Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHow Autophagy WorksBenefits of AutophagyCan You Trigger Autophagy?Significance in Medicine
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
How Autophagy Works
Benefits of Autophagy
Can You Trigger Autophagy?
Significance in Medicine
Autophagy is important as these “junk” components take up a lot of room in a cell and can prevent it from working properly. Autophagy also destroys disease-causingpathogens, like bacteria and viruses, that can harm cells.
More research is needed, but autophagy seems to benefit overall health and may play a role in preventing and fighting diseases like Parkinson’s disease and Crohn’s disease.
Autophagy takes place within the gelatinous fluid inside of a cell called cytoplasm. It is a process in which a cell recycles unneeded or damaged parts of itself to create new parts and to provide energy for cell survival.
Autophagy occurs when cells are either damaged or deprived of the nutrients that they need to survive.When this happens, complex chemical reactions are triggered within the cytoplasm to turn “junk” into fuel and functional cell components.
The process involves multiple steps that include:
With autophagy, a cell effectively breaks itself down and rebuilds itself in order to survive. By doing so, a cell becomes more efficient.
Autophagy has important effects that occur both within and outside of a cell.
Within the cell, autophagy can help:
Outside of the cell, autophagy can help:
Autophagy is typically triggered when a cell is starved of nutrition and goes into survival mode.This can happen with:
This doesn’t mean that you should try to induce autophagy. Restricting or burning off excessive calories for a long period of time can lead to cell death instead of rejuvenation.
The aim of autophagy ultimately is to keep the body in homeostasis. Making sudden, severe changes to your diet or exercise routine can cause more harm than good. This is especially true if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or managing a chronic condition like diabetes, heart disease, or high blood pressure.
How Do I Know I’m in Autophagy?It’s not usually possible to tell when your cells are in autophagy. However, if your body enters ketosis because of a low-carb, high-fat diet, you may experience symptoms such as fatigue, bad breath, thirst, and flu-like symptoms.
How Do I Know I’m in Autophagy?
It’s not usually possible to tell when your cells are in autophagy. However, if your body enters ketosis because of a low-carb, high-fat diet, you may experience symptoms such as fatigue, bad breath, thirst, and flu-like symptoms.
Autophagy declines with age, contributing to the aging process. Oxidative stress, DNA damage, ultraviolet radiation, and a person’s genetics can also disrupt autophagy, contributing to the development of certain chronic illnesses.
Studies have shown that autophagy dysfunction is associated with diseases like:
Even so, the relationship between autophagy and diseases like these isn’t clear-cut. While scientists are hoping to find ways to induce certain facets of autophagy to treat neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s or even cancer, the research remains in its infancy.
Summary
Autophagy is triggered when the body is starved of energy, such as can occur with exercise, calorie restriction, fasting, or a keto diet.
Certain chronic diseases are linked to problems with autophagy. Even so, there is no evidence that triggering autophagy with diet or exercise can prevent or treat illnesses. Exercise and diet may be of benefit to you, but not for the purpose of inducing autophagy.
14 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Pang Y, Wu L, Tang C, Wang H, Wei Y.Autophagy-inflammation interplay during infection: balancing pathogen clearance and host inflammation.Front Pharmacol. 2022;13:832750. doi:10.3389/fphar.2022.832750
Gómez-Virgilio L, Silva-Lucero MD, Flores-Morelos DS, et al.Autophagy: A Key Regulator of Homeostasis and Disease: An Overview of Molecular Mechanisms and Modulators.Cells. 2022;11(15):2262. Published 2022 Jul 22. doi:10.3390/cells11152262
Hassan AMIA, Zhao Y, Chen X, He C.Blockage of Autophagy for Cancer Therapy: A Comprehensive Review.Int J Mol Sci. 2024;25(13):7459. Published 2024 Jul 7. doi:10.3390/ijms25137459
Yun HR, Jo YH, Kim J, Shin Y, Kim SS, Choi TG.Roles of autophagy in oxidative stress.Int J Mol Sci. 2020;21(9):3289. doi:10.3390/ijms21093289
Yin Z, Pascual C, Klionsky DJ.Autophagy: machinery and regulation.Microb Cell. 2016;3(12):588-596. doi:10.15698/mic2016.12.546
Parzych KR, Klionsky DJ.An overview of autophagy: morphology, mechanism, and regulation.Antioxid Redox Signal. 2014;20(3):460-473. doi:10.1089/ars.2013.5371
Pak M, Bozkurt S, Pınarbaşı A, Öz Arslan D, Aksungar FB.Effects of prolonged intermittent fasting model on energy metabolism and mitochondrial functions in neurons.Ann Neurosci. 2022;29(1):21-31. doi:10.1177/09727531211072303
Shabkhizan R, Haiaty S, Moslehian MS, et al.The Beneficial and Adverse Effects of Autophagic Response to Caloric Restriction and Fasting.Adv Nutr. 2023;14(5):1211-1225. doi:10.1016/j.advnut.2023.07.006
Møller AB, Voss TS, Vendelbo MH, Pedersen SB, Møller N, Jessen N.Insulin inhibits autophagy signaling independent of counterregulatory hormone levels but does not affect the effects of exercise.J Appl Physiol (1985). 2018;125(4):1204-1209. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00490.2018
Shabkhizan R, Haiaty S, Moslehian MS, et al.The beneficial and adverse effects of autophagic response to caloric restriction and fasting.Adv Nutr. 2023;14(5):1211-1225. doi:10.1016/j.advnut.2023.07.006
Ichimiya T, Yamakawa T, Hirano T, et al.Autophagy and autophagy-related diseases: a review.Int J Mol Sci. 2020;21(23):8974. Published 2020 Nov 26. doi:10.3390/ijms21238974
Yang Y, Klionsky DJ.Autophagy and disease: unanswered questions.Cell Death Differ. 2020;27(3):858-871. doi:10.1038/s41418-019-0480-9
Jiang P, Mizushima N.Autophagy and human diseases.Cell Res. 2014;24(1):69-79. doi:10.1038/cr.2013.161Moloudizargari M, Asghari MH, Ghobadi E, Fallah M, Rasouli S, Abdollahi M.Autophagy, its mechanisms and regulation: Implications in neurodegenerative diseases.Ageing Res Rev. 2017;40:64-74. doi:10.1016/j.arr.2017.09.005
Jiang P, Mizushima N.Autophagy and human diseases.Cell Res. 2014;24(1):69-79. doi:10.1038/cr.2013.161
Moloudizargari M, Asghari MH, Ghobadi E, Fallah M, Rasouli S, Abdollahi M.Autophagy, its mechanisms and regulation: Implications in neurodegenerative diseases.Ageing Res Rev. 2017;40:64-74. doi:10.1016/j.arr.2017.09.005
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
