Autophagy is the ultimate detox that doesn't yet live up to the hype

[Farooqji]

These are some of the promises of autophagy, the silver bullet wellness influencers are saying is backed by Nobel-winning science.

In many cases, influencers say the best way to boost autophagy—the body's way of recycling molecules—is with a product available from their online store.

medicalxpress.com/news/2022...

[kaypeeoh]

Autophagy is how the body recycles and regenerates old tissue. It's a natural process that goes on constantly in our bodies. But can medication augment autophagy? The answer is, 'We dunno.'

But humans generally die from heart disease, diabetes or cancer. All of which can be controlled somewhat by diet.

[bassofspades]

As far as I know , there is no approved product that induces or enhances autophagy. The only things that work are free, and they areFasting

Exercise

Sleep

Being born with good genes.

[Gioc in reply to bassofspades]

In my humble opinion and I'll be monotonous, but the niacin does. (in certain nutritional conditions because vitamin b3 activated all the necessary enzymes).

[Bolt_Upright in reply to Gioc]

I still take my 250 mg of time released niacin every night. I believe in the Auburn study.

[Gioc in reply to Bolt_Upright]

Excuse me Bolt_Upright, but I appreciate more the good, old, simple normal vitamin B3 NA with the addition of multi vitamins, and magnesium and minerals with the aim of activating the numerous enzymatic processes and autophagia. The complexity of Life on the cellular level requires attention and study.

[Bolt_Upright in reply to Gioc]

I did switch to instant release Niacin (150 mg twice a day) for about a month but switched back to the time released as that was what was used in the study. The ingredient is still Niacin (I think it has wax layers to delay release).

I know the study planned to use immediate release but used time released because that is what their pharmacy had. I think the study may have lucked out as time released spreads the effect on the GPR109a gene out over a longer period of time.

[Gioc in reply to Bolt_Upright]

I'll tell you my opinion briefly because it's not a niacin post. The bodies are not uniform, there is blood, the brain, the muscles, so it becomes important how the vitamin is distributed and moved. There is a dose, a peak dose but it is measured in the blood ... how do you go about solving a deficiency in the brain? IMO there is a lot to discover about what is measured in a study. Why do athletes use niacin? What is the best way to take it, after meals, before a run? with which other vitamins should it be accompanied? There is a lot to learn, but not so much.😜

[JayPwP in reply to bassofspades]

And being lucky

[Bolt_Upright]

Thank for the post Farooqji. We need to read all viewpoints.

I would take that article with a "grain of salt", but I have learned that in Britain they say "pinch of salt", which makes a helluva lot more sense. Kind of click-baity by going negative, kind of bait and switch by shifting from "does it work" to "people are trying to sell things", and in the end kind of "meh" as they don't have any answers.

Maybe they are just trying to let people know they created an autophagy blood test that does not really tell people much?

[Dipper3]

Can anyone recommend a niacin product??

[Robb48]

Hmm, not a very helpful article.

For spermidine, it neglects to mention the human trials, not many but very interesting - e.g. one related to dementia (in people), which actually improved function, I've never seen that before. Other animal models look promising. As the article says, it boosts autophagy in the lab (in cells), and lack of autophagy accelerated dementia in mice, so not a big leap to say that's probably how it's helping people with dementia. I just started my Mum, who has MSA, on it. DoNotAge seem to have the best product (not affiliated lol, I aint no "influencer"), and they list the trials on the subject. Not many, as I say, and positive publication bias is always a concern, but IMO it still looks great.

Re Parkinsons/Parkinsonism, autophagy is one of the two main pathways by which synuclein is cleared from the body. Add to this that the average person eats about 10mg of spermidine a day anyway, and the DoNotAge tablets, which as far as I know are the strongest on the market, are only 4mg, and we can say with high confidence that it is very safe. The downside is the cost - which is, unfortunately, quite prohibitive! But it's becoming more talked about and popular, so I suspect price and concentration will rapidly improve.

Also, I have to say that implying this is only pushed by influencers is absurd. It reeks of bias and elitism. One of the more prominent names talking about about it is David Sinclair, who was invited to Harvard to start his own anti-aging lab. Tweeted the other day:

"Spermidine, a tiny molecule from wheat germ, protects the heart and extends the lifespan of mice, even when given mid life. In people, increased consumption is associated with fewer diseased and a 5.7-year age reduction"

For the latter statement I think he is talking about biological age, Horvath clock etc. He is very credible.

[Despe in reply to Robb48]

nmn.com/

Lots of info! Thanks for sharing!

Indeed, the tablets are very expensive.