by Lisa Freeman
Last week I have presented the one and two
3. Going keto
One thing I learned through experience is that incorporating fasting into your life is MUCH easier if you’ve already started to eat a ketogenic diet — since being metabolically flexible makes it easier to go for longer periods of time between meals.
Growing in popularity over the past few years, the keto diet (a low-carb/high-fat diet used to treat epilepsy since the 1920s) is designed to restrict glucose so that your body can switch from relying on sugar for energy and start using fat as its primary source of fuel. The drastic reduction in carbohydrate consumption puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis, which increases autophagy. (In addition to making your body a fat-burning powerhouse, a HUGE bonus of being in ketosis is feeling energetic and being able to focus your mind; there’s even a term for it: keto clarity.)
Keto-friendly foods include eggs, green vegetables, fatty fish, avocados, healthy oils (avocado, coconut and extra virgin olive oil), almonds, walnuts, unprocessed cheese, steak, chicken, turkey, bacon, chicken, grass-fed butter and cream. Foods to avoid: sugary and starchy foods, wheat-based products, most fruit (except berries), beans, unhealthy processed vegetable oils, sugar-sweetened beverages and alcohol.
It can take some time for your body to go into ketosis, but there are some supplements that can accelerate the process using exogenous ketones.
4. Protein Cycling
Also known as protein fasting, protein cycling basically means designating one or two days of the week to limit protein consumption to just 15 or 20 grams. According to biohacker Dave Asprey, protein cycling can give you some of the benefits of fasting, but without the deprivation. Since meat and dairy products contain a lot of protein, your low-protein days might look like vegan days. Bonus: if you make a habit of doing this even once a week, it can have a positive environmental impact, by reducing energy and excess waste associated with raising livestock, as well as processing, packaging and transporting meat and dairy products.
5. Exercise, but don’t go crazy
Like fasting, exercise creates ‘healthy stress’ in the body. Even if you’re not a workout devotee, you probably at least KNOW about the benefits of exercising regularly: it can lower your blood pressure and cholesterol as well as your risk of heart attack, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.
Research shows that exercise induces autophagy in multiple organs involved in metabolic regulation, such as muscle, the brain, liver, pancreas and adipose tissue. And moderate exercise (including a mix of cardio, resistance training and high-intensity interval training) about 30 minutes per day seems to be ideal for autophagy activation — while excessive or prolonged exercise could negate some of its benefits. (Good news if you were looking for another excuse to never run a marathon.)
6. Turn up the heat
In other ‘healthy stress’ news, research published in Science Daily confirms that some of the health benefits of sauna use are autophagy-related. We know that exposing your body to high temperatures (usually 120°-180° F) creates heat shock proteins and stimulates the lymph system, which has a carry-over effect to autophagy because it increases microcirculation. Using an infrared sauna can help keep detox pathways activated and open, enabling you to tap into autophagy faster as well.
7. Get quality sleep. Duh
Though it’s often easier said than done, getting a good night’s rest turns out to be a boon for optimizing autophagy. Melatonin, a hormone that helps maintain your body’s natural circadian 0‘rhythm, plays an essential role in regulating autophagy because of its antioxidant properties. It protects autophagy genes from free radicals.
You can maximize your melatonin production by practicing good sleep hygiene: keep a consistent sleep/wake schedule, avoid blue light exposure at night (blue-light blocking glasses help), keep your bedroom cool (60° -70° F) and completely dark. If you’re still having trouble getting enough restorative sleep, a liposomal melatonin supplement might help you get back on track.
My next article will be about fasting. I will dive deeply into the mechanics and the science of fasting and how this can help you with your overall health and healing ability.
Come visit me at La Clínica. I can talk about this stuff for days… or schedule an nutritional consultation and we can go over YOUR specific needs. We will build a plan to get you on your way to “Become the best version of yourself!”
For now take care… Be kind to yourself.
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