Japanese Nobel Prize for the discovery of fasting. Intermittent fasting, long healthy life and cellular autophagy

On October 3, 2016 in Stockholm, the Nobel Committee announced the winner of the prize in the nomination for physiology or medicine. It turned out to be Yoshinori Osumi, a Japanese microbiologist who described in detail the mechanism of autophagy in the cells of living organisms. Not to say that it has become a stunning know-how, because this process was discovered back in the 60s. XX century. However, the talented professor managed to reveal it from a new angle, and one of the most prestigious international awards ended up in his hands.

Few of the scientific achievements for which the Nobel Prize is awarded annually are made available to the general public. For the most part, they are of interest only to a narrow circle of knowledgeable and enlightened people. However, the discovery of the Japanese scientist has since become incredibly popular.

Today, not only nutritionists, doctors and biologists talk about it, but also those ordinary citizens who lead a healthy lifestyle, regularly cleanse the body, try to lose weight, or are adherents of a healthy fasting system. It turns out that the mechanisms of cellular autophagy play an important role in the life of not only people, but also all living beings.

About a talented scientist

Yoshinori Osumi (born 1945) is a Japanese scientist, microbiologist, professor, doctor of science, teacher at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, a member of the European Organization for Molecular Biology.

Japanese scientist, molecular biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi

Since the 80s. XX century, studied exclusively the process of autophagy. It was discovered long before him, back in the 60s, but no one even suspected its role in the body and its importance for human life. And only Yoshinori Osumi managed to find out in the early 90s how significant he is for every living being on the planet.

Long before the Nobel Prize, the Japanese microbiologist was repeatedly awarded for his discovery. Here are some of the most significant awards:

• 2008 - Asahi Prize, "For precise molecular studies of autophagy and the intracellular destruction system."
• 2015 - Rosenstiel Prize, "In recognition of pioneering discoveries of the molecular and biological functions of autophagy."
• 2016 - Paul Janssen Prize, "for the discovery of the molecular basis of autophagy as a universal process of self-digestion of cells to obtain life-saving energy during fasting."
• 2016 - Nobel Prize, "for the discovery of the mechanisms of autophagy."
• 2017 Medical Breakthrough Award, "For their research on autophagy and the recycling system that cells use to obtain nutrients from their own non-essential or damaged components."

Only one of the wordings of the above awards mentions. So why does everyone believe that it was for him in 2016 that Yoshinori Ohsumi was given the Nobel Prize? To understand this issue, you need to delve into the essence of the discovery.

It is interesting. In 1974, Christian de Duve, the scientist who discovered lysosomes, received the Nobel Prize. And shortly before that, he introduced the term "autophagy".

autophagy

The term goes back to the ancient Greek language and is translated from it as "self-eating". It means the process of elimination by cells of their own particles, which turn out to be harmful, superfluous, unnecessary. As already mentioned, back in the 60s, scientists made the discovery that it starts up from time to time, but since then no one has figured out why, when exactly, for what purpose and what effect it has on the functioning of the body as a whole. . And only 20 years later, Yoshinori Ohsumi took up his study closely.

Yeast became the material for the study. However, everything that the Nobel Prize winner found out in the course of his scientific research applies to all living cells, including the human body. And here are the discoveries he made.

During life, under the influence of various factors (nutrition, living conditions, climate, bad habits) garbage accumulates in the body:

• toxins;
• defective proteins;
• various harmful substances;
• dead particles;
• infections, bacteria, viruses;
• pathological, damaged tissues.

It turns out that nature endowed cells with the ability to get rid of all this on their own. Schematically and simplified, without going into complex biological terminology, the process of autophagy is as follows:

Stress state → Cells recognize foreign particles in their composition → Attack them → Enclose them in autophagosomes (similar to how we store garbage in bags) → Move them to lysosomes (containers) → Destroy and digest them → The resulting processed products are used to obtain necessary energy, own rejuvenation and regeneration, internal nutrition

The result exceeds all expectations: not only are cells cleared of debris, among which are infections and viruses that are dangerous to health, they are also updated. And no external resources are required for this.

As Yoshinori Ohsumi found out, if autophagy processes occur in human body regularly and without failure, this guarantees:

• high life expectancy;
• slowing down the aging process;
• strong immunity, reflecting the attacks of any, even the most dangerous bacteria and viruses;
• excellent health;
• physical activity and high intellectual abilities;
• uninterrupted operation of all organs and systems.

