July 6, 2025 • 23 mins
We’re breaking down autophagy—your body’s natural “cellular cleanup” system—and why it plays a critical role in reversing aging, reducing inflammation, improving energy, and even protecting against chronic diseases like Alzheimer’s and type 2 diabetes.
If you’re looking to feel sharper, age slower, and support your metabolism naturally, this is the episode you don’t want to miss.
Electrolytes https://hckait.com/sodiielectrolytes
Berberine https://hckait.com/getsobalanced
RLT panel https://hckait.com/rlt
RLT blanket https://hckait.com/megelin
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
02:30 What is autophagy?
03:54 How autophagy changes over 50
05:06 Autophagy vs weight loss
06:59 How to trigger autophagy (without fasting)
17:45 What stops autophagy?
21:23 Is more autophagy always better?
22:26 Recap
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hey guys, and welcome back to the Healthy Not Complicated
podcast. I'm your host health coach Kate,
and today we're going to be talking all things autophagy,
what it is, how to trigger it, and why it matters even more
once you hit 50. Now, I did a podcast episode
probably a month or two ago thatwas about autophagy and
specifically about autophagy andfasting.
(00:22):
But today I wanted to focus moreon other strategies to, I guess,
boost autophagy that aren't fasting.
Because yes, fasting is the most, I guess, powerful way to
really boost autophagy. But there are things you can do
day to day that don't involve skipping meals that can also
(00:42):
give you kind of micro doses of it and that are a little bit
easier to stick to than a very consistent fasting schedule,
which I know some people are disciplined enough to do
extended fasting regularly. And this is absolutely great.
But especially for women, because our hormones are so
(01:02):
easily affected, we can't do extended fasting as often.
And that's why it's important touse some of the other strategies
to boost autophagy that we're going to be talking about today.
Now, if you're totally lost and you're thinking, OK, I have no
idea what autophagy is, hang with me for just one second.
What you need to know is that itis a powerful mechanism in our
(01:26):
bodies where when we do certain things, autophagy is triggered.
And when autophagy is triggered,it basically signals our body to
breakdown and get rid of damagedcells and regenerate new ones.
So I'll get into the full description of what it is in
just a minute, but first I'm going to tell you what we're
going to cover in today's episode.
(01:47):
So I'm going to simplify what autophagy actually.
We're going to talk about different ways to trigger it.
That includes intermittent fasting, but other strategies as
well. We're going to talk about why it
slows down after 50 and ways that you can still harness it
and get the benefits. We'll talk about the connection
between autophagy and longevity and our metabolism.
(02:09):
Also disease prevention. And I guess that's going to kind
of tie in with why it's not justabout weight loss.
A lot of people think fasting, they think autophagy and they
think it's only about burning fat and losing weight and that
couldn't be further from the truth.
And then we'll talk about I guess some more real world
strategies in order to get thesemicro doses of autophagy every
(02:30):
single day. So what is autophagy and why
should you care about it? The word itself can sound a
little bit intimidating, but basically what it means is it
directly translates into self eating.
And this is when, as I said before, your body is cleaning
out damaged cells and recycling them.
So this is beneficial for a lot,a lot of reasons.
(02:51):
Basically, any cells that are damaged in your body that are
causing inflammation or pain, autophagy can help to improve
these conditions to get rid of those damaged cells and create
new ones. So two of the biggest benefits
are that it reduces inflammationand that it improves and
supports our immune system. And you can probably already see
(03:11):
how this is beneficial for so many functions in the body.
Less chronic inflammation anywhere in the body is going to
be official. And a better immune system just
means better health overall. We're not going to get sick as
often. So all of this kind of ties
together. And that's why autophagy is so
beneficial for longevity, for our metabolic health, and also
(03:32):
for disease prevention. Less inflammation in the body,
fewer damaged cells, and things are just running smoother.
And that translates to so many aspects of our health.
So I hope I've done a good job of kind of simplifying what
autophagy is. I know it sounds like a big
sciency word, but you can basically think of it as your
(03:53):
body taking out the trash. In today's video, we're
specifically focusing on a toffee after 50.
And unfortunately, like many things within the body, as we
age, they start to slow down andautophagy starts to slow down as
well. So this happens because we see
hormonal changes as we age. For women, we have lower
(04:15):
oestrogen levels, and for both sexes there is less human growth
hormone. Our metabolism also slows down
as we age. So all this together just means
autophagy isn't happening at thesame rate that it does when
we're younger. And this matters because lower
autophagy means more inflammation.
It means we're going to be less resilient to stress, and that's
(04:37):
both good stress and bad stress.We're also less resilient to
toxins and to diet and lifestylechoices.
And I think most of us know this.
Things that we could get away with when we're younger, eating
all that junk food, sitting on the couch, that sort of thing.
You can't really get away with it as much as you get older.
(04:57):
And part of that is because of reduced autophagy.
And that's why it's so importantas we age to try to take
advantage of autophagy as often as we can.
Now, with toffigy, it's not the same thing as weight loss.
