulin, increases. This is a key indicator to your brain that you should begin autophagy.
That said, a condition like insulin resistance that raises your blood sugar can sometimes prevent autophagic processes from happening as they should.
Intermittent Fasting
Another great way to enter an autophagic state that’s even more reliable than the keto diet is through intermittent fasting.
An intermittent fast is one in which you have distinct eating and fasting windows. With some types of intermittent fasts, such as the 5:2 diet, you can eat for five days and then cut calories for two days. On a water fast, you consume very few calories, just those that you’re getting from the green tea or black coffee you’re allowed to drink besides water.
When you don’t eat anything, you supply your body with no glucose. This will cause your glucagon levels to increase faster, indicating a quick beginning to the autophagic process. Even if you eat a little while fasting, you can still enter autophagy.
Exercise
If you exercise when fasting especially, you could experience an even more pronounced autophagic benefits than if you solely fast alone, says this 2018 publication of Physiological Reports.
How Will You Know When You Induce Autophagy?
Is there an overt sign you should look out for from your body that will tell you when you’ve entered autophagy? If you know what to look for, then absolutely. The following signals will indicate that your body is undergoing autophagic processes.
Healthier Skin
Remember the fibroblasts we discussed earlier? As a type of skin cell, fibroblasts oversee the production of two proteins that make your skin look young, healthy, elastic, and vibrant. Those proteins are collagen and elastin.
When autophagy gets underway, your fibroblasts are renewed, which can in turn renew your skin and give you a healthier, happier visage when you look in the mirror.
Loss of Muscle Mass
When you fast, your goal is to take the glucose that your body uses as energy, deplete it all, and trigger your system into burning fat instead. This only happens when your liver’s stores of glucose are completely gone.
Besides only burning fat, your body may also torch some muscle proteins. This typically won’t happen unless you’re fasting for a long time, such as several days. Thus, if you experience a lack of muscle mass, especially over several fasts, then you’ve been in a fasted state long enough for cell recycling to begin.
Decrease in Appetite
Another sign that your system has burned through its supply of glucose and is using fat instead is that your appetite will decrease. If you notice that you’re experiencing greater clarity and focus at the same time, this is a great sign that yes, autophagy is happening!
Weight Loss
A type of fat oxidation known as lipography is an autophagic process that can help you lose weight. If you’re dropping the pounds during your fast, then it’s safe to say that autophagy is working.
Lower Glucose
Testing your glucose, even if you’re not a diabetic, might be something you want to do on your next fast. Since glucagon levels only increase once glucose drops past a certain point, low glucose is a surefire sign that your body is undergoing autophagy. Just make sure your glucose levels don’t get too low, as then you might have hypoglycemia, which can be dangerous.
Higher Level of Ketones
Ketones or ketone bodies are a byproduct of fat breakdown in the liver. Your body only produces ketones when it doesn’t have enough glucose to use for energy. Thus, while you’re shopping for a glucose meter, buy a ketone meter as well so you can keep track of your ketones.
How Long Does It Take for the Body to Start Fasting for Autophagy?
You’re ready to experience greater health benefits through autophagy, but how long should you plan to fast to do so? It takes 18 to 20 hours of intermittent fasting before your body enters autophagy. Continue fasting for another day or two if you want to reap the most perks, with a 72-hour fast the most advantageous.
Conclusion
Autophagy is an internal state of cell recycling that’s kickstarted by exercising, following a keto diet, and especially fasting. Although it may take upwards of 24 hours to enter autophagy, once you do, you’ll be aware of it. You may have higher ketone levels, lower glucose, and a reduced appetite. Best of luck on your fast!