10 Ways to Jumpstart “Autophagy” for Cancer Protection

Autophagy is a normal biological process derived from Greek words meaning “self-eating”; it is your body’s process for clearing cellular debris to maintain health, protect against disease, and optimize cellular performance. In cancer, autophagy has a dual role: It can both inhibit and promote cancer. Autophagy plays a powerful role in cancer prevention by stopping cancerous growths. However, it can be stimulated by stressors such as nutrient deprivation and certain strategies. Click here to learn why autophagy is a double-edged sword for cancer.

1 | A Plant-Based Diet Ketogenic Diet

The ketogenic diet is powerful for stimulating autophagy. This is one of the mechanisms that makes the ketogenic diet effective for fighting cancer. 

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate, and low- to moderate-protein nutrition plan. This eating pattern lowers blood sugar and insulin levels. The body adapts by burning body fat and dietary fat, rather than sugar, for fuel. By lowering insulin, the ketogenic diet induces autophagy. 

The ketogenic diet also puts cancer cells at an energetic disadvantage by depriving them of their preferred fuel source, glucose. Ketones are by-products of fatty acids that are a more efficient source of cellular energy. They produce significantly more energy per molecule than glucose with much less metabolic waste. It is like putting clean fuel into your body rather than the dirty fuel produced by burning glucose.

While the ketogenic diet is powerful for stimulating autophagy, the best nutrition plan to combat cancer would combine a plant-based diet with the ketogenic diet. A plant-based diet can be potent in fighting cancer because many plant compounds have been shown to act on different pathways in the body to downregulate cancer growth. 

2 | High-Quality Protein

A plant-based ketogenic diet is low in protein. However, consuming high-quality protein is important to balance the benefits of autophagy with the building blocks needed for a strong, healthy body. 

The best protein sources are organic, grass-fed, pasture-raised meats, dairy, and wild-caught fish. Nuts, seeds, and legumes are plant-based protein sources you can also use. 

Another excellent protein source is eggs from pasture-raised, organic chickens. Eggs provide a wide array of nutrients, including carotenoid antioxidants, vitamins D, E, and K, fatty acids EPA, DHA, and CLA, choline, and lecithin. Bone broth and collagen protein are sources of easily digestible protein. A vegan protein powder with pea, hemp, chia, or rice protein is a good addition if you are avoiding or limiting animal protein sources.

Daily protein consumption on an anticancer nutrition plan should be lower than for a healthy, active individual or someone dealing with an autoimmune condition other than cancer. Higher protein intake can overstimulate the mTOR pathway and IGF-1, which inhibit autophagy. 

To reduce mTOR pathway and IGF-1 expression, consume around 0.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. For example, a 160-pound person would consume only about 36 grams of protein per day. With fast-growing tumors, it may be helpful to restrict all protein for an extended period to stop the mTOR pathway.

3 | Intermittent Fasting 

In addition to the ketogenic nutrition plan, intermittent and extended-day fasting is a great way to stimulate autophagy. Fasting is a biological stressor that helps slow mTOR and IGF-1 expression, improve AMPK expression, and stabilize the p53 gene. 

In addition to stimulating autophagy, using intermittent fasting strategies can boost the immune system, improve genetic repair mechanisms, improve insulin sensitivity, and reduce the risk of chronic diseases. For anyone new to fasting, start with a simple fast of 12-14 hours for 1-2 weeks and see how your body adapts and responds. 

Ramping up your intermittent fasting to a 16-18 hour daily fast, with a weekly 24-48 hour fast, can also be a great weekly stimulator of autophagy to keep the body cleaned up. The key to intermittent fasting is to eat well during your eating window until you are fully satiated. During your fasting window, avoid consuming any calories to get the best autophagy benefits.  

Extended fasting is the most powerful way to enhance autophagy mechanisms. Autophagy ramps up to a very high level by day 3-4, when the body has used up its glycogen stores and depends on breaking down body fat and cellular proteins for energy. Many experts, including Dr. Thomas Seyfried, believe that a 5-7-day water fast every year will activate enough autophagy to prevent cancer throughout one’s life. 