You can lose weight without improving your cell health.
And this can happen if you're losing muscle, which also tends
to happen as we age. And also if you have poor
(05:18):
metabolic flexibility, you can still lose weight, but your
cells can still be inflamed and damaged.
And on the flip side, you can trigger toffigy and not have to
lose weight. Like you can be a healthy weight
and still activate and take advantage of the other benefits
of autophagy. It doesn't automatically mean
you're going to lose weight. I get that question a lot from
(05:40):
people who say they don't want to lose weight but they want to
intermittent fast or they want to do an extended fast.
It doesn't always have to mean weight loss.
A once off 72 hour fast is a great way to maximise the
benefits of autophagy. But doing a fast like this, It's
not about weight loss. Yes, you're going to lose some
weight initially, but that's mainly just water weight.
(06:03):
Once you start eating again, you'll probably your weight will
go back up. You might lose a pound or 2 / 72
hours. You might lose maybe a pound of
actual fat over a 72 hour fast. But it also comes down to your
metabolic health and how much weight you have to lose.
If you have a lot of excess bodyweight on you and excess body
(06:26):
fat, then doing a 72 hour fast, you're going to lose more weight
than you will if you are a healthy body weight, if that
makes sense. Autophagy is more about healing
and repair than it is about weight loss.
Now if you are regularly triggering autophagy, this is
going to help with your metabolic flexibility.
Your body is going to be able toburn fat more efficiently and
(06:49):
use energy more efficiently. And a side effect of this, if
you have excess weight to lose is going to be weight loss.
But autophagy has so many benefits that go beyond that.
All right, so how do you triggerautophagy?
Now? I've done a few videos and
podcasts on my channel recently,like I mentioned before about
intermittent fasting, extended fasting, and autophagy.
(07:12):
I did a video maybe a couple weeks ago on what happens to
your body when you do a 72 hour fast and the different stages
that you go through. And at about the 72 hour fasting
mark, that is when autophagy usually peaks.
If you fast any longer than that, it does start to decline a
little bit. So that's why I generally
recommend that being the sweet spot for when you end an
(07:35):
extended fast. Now, 72 hour fast only need to
be done every couple of months, every few months.
They don't need to be done that often in order to get the
benefits of autophagy. But I do know that fasting for
72 hours, especially if you've never fasted before, can feel
very overwhelming. And yes, people online will make
(07:57):
it seem like it's easy. They'll say that once you hit a
certain point, your hunger goes down.
But there is so much more to it.Yes, if you can get to that
point, usually about 2436 hours,then your hunger does start to
decline. But there's so many other
factors that come into play whensticking to a fast.
(08:18):
For myself personally, I am someone who eats to
procrastinate. If there's something I don't
want to be doing, then I kind oftend to gravitate towards eating
in order to avoid doing that task.
And that's not about hunger, that is more of a psychological
thing and that's something I recognise, but it's also
something that I know makes doing an extended fast harder
(08:41):
for me. And that's why if I am trying to
do a 72 hour fast, I have to make sure that I am busy,
ideally that I am out of the house.
I find that's a lot easier for me.
Yeah, they're just different strategies and it's not as easy
to do a 72 hour fast as some people online make it seem.
(09:02):
If you can do it and you can do it semi regularly, fantastic.
But if you can't, then even doing daily intermittent
fasting, and I'm talking a 12 to16 hour fast every day or most
days, it doesn't have to be the same every single day.
This does increase autophagy as well.
Yes, not to the same degree as that maximum peak you're going
(09:24):
to get from 72 hours, but it does increase it.
So you are still getting again, those little micro doses of
autophagy which add up overtime.Now you've probably heard me say
this before if you've listened to the podcast, but if you're
doing any version of intermittent fasting, extended
fasting, or if you're eating lower carbs and you're not
taking electrolytes, you're making it harder than it needs
(09:46):
to be. One of the reasons fasting or
keto can feel so hard, especially in the beginning, is
that your insulin drops and you lose water and minerals fast and
that's where electrolytes come in.
They help you stay hydrated, focused and energised even when
you're not eating. And my go to brand is Sodi.
Sodi's electrolytes are clean, science backed, and actually
(10:06):
formulated with the right balance of sodium, potassium,
and magnesium. No weird additives, no sugar,
nothing artificial, and they don't break a fast.
I use Sodis Everyday Hydration Salt every single day, but I
find them extra beneficial during fasts and before my
workouts. They seriously make a difference
in how I feel and perform. If you're low on electrolytes,
(10:27):
you're going to get headaches, you're going to feel fatigued,
and you might even get muscle cramps, but all of that can be
avoided by replenishing electrolytes.
To check them out, head to healthcoachkate.com/sodia
electrolytes and use code HCK 15at checkout to save 15% off your
order. Soda ships worldwide, so no one
is left at. Now.
Another way to increase autophagy is to eat a low carb
(10:50):
or keto diet. And the reason this is
beneficial is that eating low carbohydrates, limiting your
carbs, mimic some of the benefits of fasting.
