How Long to Fast for 3 Stages of Autophagy

Written By Claire C

In this video, Dr. Annette Bosworth discusses how to achieve various stages of autophagy through fasting.  She explains the power of using keto and intermittent fasting, while also acknowledging the struggles you may experience on your way to autophagy. 

Watch the original video here: How Long to Fast for 3 Stages of Autophagy

Autophagy Basics:

  • Autophagy is essentially the body’s recycling program
  • When, in the absence of food, your body will begin to breakdown old, damaged cells and proteins for energy
    • These byproducts and broken parts are then transformed back into raw materials that can be reused in the body
    • This process also allows your body to make room for newer and healthier versions
  • Autophagy occurs naturally in the body, although it’s difficult for scientists to determine exactly how often
    • It will happen to some extent without fasting, but fasting allows you to trigger metabolic switches that enhance autophagy

Triggering Autophagy:

  • Current scientific evidence strongly suggests that long periods of fasting triggers the body to induce autophagy
  • Unfortunately, much of the research on autophagy is still fairly new, and a lot of it has been done in animals 
    • This makes it harder to make concrete claims about autophagy’s processes and benefits
  • Most sources believe that autophagy starts between 20 to 24 hours into a fast, but this number varies depending on the individual and a number of factors (did you just complete an enormous Thanksgiving meal?).

How Dr. Boz Measures Autophagy:

  • Without a concrete idea of how long it takes to induce autophagy through fasting, it’s important to determine what measures we can use to determine if our body is in autophagy 
  • Dr. Boz discusses a ratio of glucose to ketones when analyzing whether or not her patients are in autophagy
  • When looking at glucose divided by ketones she categorizes that:
    • Under 80: autophagy is possible
      • This is the zone where you will see a good amount of weight loss, but not a lot of the other benefits we associate with autophagy
    • Under 40: there is a solid chance that autophagy is occurring or will occur
      • This is the zone that allows for repair of the immune system
    • Under 20: this is your best chance that autophagy is occurring or will occur
      • This is her goal ratio for cancer patients

Other Fasting Flamingo Resources You May Enjoy:

Youtube Description:

If you want to achieve Autophagy how long do you have to Fast? Keto and Intermittent Fasting is the best combination to achieve Autophagy but getting there may be more difficult than you imagine. Learn how long it takes Fasting to achieve Autophagy and more in this video. Don’t forget to share and like!

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