The GIFT of understanding the simple science of how our bodies work is what enables us to make better natural health choices - for ourselves and our loved ones.
The cells in our bodies are designed to replicate a certain numbers of times - to reproduce the genetic codes to create more healthy cells.
Cellular senescence is a phenomenon characterized by the cessation of cell division. In their groundbreaking experiments during the early 1960s, Leonard Hayflick and Paul Moorhead found that normal human fetal fibroblasts in culture reach a maximum of approximately 50 cell population doublings before becoming senescent. Source
What's a senescent cell? An old cell which can no longer replicate or undergo repair to its unique programming, and which may then mutate. We all have senescent cells, and our bodies clear them out regularly as part of our immune response. As we age and engage in lifestyle factors (stress) or succumb to disease, the proportion of senescent cells in our body increases.
Image Source: Journal of Clinical Investigation www.jci.org
The increasing proportion of senescent cells in our bodies produces "reduced immune response": slower wound healing, increased likelihood of tumors, reduced pancreatic & liver function, and inflammation, among many other things.
Why are some older people remarkably fit and healthy? They have proportionately fewer senescent cells than, example, a young person who is obese and has diabetes. It is not the years, per se, which produce physical decline or poor immune system, but rather the proportion of senescent cells in our body.
The AMAZING thing is that it's easy to push your body to clear up senescent cells.
Just don't feed it.
As I explained to my 15 year old daughter, it's a bit like the fridge. When we keep buying more fresh food and just stuffing it in, the old veggies and fruit at the back are forgotten - they mold and rot and start to stink. Eeew!! On leaner weeks when cash is tight, we make soups and curries and we use up everything, and our fridge is sparkly clean.
In the same way, we can kick-start and boost our natural health and immune function with simple intermittent fasting. Eat a light, vegetarian meal in the evening, and then eat nothing at all till the same time, next evening. Hydrate well with pure water, lime-lemon juice or herbal teas. Ginger tea is great - hot or iced. BUT NO SUGARS OR HONEY!! At all.
In that 24 hour lull, your body WILL clear out the back of the fridge. Get rid of the piled up senescent cells and clear out the junk, which your body will break down and reuse for energy, protein synthesis and tissue repair. The generic word people often use with fasting is "detox". It's technically slightly different, but you get the idea. The technical term for your body clearing senescent cells is autophagy.
Taking the decision to have just one 24 hour intermittent fast per week will give a HUGE boost to your natural health and wellness, and your natural weight management. It will slow your physical aging.* Everything works better. Some people go further and do it most days - eating only in a 4-6 hour window in late afternoon or evening, and then basically fasting most of the day, every day.
I was explaining cellular senescence & autophagy to my 15 year old Thai daughter, so she could understand why sometimes Mama isn't going to eat what she eats. I had just watched a superb video by Dr Daniel Pompa, explaining the 2 main risk factors for Covid-19. That video is NOT yet up on his youtube channel, so my apologies for linking to the facebook version, which you'll find here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2375823999376298&id=100008461630372 It's worth a watch!
Dr Pompa's youtube channel has multiple videos about autophagy and cellular senescence which are really informative. His youtube channel is totally worth subscribing to. I really appreciated his explanation of how caloric restriction (eating smaller meals x 3,4 or 5 times a day) is DIFFERENT from intermittent fasting (normal portions, but just x 1 or x1.5 per day).
My take home about cellular senescence & autophagy in the context of Covid-19, aging and immune response? I am committed to doing x1 24 hour fast per week, for the rest of my life. Now that I really understand it.
It was in explaining this to my daughter that the surprise came:
"So, when do WE start?" she asked. Matter-of-factly..
So, as I write this, WE are about 20 hours into our 24 hours. Yes, I'm a bit hungry and was thinking about food earlier. But I'm sure that's just a mental habit that will settle as my body learns that this habitual pause will end, regularly, and that she will continue to be wonderfully fed. My daughter has danced her heart out to an online kpop concert all afternoon and thus been thinking about things other than food. Perfect.
It occurred to me that THIS is what homeschooling and biology SHOULD be about, and that this kind of preparation for a life of natural health and optimal energy is REQUIRED.
Feeling like we got an A+ on the Covid-19 homeschooling front this week š, and am enjoying the thought of a light healthy meal with a big salad in a few hours.
BlissednBlessed.
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