The Most Powerful Benefit of Fasting for Longevity is NOT Autophagy… it’s This

Cellular biology is not the most exciting thing to learn. It's exciting when you know what happens in your body, but when you're learning things, it can get a little bit dry. So I'm going to make this whole video into kind of a fun analogy, okay? And what we want to cover here is how fasting intertwines with what is called cell senescence. Already it's getting boring, right? But trust me, this is something pretty interesting because it all has to do with longevity and aging and how fasting plays a role with that. It's very interesting. So we'll have some fun with this analogy by talking about our cells being something that are really, really good at what they do, okay? So for example, I want you to pretend that you have this cell in your body, and this cell is like a human that is really, really, really good at planning something. He's really good at what he does, but the problem is he's kind of a toxic person, and you can't really have him around a lot of people. He just needs to do what he does and leave them alone. Well, that's kind of what happens to our cells as they get older in a lot of ways. So let's go ahead and break it down so it makes some sense. After today's video, check out Thrive Market. You can save 30% off your entire grocery order, and that is a special 30% discount for people that watch my videos. They've been a sponsor on this channel for over five years, and it makes it so you can go online to this online membership-based grocery store, order whatever it is that you want, okay? You can order by diet type like keto, paleo, fasting, whatever. You add it to your cart, and then it gets delivered to your doorstep in a couple of days. So that special link is exclusive for you. So 30% off your entire grocery order plus a $50 free gift when you do use that special link. So check out Thrive Market right after this video. You will not regret it. Okay, so we have to remember that as we get older, our cells become much cruddier. They get more decrepit. They're not good at what they do. They're a little bit more dysfunctional in the way of the proteins and things like that. They just become more dysfunctional. Well, think about that. If you have damaged cells, you don't want them to divide, right? Because that would mean that you have a damaged cell procreating with damaged DNA making another damaged cell, and then that one divides. The next thing you know, you've got a bunch of damaged cells, and you've got tumors, and it's not good, right? So I come back to that analogy, okay? Cells are good at what they do. Some humans are really good at what they do. Some humans are so good at what they do, but they're just terrible people, and they really should not procreate. Well, this is where cell senescence comes in, okay? Cell senescence is where a cell still maintains its ability to serve its function, but it can no longer divide. And as we get older, our body actually has the ability to create what are called senescent cells. These are cells that are still great at what they do, but they cannot divide. So even if they become dysfunctional, they still do what they do, and then they won't divide, okay? Now, what does fasting have to do with this, and what does my analogy have to do with this? Well, it turns out that mTOR, okay, mTOR is spiked whenever we eat, specifically proteins and carbohydrates, really spikes mTOR. Well, mTOR actually affects this whole senescence process, and I'll explain how that works. Because when we're fasting, we are inhibiting mTOR. When we are fasting, we are inducing autophagy and sort of the cellular recycling process, but it goes beyond that. Let me come back to my analogy for just a second. So you've got this human, and he's terrific at what he does, but you don't want him to procreate, so you put him in a prison cell, okay? You say, you're locked up here, cannot have you ever having the risk of you making more of you, okay? But you keep doing what you're doing. I know it's a weird analogy, but the problem is he gets so angry. He's angry because he's in that prison cell, and when he's angry, he just creates this negative energy that goes throughout everywhere, okay? And this negative energy in this particular case is inflammation. A senescent cell creates inflammation. It's called SASPs. So even though having a senescent cell is great because it, in a way, prevents us from developing a bunch more dysfunctional cells, they are like radioactive with the amount of inflammation they leak. So then as we get older, we have these cells that are doing what they're supposed to do, but you have more of this inflammation leaking throughout the body, which, guess what? That triggers pain. That triggers brain fog. That comes with its own associated issues, as well as damage-associated molecular patterns that are coming from other things. It makes an inflammatory mess. Well, it turns out, according to a study that's published in the journal Science, mTOR actually activates the inflammatory response of SASP. So when you inhibit mTOR by fasting, you actually block the inflammation that would be secreted by this senescent cell. So basically, what you're doing is this person that is creating all this stuff inside his prison cell that's super angry, you gave him a puppy dog, okay? And now he's no longer angry. He's not able to procreate, still in a prison cell, but at least he's got his puppy dog. It's the weirdest analogy you could probably think of, but basically you're blocking a cell that is dysfunctional, but still functioning at what it can do. You're blocking it from procreating. You're blocking it from dividing, okay? But you're also blocking the inflammation that comes as a result of it. So the case in point with this is when you're over the age of 40, over the age of 50, especially as you get over the age of 60, relatively frequent fasting becomes a very important thing. And also, consolidating your protein windows, even if you are not fasting, okay? So if you can eat a higher fat breakfast, maybe a higher fat lunch, and then consolidate your proteins towards one time of the day, or vice versa. Consolidations of proteins and having acute spikes in mTOR allow you to still maintain muscle, while still allowing the fasting to make your cell senescence more efficient and effective and safe. I'll see you tomorrow.