Ketosis and autophagy tend to gohand in hand.
When your ketones increase, autophagy generally is going up
as well. And ketosis happens when your
insulin levels are low. So anything you can do to keep
(11:12):
your insulin low is going to help you to increase your
ketones and to increase Etafiji.And the most effective way to do
this on a consistent basis is toeat a low carb diet.
So if you are already trying to improve your insulin resistance
and you've watched some of my other videos on the topic, then
you will know how important being smart about carbs is
(11:32):
because carbs are the macronutrient that requires the
most insulin to process. So if you're trying to keep your
insulin low, to reverse insulin resistance and also to increase
your ketones and increase the tofuji, then being smart about
carbs is important. I do have other videos on how to
do this, so I'll link one on thescreen right now, or if you're
listening on Spotify, I'll put it in the description box.
(11:54):
It's not complicated. It basically comes down to
anytime you eat carbohydrates, make sure you pair them with
protein and fat. You can also just go for a walk
after you eat carbs or take berberine before you eat them.
All of these strategies help to blunt the blood sugar spike from
the carbs and with this blood sugar spike not being as sharp,
(12:16):
then less insulin is needed all at once and that's where it
helps to lower your insulin levels and increase the
autophagy. So like I said, I'll link one of
those on the screen right now. Another way to increase
autophagy is with exercise, and the most beneficial types of
exercise are zone 2 cardio. So this is low intensity cardio
(12:38):
like walking, cycling, basicallyany cardio you can do where you
can breathe entirely through your nose that is going to be in
the zone 2 heart rate zone. And this is fantastic for
autophagy. And then the other main way to
trigger autophagy through exercise is with HIT training.
HIT stands for High Intensity interval training.
And basically that's any type oftraining that you do where you
(13:01):
have short durations of maximum effort.
So 1020 seconds of trying to getyour heart rate as high as
possible and then you have adequate rest in between.
And you repeat this 5-10, maybe 15 times, depending on how
metabolically healthy you are and what exercise you're doing.
(13:22):
And this is another way to really increase autophagy.
Now, the key here is that it's short duration and you're not
getting stuck in chronic cardio.This is a mistake I see a lot of
people making when they start exercising in order to improve
their health and maybe lose weight is they end up starting
(13:45):
to do something like running or cycling.
But instead of staying in that zone 2 zone, they are keeping
their heart rates elevated higher than that for long
periods of time. And this is kind of like a
danger zone where it's in between HIT training where it's
maximum effort and that zone 2 cardio when you're in the
(14:07):
middle, that's kind of you're not getting the benefits of
either. You're in this sort of middle
area where it's just causing higher cortisol, higher stress,
and you're not getting the benefits of autophagy or fat
burning or improving your healthin general.
So you really want to do either high intensity, short duration,
(14:29):
or low intensity for long durations.
The next way to trigger autophagy is with red light
therapy. And this is a type of of, I
guess therapy where your body isexposed to certain wavelengths
of red light and near infrared light.
These have been heavily researched.
There is a lot of solid peer reviewed studies done on red
(14:52):
light therapy. And basically what red light
therapy does is it improves or it gives your mitochondria more
energy. So mitochondria are the
powerhouses of our cells. And if they have more energy,
they're going to be working moreefficiently.
And part of the reason they workmore efficiently is because of
(15:14):
this increase in autophagy. So this doesn't happen from any
type of red light. It has to be very specific
wavelengths. So you have to buy certain
devices that are made for red light therapy and you want to
buy them from good brands, not those cheap ones off Amazon
because a lot of those it is only just red light and not the
(15:35):
right wavelengths. So this one I have in the
background here, this is from Bond Charge.
I can link it down below. There's also a red light therapy
bag that I have from a brand called Magellan.
That one, it's kind of like a sauna blanket and I'll put it on
the screen right now, but that'sa great way to take advantage of
it as well. And all you need to do to get
(15:57):
the benefits of it, expose your bare skin to it for 10 to 15
minutes per day and that's all it takes.
And red light therapy, the benefits go beyond autophagy as
well. There are so many benefits for
your skin health for reducing scarring, reducing wrinkles,
reducing pigmentation, and then the near infrared light goes a
(16:18):
little bit deeper and it can help just reduce inflammation in
general. It helps to improve how fast
your muscles recover after exercise.
It can improve exercise performance.
And like I said, there have beenso many studies done on red
light therapy. It sounds a bit woo woo if
you've never heard of it before,but it is backed by a lot of
science and it is completely legitimate.
(16:40):
So I'll link to some red light therapy devices in the
description box down below. I'll also put a full video on
red light therapy that talks a little bit more about it and
show some of those studies on the screen right now, so you can
check that out afterwards. But this is a super easy
technique, I guess that you can add into your routine daily that
can help you to, again, get those little micro doses of
(17:03):
autophagy over time. And the final way to boost
autophagy that we're going to betalking about today is improving
your sleep and getting more deepsleep.
