Don’t be intimidated by these sciencey words; it all boils down to restoring cell function
If you’ve ever experienced general aches and pains and caught yourself saying “I feel like I’m falling apart!”, it’s because we are, quite literally, slowly deteriorating on a cellular level. As the body ages, cells and cellular components naturally become sluggish, lose function and stop renewing themselves. After a while, we feel these aging effects. Cell senescence and autophagy are both at the root of aging.
The Science of Senescence
When cells are past their prime and no longer able to serve the body, they are called senescent cells, or zombie cells, which are cells that aren't functional. Senescent cells aren’t dead, but they’ve stopped dividing, so they need to be removed through a naturally occurring process called apoptosis, otherwise they pile up and create chaos, just like zombies.
If senescent cells are allowed to linger, they become menaces, spreading inflammation and oxidation to their neighboring cells and tissues, causing chronic diseases of aging. Imagine living in a house where the trash was never removed. At first it would just be small unnoticeable piles, but eventually junk would pile up everywhere and take over entire rooms. At some point, you couldn’t function in this home full of trash; there’s nowhere to sit, no clean counters to cook on, and no desk space for working. That’s what can happen in the body on a cellular level over time; if senescent cells are never cleared out through apoptosis, the debris will pile up and eventually clog up the systems of the human body. The result is feeling much older than we are.
Autophagy Recycles and Saves Cells
The body also has a way to salvage cells when they have minor, fixable problems, such as internal components that aren’t functioning. It’s akin to having a car that runs well, but it’s time for new brakes. These cells need maintenance, so the body it is able to deconstruct the broken-down cellular junk into smaller, reusable compounds. Those compounds are recycled and used for repairing cells, or they are utilized to create more cellular energy. This naturally occurring process is called autophagy, defined as “self devouring”.
Autophagy is the important process of keeping cells alive, healthy and functioning, also known as cellular homeostasis.
Autophagy recycling is naturally active in our younger years, keeping us healthy and active. As we age, it’s one of the top factors in maintaining energy and health. Interestingly, research shows that centenarians have been found to have enhanced autophagy activity, which partially explains why they don’t experience normal effects of aging even after 100. But the majority of us normal humans are fighting against nature, because autophagy recycling naturally slows down as we age, and cellular debris piles up. For this reason, we should look for opportunities to boost autophagy to slow aging.
The Lowdown
Think of apoptosis for senescent cells as the garbage bin, and autophagy as the recycling bin. Both are crucial to longevity and wellness, and both work best when we practice common healthy lifestyle activities, like eating lots of vegetables, exercising and intermittent fasting. You can also add in herbs and nutrients that target cell support, which is covered in later blogs. Lifestyle and supplements add up to making aging easier.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Autophagy and apoptosis are different physiological processes of aging
Apoptosis gets rid of senescent cells that are no longer salvageable
Autophagy targets cellular components that are dysfunctional, and recycles those parts in order to keep cells healthy and active.
Both autophagy and apoptosis are triggered by internal and external cellular stresses, and both dictate the rate at which we age, so your healthy aging protocol should target both.
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