My guest today is Ben Loos, he’s a professor at Stellenbosch University and leads a neuro research group. His team focuses on neurodegenerative diseases and brain cancers, with a major focus on autophagy
Autophagy is the body’s way of cleaning out damaged cells, in order to regenerate newer, healthier cells – a process which is essential to good health.
Ben's research is at a particularly exciting stage right now as he is busy developing a device that will enable us to measure our autophagy rate – much as we can measure our resting heart rate or our glucose levels.
He is CEO of a start up called Phagoflux which will bring this product to market.
Knowing our autophagy rate can make a big difference and will motivate us to strive for a healthy lifestyle –for example if we see it is too low then we can do something about it – we can do some exercise or we can implement a 12 hour fast.
Of course I asked Ben about what impact alcohol has on the autophagy process as well as other aspects of our health.
In this episode:-
- Health Risks of Alcohol: Excessive alcohol consumption is linked to various diseases, including cancer and neurodegeneration, due to its stress-inducing effects on cells and interference with processes like memory consolidation and sleep.
- Effects on Memory and Aging: Alcohol impairs both short-term and long-term memory formation, and chronic consumption accelerates brain aging, increasing susceptibility to neurodegenerative diseases like dementia.
- Alcohol Dependence and Blackouts: Regular heavy drinking can lead to alcohol dependence and blackouts, which indicate severe brain impairment and are precursors to brain damage. Particularly dangerous as we get older
- Alcohol and Autophagy: Alcohol abuse can impair autophagy due to oxidative stress, inflammation, and mitochondrial dysfunction.
- Thinking about our general health: Quitting alcohol leads to significant improvements in health, including liver regeneration, reduced inflammation, and better immune function, emphasizing the importance of avoiding alcohol dependency, especially as one ages.
- With an autophagy monitoring device like Phagoflux we could monitor our personal autophagy levels, just like checking our blood pressure or glucose levels. If the levels are high, it's a good sign that our cellular cleaning mechanism is functioning optimally. But if it's low, then interventions like exercise or dietary changes could help boost autophagy and improve cellular health.
- It's all about empowering us to take control of our wellness at a cellular level and I think many of us ex drinkers are keen to take action to heal our bodies and brains as much as we can.
- Autophagy in Healing: Autophagy plays a vital role in cellular healing by removing damaged components and restoring function.
- Autophagy Monitoring Device: Fagovlux aims to measure personal autophagy levels, crucial for understanding aging.
- Personalized Autophagy: Understanding one's daily autophagy activity can guide lifestyle choices like diet and exercise.
- Exercise and Autophagy: Exercise increases autophagy, contributing to healthy aging and reducing disease risk.
- Intermittent Fasting: Fasting triggers autophagy by sensing a lack of amino acids, promoting cellular repair and health.
- Of course we already know the basic health rules and we try to stay alcohol free, eat a healthy diet and fast occasionally and exercise regularly.
- But how motivating would it be to be able to monitor our autophagy rate and see what impact our hard working is having on our health!
- Connect with Ben: Contact Ben through the Stellenbosch University website or the Neuro Research Group website for more information.
- www. neuroresearchgroup. com
- More Info
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