This gets so overlooked. A lot of people, I do think it
is kind of changing and people are recognising the importance
of sleep a little bit more now. But I think a lot of people
(17:24):
still don't recognise how important sleep is because this
is basically when our cells are actually repairing.
And if we're not sleeping properly, if we're not getting
adequate sleep, if we're not getting enough deep sleep, then
our cells can't repair and nothing can function properly.
And that also means a decrease in autophagy.
(17:46):
OA, few things that stop autophagy.
If you are constantly eating andsnacking throughout the day,
then you are going to have very low levels of it because
autophagy happens when insulin levels are low.
And basically every time you eat, insulin is going to
increase to some degree. So if you are not letting your
body or if you're not letting your insulin come back down to
(18:07):
baseline in between your meals and your snacks, if you're
eating every few hours, then you're not going to have much
autophagy happening throughout the day.
So I always recommend having twoto three meals per day, making
sure you get enough protein on those meals, at least 30 grammes
of high quality, ideally animal protein, building your meals
around protein. And if you do this then and
(18:30):
you're not snacking in between your meals, your blood sugar,
insulin can come back down the baseline in between and you're
getting those little hits of autophagy.
I am a huge advocate for not snacking throughout the day.
If you are hungry in between your meals, it likely means
you're not getting enough protein in at your meals.
So try to increase it the next time you eat and try to increase
it in general. I have a tonne of videos on
(18:52):
protein, how to get more in what30 grammes looks like.
So head over to my channel. I think I have a whole playlist
on protein, so check that out ifyou're feeling a little stuck in
that regard. As I said before, poor sleep
also stops autophagy or decreases it.
And also chronic stress. This is another big one.
(19:12):
If your cortisol levels are too high, then autophagy basically
gets shut off because your body is focused on trying to get away
from the threat or the perceivedthreat.
They're not in a state where they're focused on recovery.
And this is another reason why, sort of a side tangent here,
women can over fast and can be doing these extended fasts and
(19:35):
not losing weight. Women especially.
It can happen for men too, but women are more sensitive to
higher cortisol levels and this can impact our hormones in a
more major way than it can for men.
So if women are over fasting andthey're not eating enough during
their feeding window, then cortisol stays high.
(19:55):
All of our hormones get thrown out of whack.
This impacts our reproductive health.
We throw off our menstrual cycle, that sort of thing.
It all goes hand in hand. And that's why I think in
general, daily intermittent fasting of 12 to 16, maybe 18
hours and then making sure you're eating enough within your
feeding window is going to be more beneficial than.
(20:16):
Trying to do extended fasts too often.
Having high blood sugar. So if you're prediabetic or type
2 diabetic, and especially if you're injecting insulin, that
stops autophagy. Again, high insulin, no
autophagy or less autophagy, A sedentary lifestyle.
And there are also environmentaltoxins which can impact
(20:39):
autophagy, things like heavy metals and microplastics.
I'm sure you've heard about these and the negative impacts
they can have on our health and reduced autophagy is
unfortunately one of them. Now, another reason that
autophagy is so important as we age, I mean, if we can take
advantage of autophagy more whenwe're younger, then this is
going to help us as we age as well.
(21:01):
But autophagy has been linked toreducing Alzheimer's, reducing
cancer, reducing type 2 diabetes, PCOS, cardiovascular
disease. So if we can increase autophagy
more often, then this is going to help with longevity and help
us prevent these diseases that we see more of as we get older.
(21:23):
Now a final few questions that Iwant to answer before we wrap
up. Is more Tophiji always better?
And the answer is no. There does have to be a balance
here. We are meant to cycle between
being in a fed and fasted state.And when we're in this fasted
state, that's when autophagy ramps up.
But we don't want to be in the state forever.
(21:46):
Eating is important. We do need food to fuel us.
We do need food to help us buildand maintain muscle mass, which
is also important for longevity.We need it to support our
hormones. So we can't just be fasting all
of the time. Yes, if you have a lot of weight
to lose, then you can fast for longer and not have it
(22:08):
negatively impact your muscle mass and your hormones, that
sort of thing. But as you get closer to a
healthy weight, more fasting isn't always better.
As I've said a few times throughout this podcast, shorter
intermittent fasting done on a consistent basis is going to be
more beneficial. OK, so we've covered a lot in
(22:29):
today's episode. Let's quickly recap some of the
key concepts. Autophagy becomes more important
as we age. It slows down, so we want to
take advantage of it in more ways if we can.
You don't need to do an extendedfast in order to trigger and
increase autophagy. Shorter intermittent fasting can
trigger it. Red light therapy, eating a low
(22:51):
carb ketogenic diet, exercise, So mainly zone 2 cardio or HIT
training and sleeping better canhelp to increase autophagy as
well as small consistent changesgo a long way.
But anyways guys, I am going to wrap up this episode here.
I hope you found this helpful. I want to hear from you guys in
the comments section. Do you have any questions about
autophagy or anything we spoke about in today's video?