And most importantly, what the Nobel laureate managed to find out is that disturbances in the process of autophagy entail such severe pathologies as cancer, cerebral palsy, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, diabetes, and many others, with which modern medicine can't cope. It turns out that if the cells regularly engage in self-eating, the risk of all these diseases is reduced to zero.

Actually, for the fact that the Japanese scientist revealed to the world the true cause of such serious pathologies (impaired autophagy) and at the same time opened the veil of how to treat them (to establish this mechanism), he received the Nobel Prize. It remains to find out, but what does starvation have to do with it?

Autophagy and fasting

With the help of autophagy, you can extend life and recover from the most serious diseases. This does not happen automatically because it starts extremely rarely. Yoshinori Ohsumi found that cells begin to digest their pathogenic parts only under conditions of severe stress. And one way to create it is fasting.

When cells receive nutrition from the outside (in the process of digesting foods eaten by a person), it makes no sense for them to do additional work - to recognize their damaged elements and engage in their disposal. But as soon as they do not receive any external support for a long time, they begin to look for a way out of this situation. And the only salvation is the very extra particles that can be recycled and consumed so as not to die.

It turns out that, while working on autophagy, the Japanese scientist, unexpectedly for his research, also proved the benefits of fasting. It is it that starts this process and, accordingly, guarantees both a long life and getting rid of almost all diseases.

However, it is worth mentioning right away that in his research, Yoshinori Osumi describes in detail only the process of autophagy: how it starts, how it proceeds, what affects it, what significance it has for human health and life, and other nuances. He does not offer the author's fasting system, as many, like, or other researchers believe. He only mentioned that it is abstinence from food that creates stress conditions in which cells begin to cleanse themselves.

Therefore, it cannot be argued that Yoshinori Osumi was given the Nobel Prize precisely for starvation. No, he got it for describing the mechanisms of autophagy. But these two concepts are closely interconnected, and the first one is much closer to the common man - this is where this discrepancy came from.

Significance of Yoshinori Ohsumi's discovery

In connection with the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, interest in autophagy processes has increased several times. Almost all modern research and writings on fasting refer to the discovery of Yoshinori Ohsumi, substantiating its incredible benefits. But some points need to be clarified here.

You can often hear that Yoshinori Ohsumi received the Nobel Prize for a one-day fast. On the one hand, we found out that this is an indirectly erroneous statement. On the other hand, there is a rational grain in this formulation, and all those who plan to use the discovery of the Japanese scientist for their own purposes should pay attention to it.

How can it be used?

It seems that the scheme is as simple as possible: we start the process of autophagy with the help of curative fasting - and we live without diseases and old age for many, many years. The most active have already begun to put all this into practice: they took as a basis the method of 40-day abstinence from food (the systems of Dzhigurda, Suvorin) and fast. Only it is unlikely that someone will be able to go all this way to the end and achieve the desired results. What's the catch?

Long-term fasting, offered by most of the existing methods (Voitovich, Nikolaev, Lavrova, Shchennikov), is not supported by official medicine. Their benefits are not only not scientifically proven, but are actively refuted. The risk of serious disorders in the functioning of organs and even death is too high to decide on such a dubious recovery. Nobody has ever been awarded the Nobel Prize for this.

But short-term from 12 hours to 3 days (no more!) Is enough to start the full cycle of the autophagy process and achieve the desired results.

Unfortunately, there is no clear concept or patented method of therapeutic fasting yet, which would be based specifically on the discovery of Yoshinori Ohsumi. What optimal time abstinence, how often to practice it, how much water you can drink, what is allowed and what is prohibited - all these questions are still open and are decided by everyone individually.

Those who regularly practice fasting are advised to take it, since it is easier to tolerate, and does not cause a strong deterioration in well-being, and fits perfectly into the framework of the day off.

Who will suit?

Autophagy has importance for the life and health of every person. We all breathe polluted air, eat preservatives and dyes, and accumulate real garbage dumps in ourselves. The cells themselves can cope with them, but they need help in this. Therefore, absolutely everyone needs to arrange short-term fasting from time to time.

