The fountain of youth may be a myth, but you can turn to the next best option: the
Intermittent fasting is one of the easiest ways of building muscle, decreasing body fat and increasing your energy. And by triggering the cellular cleansing process of autophagy, intermittent fasting also improves your life span – and makes your skin look smoother and younger.
Exercise is one of the best ways to delay aging. And with good reason: too much time sitting (sedentary behavior) is associated with an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and an early death. Aerobic activity is any activity that causes you to breathe harder than normal and your heart to beat faster.
Similar to how our bodies can eat away at unnecessary skin cells from loose skin through the process of autophagy, the appearance of aging is also slowed (and many say can even be reversed to an extent) when we activate this mechanism of clearing out old cellular parts – therefore revealing more youthful, vibrant skin.
During fasting, the body goes into a state of autophagy, where it breaks down and recycles old, damaged cells. This process helps to remove toxins and promote the growth of new, healthy cells, which can result in clearer, more radiant skin,” added Mahajan.
More specifically, fasting can help reduce wrinkles, one of the most dreaded side-effects of aging. This is because fasting activates DNA-repair genes in the body that help reduce inflammation in the body. Fasting also leads to the production of somatropin, which helps minimize wrinkles and fine lines.
Fasting caused a similar decrease of the relative rate of collagen production by parietal bone (24% of control) which makes primarily type I collagen, as in cartilage (26% of control), which synthesizes mainly type I1 collagen.
“Think of autophagy as a Roomba inside your cells, cleaning and clearing damaged parts,” says Whittel. “When autophagy functions optimally, it works to clear away the cellular junk that can lead to fat and wrinkles.”
Fasting benefits skin appearance by keeping it firm yet flexible, reducing loose skin while losing weight. Loose skin is usually the result of decreased skin elasticity due to a decline in collagen and elastin production.
Autophagy speeds the process of cell renewal and increases the rate collagen is produced.
For most people, the answer to “At what age does your face change the most?” is sometime in their 50s or 60s. This is around the time that the effects of gravity and fat loss become extremely noticeable.
Some studies found a strong relationship between a fasting type diet and acne in human adults and young subjects. In fact, during the period of caloric restriction, sebum level was found to be reduced by 40%, which influenced the degree of acne severity [64,65].
Experts agree that the autophagy process initiates in humans after 18-20 hours of fasting, with max benefits occurring once the 48-72 hour mark has been reached.
The type of fasting needed to jumpstart autophagy typically requires 14 to 16 hours without eating, though this is dependent on your body's metabolism. Start small and work your way up when you decide to start fasting for health reasons.
Autophagy plays an essential role in maintaining multiple skin conditions, such as uniform skin color and skin barrier function, by controlling the integrity of melanosome degradation and epidermal differentiation.
The impact of intermittent fasting on your body
Cellular repair: Cells remove more wastes that would cause cellular damage. Gene expression: Changes occur in genes that promote longevity and prevent disease. Hormonal changes: Drop in insulin levels prevents diabetes and may boost longevity.
Be sure to fast for at least 16-18 hours per day to see the benefits of cellular recycling. There are at least 2 things you can do to help your cells increase autophagy: High-intensity exercise and intermittent fasting.
Studies have shown that excessive autophagy may kill cells in the heart, and scientists have linked excessive autophagy to some heart problems. Research has also found that inhibiting autophagy in mice could limit tumor growth and improve responsiveness to cancer treatment.
Eating foods that contain vitamin C and antioxidants, avoiding smoking, limiting caffeine intake, and protecting the skin from sunlight may all help preserve collagen or boost its production.
However, new collagen growth can take anywhere from four to 12 weeks to complete. Keep in mind that while certain procedures can be very effective at restoring and replacing collagen, these results aren't permanent. Depending on the collagen rebuilding procedure and areas treated, results can last a year or longer.
This pattern of eating can help your skin look and feel great. You may experience smoother, younger skin due to the anti-aging effects and increased autophagy benefits.
London based nutritionist, Kim Pearson, believes so. Speaking at the Facial Aesthetic Conference and Exhibition (FACE), she explained that after a 4-5 days of fasting the body starts to clean out the dead cells and boost its new stem cell production. The result: fresher looking skin.