(23:14):
Leave them down below, especially right after I post
this video or podcast. If you leave those down below,
either in the Spotify comments or in the YouTube comments, I
try to answer as many as I can and within the first day after
that, I still try to answer them, but I usually check them a
little bit more and it's a little easier to keep up with
right after I post the video. So if you have a question, leave
(23:37):
it down below. Thank you guys for watching and
I will see you in the next episode.
Bye, guys.
Hey guys, and welcome back to the Healthy Not Complicated
podcast. I'm your host health coach Kate,
and today we're going to be talking all things autophagy,
what it is, how to trigger it, and why it matters even more
once you hit 50. Now, I did a podcast episode
probably a month or two ago thatwas about autophagy and
specifically about autophagy andfasting.
(00:22):
But today I wanted to focus moreon other strategies to, I guess,
boost autophagy that aren't fasting.
Because yes, fasting is the most, I guess, powerful way to
really boost autophagy. But there are things you can do
day to day that don't involve skipping meals that can also
(00:42):
give you kind of micro doses of it and that are a little bit
easier to stick to than a very consistent fasting schedule,
which I know some people are disciplined enough to do
extended fasting regularly. And this is absolutely great.
But especially for women, because our hormones are so
(01:02):
easily affected, we can't do extended fasting as often.
And that's why it's important touse some of the other strategies
to boost autophagy that we're going to be talking about today.
Now, if you're totally lost and you're thinking, OK, I have no
idea what autophagy is, hang with me for just one second.
What you need to know is that itis a powerful mechanism in our
(01:26):
bodies where when we do certain things, autophagy is triggered.
And when autophagy is triggered,it basically signals our body to
breakdown and get rid of damagedcells and regenerate new ones.
So I'll get into the full description of what it is in
just a minute, but first I'm going to tell you what we're
going to cover in today's episode.
(01:47):
So I'm going to simplify what autophagy actually.
We're going to talk about different ways to trigger it.
That includes intermittent fasting, but other strategies as
well. We're going to talk about why it
slows down after 50 and ways that you can still harness it
and get the benefits. We'll talk about the connection
between autophagy and longevity and our metabolism.
(02:09):
Also disease prevention. And I guess that's going to kind
of tie in with why it's not justabout weight loss.
A lot of people think fasting, they think autophagy and they
think it's only about burning fat and losing weight and that
couldn't be further from the truth.
And then we'll talk about I guess some more real world
strategies in order to get thesemicro doses of autophagy every
(02:30):
single day. So what is autophagy and why
should you care about it? The word itself can sound a
little bit intimidating, but basically what it means is it
directly translates into self eating.
And this is when, as I said before, your body is cleaning
out damaged cells and recycling them.
So this is beneficial for a lot,a lot of reasons.
(02:51):
Basically, any cells that are damaged in your body that are
causing inflammation or pain, autophagy can help to improve
these conditions to get rid of those damaged cells and create
new ones. So two of the biggest benefits
are that it reduces inflammationand that it improves and
supports our immune system. And you can probably already see
(03:11):
how this is beneficial for so many functions in the body.
Less chronic inflammation anywhere in the body is going to
be official. And a better immune system just
means better health overall. We're not going to get sick as
often. So all of this kind of ties
together. And that's why autophagy is so
beneficial for longevity, for our metabolic health, and also
(03:32):
for disease prevention. Less inflammation in the body,
fewer damaged cells, and things are just running smoother.
And that translates to so many aspects of our health.
So I hope I've done a good job of kind of simplifying what
autophagy is. I know it sounds like a big
sciency word, but you can basically think of it as your
(03:53):
body taking out the trash. In today's video, we're
specifically focusing on a toffee after 50.
And unfortunately, like many things within the body, as we
age, they start to slow down andautophagy starts to slow down as
well. So this happens because we see
hormonal changes as we age. For women, we have lower
(04:15):
oestrogen levels, and for both sexes there is less human growth
hormone. Our metabolism also slows down
as we age. So all this together just means
autophagy isn't happening at thesame rate that it does when
we're younger. And this matters because lower
autophagy means more inflammation.
It means we're going to be less resilient to stress, and that's
(04:37):
both good stress and bad stress.We're also less resilient to
toxins and to diet and lifestylechoices.
And I think most of us know this.
Things that we could get away with when we're younger, eating
all that junk food, sitting on the couch, that sort of thing.
You can't really get away with it as much as you get older.
(04:57):
And part of that is because of reduced autophagy.
And that's why it's so importantas we age to try to take
advantage of autophagy as often as we can.
Now, with toffigy, it's not the same thing as weight loss.
You can lose weight without improving your cell health.
And this can happen if you're losing muscle, which also tends
to happen as we age. And also if you have poor
(05:18):
metabolic flexibility, you can still lose weight, but your
cells can still be inflamed and damaged.
And on the flip side, you can trigger toffigy and not have to
lose weight. Like you can be a healthy weight
and still activate and take advantage of the other benefits
of autophagy. It doesn't automatically mean
you're going to lose weight. I get that question a lot from
(05:40):
people who say they don't want to lose weight but they want to
intermittent fast or they want to do an extended fast.