But they will be especially useful for those who:

• suffers from obesity and excess weight (according to research, it is fat cells that accumulate the maximum amount of harmful substances);
• falls into the risk group for oncology (due to the hereditary factor);
• is at a respectable age (after 50 years, this should be done regularly, for the prevention of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's);
• plans to conceive a baby soon (to avoid the risk of cerebral palsy).

Despite the fact that Yoshinori Ohsumi received the Nobel Prize not at all for, as many mistakenly believe, the autophagy mechanisms he described are closely related to him. Its discovery gives hope to absolutely all people to cure diseases that modern medicine is still powerless against. Some seriously believe that with the correct implementation of this achievement, it is quite possible to slow down the aging process and significantly increase life expectancy.

Although everyone can use this healing method for free. Plus save on groceries.

Photo: REUTERS

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In October, the most prestigious scientific award of the planet in physiology and medicine was received by Japanese biologist Yoshinori Osumi. For autophagy.

The first thought was - why exactly is he such an honor? Surely the secret rulers of the world, the Rockefellers, were in a hurry. After all, Osumi once worked at their New York Rockefeller University. And he became the 25th laureate associated with this medical institution. Prestige! For comparison: there are only 20 Nobels on the account of citizens of Russia and the USSR. Including pre-revolutionary doctors Mechnikov and Pavlov, writer Pasternak, politicians Gorbachev and Sakharov, physicist Alferov ...

HEALING SELF-FOOD

The term "autophagy" (Greek autos - "self" and phagos - "devouring") was invented and put into circulation by the Belgian biochemist Christian de Duve, also a future Nobel laureate who worked at ... Rockefeller University. Back in 1963, Osumi had just become a student at the University of Tokyo that year. The meaning of autophagy according to de Duve: the cell, it turns out, is engaged in self-devouring, self-eating of any “garbage” accumulated in it - waste products, as well as bacteria, viruses and other harmful substances that have come from outside. There is a cleaning, protection of the cell and the whole organism. So everyone came up with Osumi.

I am reading the October Nobel Committee on the newly minted lucky winner. “Now we know that autophagy controls the most important physiological processes when it is necessary to destroy and recycle the components of the cell. Autophagy can quickly provide the fuel needed for a cellular response to HUNGER (highlighted by me - E.Ch.) and other types of stress ... eliminate the invasion of intracellular bacteria and viruses, promote embryo development and cell differentiation. Cells also use autophagy to eliminate damaged proteins and organelles, which is critical to counter the negative effects of aging.”

Imagine discovering America! Yes, I personally knew all this back in the 70s of the last century. Then in the USSR it was fashionable therapeutic starvation. A typewritten book by American naturopath Paul Bragg, The Miracle of Fasting, was circulating around the country. Hit "samizdat"! Old Bragg called this method the most significant discovery of modern mankind. Cooler than jet planes, television, hydrogen bomb… Say, the Bible mentions him 74 times. Christ Himself fasted for forty days! “With the help of curative fasting, you can regenerate yourself mentally, physically and spiritually. Starving with the help of science, man pushes back the threat premature aging able to find vanishing youth. The body will be cleansed of accumulated toxins and slags that give us diseases and premature aging.

40 days on one water!

Okay, the optimistic Bragg was self-taught, he could compose gag. But back in 1973, the book of Doctor of Medical Sciences Yuri Nikolaev “Starvation for Health” was published in the USSR. Circulation of 200 thousand copies. It was translated in Japan, Bulgaria, other countries, there were reprints in their homeland.

This is a kind of scientific encyclopedia of curative fasting from ancient times to the end of the 20th century. Not only Christ and representatives of other religions refused food for the sake of spiritual and physical healing. In the writings and instructions of scientists ancient egypt, Babylon, Judea, India, Persia, Scandinavia, China, Tibet, Greece and Rome had a lot of hygiene advice and descriptions of non-drug treatment. And in the first place - hunger!

The same ancient Egyptians, “the healthiest of mortals,” according to the historian Herodotus, starved three days a month, cleansing the stomach with emetics and enemas. The famous ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras systematically kept a strict fast for 40 days on the same water. And he demanded the same from his students. The greatest Hellenic sage lived for more than 80 years. Before our era. Excellent result!

