Explainer: Autophagy – body’s self-healing mechanism, its link with traditional Indian practice of fasting

Fasting, a common age-old Indian practice largely seen as a religious and spiritual activity, has been scientifically proven to have immense medical spin-offs and that the body has extraordinary built-in abilities to heal itself when given the right conditions.

A Japanese scientist Yoshinori Ohsumi earned a Nobel Prize in medicine after discovering one of the body’s most powerful self-healing mechanisms. During periods of fasting, the human body begins to consume its own damaged cells, triggering a deep cellular reset known as autophagy.

For millions around the world, the research opened a new window into how deeply lifestyle affects body cells, and how something as simple as timing meals can unlock one of the body’s most powerful repair systems.

“This natural process acts like an internal cleanup system, breaking down old proteins, malfunctioning components, and toxic buildup that contribute to aging and disease. The discovery revealed that fasting doesn’t just change metabolism — it activates a fundamental survival program hard-wired into our biology,” a post by @SihingScience on X said on Sunday.

What is autophagy

In more simple terms, the process that begins when cells are stressed or deprived of nutrients, allowing the body to break them down and reuse old or damaged parts so that they can function more efficiently. It’s a natural cleaning out process.

Cells are the basic building blocks of every tissue and organ in the body. Each cell contains multiple minute parts that keep it alive and functioning. Over time, some of these parts can become defective or non-functional inside an otherwise healthy cell.

The term ‘autophagy’ also known as ‘autophagocytosis’ in the medical fraternity, is derived from the Greek words ‘autophagos’, meaning ‘self-devouring’ and ‘kytos’, meaning ‘hollow’. The process of autophagy was first observed in 1962 by scientists at the Rockefeller Institute in New York during experiments on rats.

Over the years, researchers have found that autophagy boosts cellular renewal, supports immune function, protects against neuro-degeneration and improves overall resilience. This is because when the body isn’t digesting food, gets into the mode of maintenance and self-repair by recycling damaged cells or tissues.

This helps reduce inflammation, sharpen brain function, and improve the body’s ability to handle stress. Some studies even show that activating autophagy may lower the risk of chronic conditions linked to aging.

“The Nobel-winning research transformed how scientists view fasting, turning it from a simple diet trend into a legitimate biological reset. Doctors now say intermittent fasting — when done safely — can help support long-term cellular health, boost energy, and improve metabolic balance,” the post on X said.

Link with traditional Indian practice

In India, as also in many communities across the world, fasting is a deep rooted tradition going back thousands of years, but it has been associated more with religion or spiritualism rather than any scientific or medical purpose. Fasts are kept on different days for paying obeisance to different deities with the supposition that that such practices would help solve problems of bring in benefits.

The scientific purpose of fasting is rarely mentioned, but going without food is more commonly is seen as a penance, punishment or distress. Prolonged fasting is often resorted to as a means of political or social protest.

Ancient Indian scriptures have advocated fasting on specific days that align with the lunar cycle for spiritual purification, cell repair and mental clarity. Ayurveda considers fasting as the “best medicine” for removing toxins and balancing the body’s functions.

Researchers heavily engaged in analysing autophagy’s role in potentially preventing and fighting disease, but most research on the interplay between autophagy and disease still hasn’t been performed on humans and tests are being done on laboratory animals.

Studies have suggested that intermittent fasting or calorie restriction can lead to the induction of adaptive autophagy and increase longevity of cells, but prolonged calorie restriction with excessive autophagy response is harmful. Scientists have cautioned that its benefits notwithstanding, autophagy cannot be considered as a “cure-all” process. Excess indulgence may even lead to cell death.