It doesn't always have to mean weight loss.
A once off 72 hour fast is a great way to maximise the
benefits of autophagy. But doing a fast like this, It's
not about weight loss. Yes, you're going to lose some
weight initially, but that's mainly just water weight.
(06:03):
Once you start eating again, you'll probably your weight will
go back up. You might lose a pound or 2 / 72
hours. You might lose maybe a pound of
actual fat over a 72 hour fast. But it also comes down to your
metabolic health and how much weight you have to lose.
If you have a lot of excess bodyweight on you and excess body
(06:26):
fat, then doing a 72 hour fast, you're going to lose more weight
than you will if you are a healthy body weight, if that
makes sense. Autophagy is more about healing
and repair than it is about weight loss.
Now if you are regularly triggering autophagy, this is
going to help with your metabolic flexibility.
Your body is going to be able toburn fat more efficiently and
(06:49):
use energy more efficiently. And a side effect of this, if
you have excess weight to lose is going to be weight loss.
But autophagy has so many benefits that go beyond that.
All right, so how do you triggerautophagy?
Now? I've done a few videos and
podcasts on my channel recently,like I mentioned before about
intermittent fasting, extended fasting, and autophagy.
(07:12):
I did a video maybe a couple weeks ago on what happens to
your body when you do a 72 hour fast and the different stages
that you go through. And at about the 72 hour fasting
mark, that is when autophagy usually peaks.
If you fast any longer than that, it does start to decline a
little bit. So that's why I generally
recommend that being the sweet spot for when you end an
(07:35):
extended fast. Now, 72 hour fast only need to
be done every couple of months, every few months.
They don't need to be done that often in order to get the
benefits of autophagy. But I do know that fasting for
72 hours, especially if you've never fasted before, can feel
very overwhelming. And yes, people online will make
(07:57):
it seem like it's easy. They'll say that once you hit a
certain point, your hunger goes down.
But there is so much more to it.Yes, if you can get to that
point, usually about 2436 hours,then your hunger does start to
decline. But there's so many other
factors that come into play whensticking to a fast.
(08:18):
For myself personally, I am someone who eats to
procrastinate. If there's something I don't
want to be doing, then I kind oftend to gravitate towards eating
in order to avoid doing that task.
And that's not about hunger, that is more of a psychological
thing and that's something I recognise, but it's also
something that I know makes doing an extended fast harder
(08:41):
for me. And that's why if I am trying to
do a 72 hour fast, I have to make sure that I am busy,
ideally that I am out of the house.
I find that's a lot easier for me.
Yeah, they're just different strategies and it's not as easy
to do a 72 hour fast as some people online make it seem.
(09:02):
If you can do it and you can do it semi regularly, fantastic.
But if you can't, then even doing daily intermittent
fasting, and I'm talking a 12 to16 hour fast every day or most
days, it doesn't have to be the same every single day.
This does increase autophagy as well.
Yes, not to the same degree as that maximum peak you're going
(09:24):
to get from 72 hours, but it does increase it.
So you are still getting again, those little micro doses of
autophagy which add up overtime.Now you've probably heard me say
this before if you've listened to the podcast, but if you're
doing any version of intermittent fasting, extended
fasting, or if you're eating lower carbs and you're not
taking electrolytes, you're making it harder than it needs
(09:46):
to be. One of the reasons fasting or
keto can feel so hard, especially in the beginning, is
that your insulin drops and you lose water and minerals fast and
that's where electrolytes come in.
They help you stay hydrated, focused and energised even when
you're not eating. And my go to brand is Sodi.
Sodi's electrolytes are clean, science backed, and actually
(10:06):
formulated with the right balance of sodium, potassium,
and magnesium. No weird additives, no sugar,
nothing artificial, and they don't break a fast.
I use Sodis Everyday Hydration Salt every single day, but I
find them extra beneficial during fasts and before my
workouts. They seriously make a difference
in how I feel and perform. If you're low on electrolytes,
(10:27):
you're going to get headaches, you're going to feel fatigued,
and you might even get muscle cramps, but all of that can be
avoided by replenishing electrolytes.
To check them out, head to healthcoachkate.com/sodia
electrolytes and use code HCK 15at checkout to save 15% off your
order. Soda ships worldwide, so no one
is left at. Now.
Another way to increase autophagy is to eat a low carb
(10:50):
or keto diet. And the reason this is
beneficial is that eating low carbohydrates, limiting your
carbs, mimic some of the benefits of fasting.
Ketosis and autophagy tend to gohand in hand.
When your ketones increase, autophagy generally is going up
as well. And ketosis happens when your
insulin levels are low. So anything you can do to keep
(11:12):
your insulin low is going to help you to increase your
ketones and to increase Etafiji.And the most effective way to do
this on a consistent basis is toeat a low carb diet.