The philosophers Socrates and Plato also regularly fasted for 10 days in order to achieve the highest degree of mental development. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, prescribed fasting for the sick. There are many similar examples of bygone days in Nikolaev's book. Byron, Voltaire, Linnaeus, Milton, Montaigne, Newton, Rousseau, Leo Tolstoy, Schiller, Shaw... The story of the rich Venetian Ludwig Cornaro (1465-1566) is especially impressive. In his youth, he indulged in all sorts of excesses, gluttony, and began to get sick. On the advice of the doctor, I had to starve regularly. At first it was agony. But a year later, Cornaro was healed of all ailments, he himself began to write treatises on proper nutrition, fasting. Lived a hundred years!

OPERATION WITHOUT A KNIFE!

Nikolaev himself was born into a family of strict vegetarians. Parents were friends with Leo Tolstoy. Yura also visited Yasnaya Polyana. What evidence remained in the memoirs of Tolstoy's wife. And his father corresponded with the famous American novelist Upton Sinclair. In 1911, he published the book "The Cure by Hunger", based on his own experience. She became popular all over the world. By the way, Sinclair lived to be 90 years old.

This book determined the fate of Yuri Sergeevich himself. He became a doctor. And even before the war, he ventured to treat hunger ... schizophrenics. Happened. Although official medicine disapproved of this method. But Nikolaev was lucky. He got rid of alcoholism Lev Bulganin, the son of Stalin's Deputy Prime Minister, a member of the Politburo. The grateful father instructed to officially check curative fasting. At the Institute of Psychiatry of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR. Here Nikolaev studied the effect of hunger on various diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, for ten years. The scientist carefully called his method unloading and dietary therapy (RDT). In order not to frighten official science and the people with the terrible word "hunger". They still remembered the Leningrad blockade, and indeed ... In 1960 he defended his doctoral dissertation on this topic. Although the benefactor Bulganin by that time had been overthrown by Khrushchev and sent into political oblivion.

The method became more and more popular, RDT departments were opened in Soviet hospitals. In Moscow, he was supervised by Professor Nikolaev himself. About 3,000 patients with hypertension, atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, diabetes, arthrosis, arthritis, ulcers, gastritis, colitis, asthma, obesity, etc. passed through it. Some had to starve under strict medical supervision for 25-33 days. The results were positive.

Nikolaev himself figuratively called this healing, surprising at first glance, "an operation without a knife." After all, during therapeutic fasting, first of all, “weakened, obsolete, unusable, altered tissues, toxins, which are ballast for the body and the cause of many different diseases, as well as tumors, edema, adhesions, etc., are utilized in the body. The number of sclerotic plaques decreases. This process in medicine is called "autolysis" (literally means "self-digestion").

As you can see, Nikolaev uses a term similar to the now fashionable “autophagy”. All the same "self-discipline" of cells.

This destructive process of "self-discipline," Nikolaev argued, is always interconnected with the creative, rejuvenating one. For starvation itself is a powerful stressor that mobilizes the body's defense reactions and is a stimulus for the subsequent acceleration of the processes of recovery and self-renewal.

However, despite extensive scientific experiments, extensive experience in healing patients, the professor understood that not all the secrets of curative fasting were open. “The next step is to study the process of metered fasting treatment at the molecular level,” he wrote. “In order to penetrate the life of the cell, to peep how nature disposes of the body, to learn to imitate it, to learn to control your body.”

The doctor of medical sciences died in 1998. He was 93.

THE PRIZE IS NOT DIVIDED FOR THREE?

Three scientists undertook to carry out the covenant of the Soviet doctor in the 90s. American Daniel Klensky and Japanese Noboru Mitsushima, Yoshinori Osumi. They studied in detail the mechanism of autophagy at the cellular level. On the example of baker's yeast. Holding them - attention! - on a starvation diet. (I will not fill the heads of readers with scientific terms. For those who are interested, see the press release of the Nobel Committee, everything is described and shown there.) And they even discovered the genes responsible for the process of “self-eating”. Humans have similar genes. Klensky writes: “Autophagy may have evolved as a response to nutrient deficiencies. As you know, in conditions of starvation, the body begins to use internal reserves. First, fat cells are used, and lastly, muscle cells; their components are broken down and incorporated into the metabolic processes essential to the life of the organism. Cells do the same in the absence of nutrients, decomposing some of their components in the name of self-preservation. Autophagosomes work constantly, regardless of whether the cell is starving or not. But a lack of nutrients, oxygen, or growth factors stimulates the assembly of autophagosomes.”

