When we think of a detox, we tend to think of the toxins we absorb from food and the atmosphere passing through our digestive tract. We think of our livers detoxing heavy metals, chemicals, and alcohol, losing weight from excess stored fat, and other systems of elimination. What doesn’t tend to surface at the top of our minds is cellular detox.

We exfoliate our skin to get rid of dead skin cells, but how do we “exfoliate” the inside of our bodies? We know we are always producing new cells as old cells die, so what happens to the old cells?

Say hello to autophagy, our old friend. Autophagy is, in the simplest of terms, the body’s way of ridding itself of these old, dead, or damaged cells. It’s our bodies’ natural housekeeping process.

In order to understand this on a straightforward yet granular level, we can break the word down into its parts. The latin word “auto” means self, and “phagy” means to eat — so in a sense, it is self-eating. Which brings us back to our original idea of detox: elimination. When we eliminate from our bodies, it’s not just food and waste from the environment, but also our own waste. That’s right — a huge part of poop is all our dead and damaged cells and pathogens that our body killed.

In order to understand this on a straightforward yet granular level, we can break the word down into its parts. The latin word “auto” means self, and “phagy” means to eat — so in a sense, it is self-eating. Which brings us back to our original idea of detox: elimination. When we eliminate from our bodies, it’s not just food and waste from the environment, but also our own waste. That’s right — a huge part of poop is all our dead and damaged cells and pathogens that our body killed.

And it’s not just damaged cells that we need to do away with, but metabolic waste as well. We accumulate metabolic waste in the brain daily, and part of deep, restorative sleep requires some level of autophagy. Misfolded proteins (aka deformed and essentially useless proteins) are removed, while damaged mitochondria and other cellular components (even intracellular pathogens, which are microorganisms that take over cells and multiply) are given the can during the process of autophagy.

Let’s revisit that notion of “self-eating.” Sounds a little scary, right? Kind of like something we don’t want to engage in? However, it’s actually a really beneficial part of maintaining longevity and fighting premature aging. It’s a part of self-regulating so that we can make way for fresh, new cells that are ready to function optimally.

Cleaning out the brain

Recycling amino acids

Promoting cell regeneration

While autophagy is a natural process, some of us don’t experience the benefits at the rate we need to based on poor lifestyle choices. Others want to boost their autophagic processes to improve their longevity and stave off aging as long as possible. So how can we boost our body’s natural autophagy?

Sleep

Intermittent fasting (responsibly)

NAC supplementation

Green tea