So if you are already trying to improve your insulin resistance
and you've watched some of my other videos on the topic, then
you will know how important being smart about carbs is
(11:32):
because carbs are the macronutrient that requires the
most insulin to process. So if you're trying to keep your
insulin low, to reverse insulin resistance and also to increase
your ketones and increase the tofuji, then being smart about
carbs is important. I do have other videos on how to
do this, so I'll link one on thescreen right now, or if you're
listening on Spotify, I'll put it in the description box.
(11:54):
It's not complicated. It basically comes down to
anytime you eat carbohydrates, make sure you pair them with
protein and fat. You can also just go for a walk
after you eat carbs or take berberine before you eat them.
All of these strategies help to blunt the blood sugar spike from
the carbs and with this blood sugar spike not being as sharp,
(12:16):
then less insulin is needed all at once and that's where it
helps to lower your insulin levels and increase the
autophagy. So like I said, I'll link one of
those on the screen right now. Another way to increase
autophagy is with exercise, and the most beneficial types of
exercise are zone 2 cardio. So this is low intensity cardio
(12:38):
like walking, cycling, basicallyany cardio you can do where you
can breathe entirely through your nose that is going to be in
the zone 2 heart rate zone. And this is fantastic for
autophagy. And then the other main way to
trigger autophagy through exercise is with HIT training.
HIT stands for High Intensity interval training.
And basically that's any type oftraining that you do where you
(13:01):
have short durations of maximum effort.
So 1020 seconds of trying to getyour heart rate as high as
possible and then you have adequate rest in between.
And you repeat this 5-10, maybe 15 times, depending on how
metabolically healthy you are and what exercise you're doing.
(13:22):
And this is another way to really increase autophagy.
Now, the key here is that it's short duration and you're not
getting stuck in chronic cardio.This is a mistake I see a lot of
people making when they start exercising in order to improve
their health and maybe lose weight is they end up starting
(13:45):
to do something like running or cycling.
But instead of staying in that zone 2 zone, they are keeping
their heart rates elevated higher than that for long
periods of time. And this is kind of like a
danger zone where it's in between HIT training where it's
maximum effort and that zone 2 cardio when you're in the
(14:07):
middle, that's kind of you're not getting the benefits of
either. You're in this sort of middle
area where it's just causing higher cortisol, higher stress,
and you're not getting the benefits of autophagy or fat
burning or improving your healthin general.
So you really want to do either high intensity, short duration,
(14:29):
or low intensity for long durations.
The next way to trigger autophagy is with red light
therapy. And this is a type of of, I
guess therapy where your body isexposed to certain wavelengths
of red light and near infrared light.
These have been heavily researched.
There is a lot of solid peer reviewed studies done on red
(14:52):
light therapy. And basically what red light
therapy does is it improves or it gives your mitochondria more
energy. So mitochondria are the
powerhouses of our cells. And if they have more energy,
they're going to be working moreefficiently.
And part of the reason they workmore efficiently is because of
(15:14):
this increase in autophagy. So this doesn't happen from any
type of red light. It has to be very specific
wavelengths. So you have to buy certain
devices that are made for red light therapy and you want to
buy them from good brands, not those cheap ones off Amazon
because a lot of those it is only just red light and not the
(15:35):
right wavelengths. So this one I have in the
background here, this is from Bond Charge.
I can link it down below. There's also a red light therapy
bag that I have from a brand called Magellan.
That one, it's kind of like a sauna blanket and I'll put it on
the screen right now, but that'sa great way to take advantage of
it as well. And all you need to do to get
(15:57):
the benefits of it, expose your bare skin to it for 10 to 15
minutes per day and that's all it takes.
And red light therapy, the benefits go beyond autophagy as
well. There are so many benefits for
your skin health for reducing scarring, reducing wrinkles,
reducing pigmentation, and then the near infrared light goes a
(16:18):
little bit deeper and it can help just reduce inflammation in
general. It helps to improve how fast
your muscles recover after exercise.
It can improve exercise performance.
And like I said, there have beenso many studies done on red
light therapy. It sounds a bit woo woo if
you've never heard of it before,but it is backed by a lot of
science and it is completely legitimate.
(16:40):
So I'll link to some red light therapy devices in the
description box down below. I'll also put a full video on
red light therapy that talks a little bit more about it and
show some of those studies on the screen right now, so you can
check that out afterwards. But this is a super easy
technique, I guess that you can add into your routine daily that
can help you to, again, get those little micro doses of
(17:03):
autophagy over time. And the final way to boost
autophagy that we're going to betalking about today is improving
your sleep and getting more deepsleep.
This gets so overlooked. A lot of people, I do think it
is kind of changing and people are recognising the importance
of sleep a little bit more now. But I think a lot of people
(17:24):
still don't recognise how important sleep is because this
is basically when our cells are actually repairing.
And if we're not sleeping properly, if we're not getting
adequate sleep, if we're not getting enough deep sleep, then
our cells can't repair and nothing can function properly.
And that also means a decrease in autophagy.