As far back as 2012-13, scientific experts predicted that all this trinity would receive the Nobel Prize for their research on the anti-aging “self-eating” of cells. The award has already been divided into three! But the turn came only this year. And for some reason the Nobel Committee chose one Osumi.

However, the main thing here is something else.

After the death of Professor Nikolaev, curative starvation in our country again became a "fad of crazy healthy lifestyle fans." On a par with treatment with a biofield, urine, manure, clay ... A sort of medicine "from the evil one", despite the posts of Christ. Other healing and rejuvenating methods are now in vogue. Expensive. type of stem cells. And hunger will not bring big profits.

The Nobel Prize has overshadowed this ancient method, in fact, recognizing it as scientific. The Nobel Committee emphasizes that, in theory, it is disturbances in the autophagy process that lead to Parkinson's disease. diabetes type 2, some cancers, and others serious illnesses. “The development of drugs that can target autophagy is ongoing.” Wonderful! You can eat and drink from the belly, and then take an autophagic pill and be healthy again!

But until these medicines are invented, tested, a lot of water will flow away. Wouldn't it be better to try a free method tested for centuries for prevention?

HOW TO POST

Of course, very carefully. Together with the news about the Nobel Prize for "self-discipline", the tragic news of the death of a 13-year-old Indian girl spread around the world. She spent 68 days on boiled water alone. Not for the sake of improving health, but for the jewelry business of parents to go uphill. So the guru advised them. However, some of our girls with hunger and strict diets bring themselves to mortal exhaustion for the sake of a figure.

Yuri Nikolaev, as a true doctor, was more careful. He acted according to the principle "Do no harm!" Therapeutic starvation for serious illnesses - only in special clinics, under the strict supervision of doctors. Up to 33 days. At home, for prevention, he advised to spend 24-42 hours a week on the same water. Having previously taken a laxative, cleansing the body with enemas. The doctor himself had 2-3 hungry days a month. However, he began to starve with every ailment, a cold, in order to quickly get rid of viruses and toxins. As much as possible, Nikolaev allowed to starve without a doctor for up to seven days. Having studied in advance the method of entering and exiting hunger, while using enemas, showers, baths, walking, and other physical exercises. He emphasized that it is especially useful to starve when the body is still healthy and full of strength in order to protect it from disease.

Yuri Nikolaev's book "Starvation for Health" with a detailed description of the RDT method can be downloaded on the Internet. So are Bragg's books.

Japanese biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi Nobel Laureate in the field of physiology and medicine.
Screenshot from video

The Nobel Week-2016 has begun, during which the most honorable scientific awards in various fields will be distributed.

The laureate in medicine and physiology was named on 3 October. It was Yoshinori Osami, a cell biologist at the Tokyo University of Technology, who was awarded "for his discovery of the mechanisms of autophagy," according to the Nobel Committee's website.

His discoveries paved the way for understanding the fundamental importance of autophagy for a variety of physiological processes, such as adaptation to hunger and response to infection, explained in a press release for the award.

Autophagy is the process of recycling and recycling unnecessary parts of the cell - various "garbage" accumulated in it. The term is translated from Greek as "self-eating" or "self-eating".

autophagy mechanism.

Scientists discovered this phenomenon back in the 60s of the last century. But they could not understand the intricacies of the mechanism. In the 90s, Osumi did it. Through his experiments, he also identified genes that are responsible for autophagy. Osumi became the 39th scientist in history to be single-handedly awarded the Nobel Prize.

Autophagy is inherent in living organisms, including humans. Thanks to it, the cells get rid of unnecessary parts, and the body as a whole - from unnecessary cells.

Nature has endowed cells with the ability to digest what "looks" superfluous or harmful. To put it very simply, cells pack "garbage" into special bags - autophagosomes. Then they are transferred to containers - lysosomes, where all this is destroyed and digested. Processed products are used to nourish or renew the cell.

phagosome formation.
Infographic: Nobel Committee

Thanks to autophagy, the cell is cleansed of the infection that has entered it and of the resulting toxins.

Fusion of phagosome and lysosome.
Infographic: Nobel Committee

Autophagy is most active when the body is under stress. For example, starving. In this case, the cell generates energy from its internal resources, that is, from any accumulated "garbage", including pathogenic bacteria.

The discovery of a Japanese scientist shows that fasting or fasting is still useful - the body is really cleansed due to autophagy.

It also protects the body from premature aging. Maybe even rejuvenates due to the fact that it creates new cells, removes defective proteins and damaged intracellular elements from the body, maintaining it in good condition.

And disruptions in the processes of autophagy lead to Parkinson's disease, diabetes, and even cancer. Realizing this, doctors are already creating new drugs that can correct violations and, therefore, cure.

Well, for the purpose of prevention, it is sometimes worth starving, driving the body into a healing stress.

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Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Intensive training can boost autophagy

This little-studied process that occurs in our body has recently come under the spotlight. There are high hopes for autophagy as it is believed to actively promote weight loss, health and longevity.

Autophagy is natural process regeneration that occurs at the cellular level, reduces the likelihood of certain diseases and prolongs life.

In 2016, Japanese scientist Yoshinori Ohsumi was awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery and study of the mechanisms of autophagy. These studies have led to a better understanding of diseases such as Parkinson's disease and dementia.

• Why they gave the Nobel Prize in Medicine: expert commentary
• Scientists: imitation of fasting helps in the fight against diabetes
• Five Unexpected Factors Affecting Your Weight

Since then, pharmaceutical companies and scientists have been trying to develop drugs that could stimulate this process, and experts in the field healthy eating and lifestyles are also fired up with this idea and declare that this process can be stimulated in a natural way - fasting, intense exercise and carbohydrate restriction.

What do scientists say?

"Undoubtedly, the results of experiments in mice show that this is the case," says David Rubinstein, professor of molecular neurogenetics at the University of Cambridge and the British Institute for Dementia Research.

"There have been studies where this process has been triggered with genetic tools, drugs or fasting, and in these cases the animals lived longer, were healthier overall," he says.

However, it is not yet clear how effective these techniques are in humans.

“For example, in mice, you can see an effect in the brain after 24 hours of fasting, and in some other organs, such as the liver, much faster. And while we know that fasting is beneficial, we don’t know exactly how long people need to fast to achieve positive results", - says Dr. Rubinstein.

However, according to the researcher, fasting does stimulate autophagy, and the benefits to the body have been proven in other studies.

What is autophagy?

• The word "autophagy" comes from the Greek "auto" ("self") and "fagin" ("to eat").
• It is the process by which cells break down and recycle their components
• It provides an energy source and building blocks for cell renewal
• After an infection enters the body through autophagy, bacteria and viruses can be destroyed
• Cells use autophagy to get rid of damaged proteins and organelles and thus fight against negative consequences body aging

The autophagy process was discovered in the 1960s, but its importance was only appreciated in the 1990s, after the publication of Yoshinori Osumi's research.

"We found that it protects against diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease and some forms of dementia," says David Rubinstein

“Also, judging by everyone, this process helps fight infection and inflammatory processes", - adds Professor Rubinstein.

The new health guide claims that the process can be triggered by changes in diet and behavior - such as intermittent fasting or fasting according to the 5:2 diet.

Muscle mass

One of the new books, "Glow 15" by self-proclaimed consultant nutritionist Naomi Whittell, offers a 15-day program that includes a 16-hour fast three times a week.

The program also includes reduced protein intake on certain days, carbohydrate intake in the afternoon, and sessions of extremely intense exercise.

Naomi Whittell tested her basic program on volunteers at Jacksonville University in Florida and claims to have seen some positive results.

"Some people lost weight, dropping up to 3 kilograms in 15 days. Others returned to normal arterial pressure, muscle mass has increased, and wrinkles have partially smoothed out, ”she says.

“If you lead an unhealthy lifestyle, eat something all the time or eat all sorts of rubbish, you will not have the opportunity to start this process,” he notes.

Nerve cells

Of course, prolonged or frequent fasting can be harmful to health, and if you are thinking of changing your diet or lifestyle, you should consult a doctor.

But Professor Rubinstein is convinced that in the future, autophagy will be able to effectively fight diseases.

During experiments in his laboratory, it was found that proteins form clumps in nerve cells people suffering from diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's.

"We found that if you start autophagy, you can quickly remove these proteins and protect the body from neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's disease and some types of dementia," says the scientist.