(17:46):
OA, few things that stop autophagy.
If you are constantly eating andsnacking throughout the day,
then you are going to have very low levels of it because
autophagy happens when insulin levels are low.
And basically every time you eat, insulin is going to
increase to some degree. So if you are not letting your
body or if you're not letting your insulin come back down to
(18:07):
baseline in between your meals and your snacks, if you're
eating every few hours, then you're not going to have much
autophagy happening throughout the day.
So I always recommend having twoto three meals per day, making
sure you get enough protein on those meals, at least 30 grammes
of high quality, ideally animal protein, building your meals
around protein. And if you do this then and
(18:30):
you're not snacking in between your meals, your blood sugar,
insulin can come back down the baseline in between and you're
getting those little hits of autophagy.
I am a huge advocate for not snacking throughout the day.
If you are hungry in between your meals, it likely means
you're not getting enough protein in at your meals.
So try to increase it the next time you eat and try to increase
it in general. I have a tonne of videos on
(18:52):
protein, how to get more in what30 grammes looks like.
So head over to my channel. I think I have a whole playlist
on protein, so check that out ifyou're feeling a little stuck in
that regard. As I said before, poor sleep
also stops autophagy or decreases it.
And also chronic stress. This is another big one.
(19:12):
If your cortisol levels are too high, then autophagy basically
gets shut off because your body is focused on trying to get away
from the threat or the perceivedthreat.
They're not in a state where they're focused on recovery.
And this is another reason why, sort of a side tangent here,
women can over fast and can be doing these extended fasts and
(19:35):
not losing weight. Women especially.
It can happen for men too, but women are more sensitive to
higher cortisol levels and this can impact our hormones in a
more major way than it can for men.
So if women are over fasting andthey're not eating enough during
their feeding window, then cortisol stays high.
(19:55):
All of our hormones get thrown out of whack.
This impacts our reproductive health.
We throw off our menstrual cycle, that sort of thing.
It all goes hand in hand. And that's why I think in
general, daily intermittent fasting of 12 to 16, maybe 18
hours and then making sure you're eating enough within your
feeding window is going to be more beneficial than.
(20:16):
Trying to do extended fasts too often.
Having high blood sugar. So if you're prediabetic or type
2 diabetic, and especially if you're injecting insulin, that
stops autophagy. Again, high insulin, no
autophagy or less autophagy, A sedentary lifestyle.
And there are also environmentaltoxins which can impact
(20:39):
autophagy, things like heavy metals and microplastics.
I'm sure you've heard about these and the negative impacts
they can have on our health and reduced autophagy is
unfortunately one of them. Now, another reason that
autophagy is so important as we age, I mean, if we can take
advantage of autophagy more whenwe're younger, then this is
going to help us as we age as well.
(21:01):
But autophagy has been linked toreducing Alzheimer's, reducing
cancer, reducing type 2 diabetes, PCOS, cardiovascular
disease. So if we can increase autophagy
more often, then this is going to help with longevity and help
us prevent these diseases that we see more of as we get older.
(21:23):
Now a final few questions that Iwant to answer before we wrap
up. Is more Tophiji always better?
And the answer is no. There does have to be a balance
here. We are meant to cycle between
being in a fed and fasted state.And when we're in this fasted
state, that's when autophagy ramps up.
But we don't want to be in the state forever.
(21:46):
Eating is important. We do need food to fuel us.
We do need food to help us buildand maintain muscle mass, which
is also important for longevity.We need it to support our
hormones. So we can't just be fasting all
of the time. Yes, if you have a lot of weight
to lose, then you can fast for longer and not have it
(22:08):
negatively impact your muscle mass and your hormones, that
sort of thing. But as you get closer to a
healthy weight, more fasting isn't always better.
As I've said a few times throughout this podcast, shorter
intermittent fasting done on a consistent basis is going to be
more beneficial. OK, so we've covered a lot in
(22:29):
today's episode. Let's quickly recap some of the
key concepts. Autophagy becomes more important
as we age. It slows down, so we want to
take advantage of it in more ways if we can.
You don't need to do an extendedfast in order to trigger and
increase autophagy. Shorter intermittent fasting can
trigger it. Red light therapy, eating a low
(22:51):
carb ketogenic diet, exercise, So mainly zone 2 cardio or HIT
training and sleeping better canhelp to increase autophagy as
well as small consistent changesgo a long way.
But anyways guys, I am going to wrap up this episode here.
I hope you found this helpful. I want to hear from you guys in
the comments section. Do you have any questions about
autophagy or anything we spoke about in today's video?
(23:14):
Leave them down below, especially right after I post
this video or podcast. If you leave those down below,
either in the Spotify comments or in the YouTube comments, I
try to answer as many as I can and within the first day after
that, I still try to answer them, but I usually check them a
little bit more and it's a little easier to keep up with
right after I post the video. So if you have a question, leave
(23:37):
it down below. Thank you guys for watching and
I will see you in the next episode.
Bye, guys.
Host
Kait Malthaner
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