4 | Optimize Vitamin D Levels

Vitamin D3 is a key hormonal inducer of autophagy. Vitamin D signaling can modulate autophagy through different mechanisms. There is also evidence that vitamin D exerts anti-tumor effects by regulating key mediators of apoptosis. 

Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to an increased risk of cancer. The ideal range for vitamin D levels is between 50-80 ng/ml. D3 is the biologically active form of vitamin D and is more potent in raising and maintaining vitamin D concentrations than D2. 

Your skin produces vitamin D3 in response to sun exposure. Aim for 15-20 minutes of sun exposure daily. The best dietary sources of vitamin D are wild-caught salmon and fatty fish, cod liver oil, grass-fed butter and raw cheese, egg yolks, mushrooms, and beef liver. 

5 | Heat and Cold Exposure

Short bursts of intense heat and cold exposure promote autophagy mechanisms. Rapid temperature changes are a major stressor on our bodies. We must adapt quickly to get back to balance and homeostasis. 

Rapid temperature changes can be used strategically as a hormetic stressor to boost autophagy. Autophagy is how our bodies adapt to temperature changes, making us stronger and more resilient.

Great ways to activate this mechanism include exercising outside in the heat of summer or using a steam or infrared sauna regularly. For cold adaptation, finishing your shower with 1 minute of the coldest temperature possible is fantastic. You can pump your arms and legs to boost circulation and feel-good compounds such as serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins.

6 | Prioritize Sleep

Good sleep is critical for optimal health. People with poor sleep habits, insomnia, and long-term night shift work have an increased risk of early-onset chronic disease development. 

Our sleep cycle and circadian rhythm are intimately tied to autophagy. Autophagy is regulated in part by light and dark cycles. It is rhythmically activated in a clock-dependent manner. 

To optimize sleep, follow an anti-inflammatory diet and balance your blood sugar levels. Additional strategies for better sleep are getting sunlight during the day, avoiding artificial light, blacking out your room with blackout curtains or using a sleep mask, and forming healthy sleep habits. Turning off electronics, practicing good hygiene, stretching, practicing gratitude, journaling, prayer, and being smart about caffeine intake are also strategies for good sleep.

7 | Use Anti-Inflammatory Herbs 

Herbs are natural autophagy inducers. They have tumor-suppressive actions which may lead to cell senescence, increased apoptosis-independent cell death, or complement apoptotic processes.

Using herbs along with fasting and the other strategies in this article can help to optimize autophagy mechanisms in the body. Many herbs contain unique plant compounds called polyphenols. Polyphenols act to suppress the mTOR pathway and activate the AMPk pathway to induce autophagy.

The top 6 herbal and food compounds for autophagy are:

1. Quercetin – red onions, cranberries, and elderberries
2. 6-Shogaol – ginger
3. Curcumin – turmeric 
4. Resveratrol – blueberries, grapes, and red wine
5. ECGC – green tea, oolong tea, and dark chocolate
6. Citrus bergamot – bergamot orange, Earl Grey tea
7. Carnosic acid – oregano, sage, and rosemary

Curcumin has powerful antioxidant, antimicrobial, immunomodulatory, anti-tumor, and anti-inflammatory properties. It has been shown to induce autophagy, prevent tumor spread, and support apoptosis (cell death). Curcumin can target cancer stem cells to help prevent cancer recurrence.

8 | Consume Green Tea and Coffee

Green tea contains EGCG and quercetin, two powerful anticancer compounds. These compounds act as powerful antioxidants that upregulate AMPK activity, inhibit IGF-1 and the mTOR pathway, and protect the p53 gene. Through these mechanisms, green tea has been shown to inhibit cancer cell growth and promote cancer cell apoptosis. 

Green tea also helps to promote the production of the antioxidants glutathione and superoxide dismutase (SOD). These antioxidants drastically lower inflammation in the body. 

Consuming coffee is associated with inhibiting several metabolic diseases and reducing mortality. One health-promoting benefit of coffee is its ability to trigger autophagy. It contains multiple polyphenols which have been shown to induce autophagy. Coffee has been shown to stimulate autophagy for one to four hours after consumption.

Both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffees are associated with improved health and trigger autophagy. Be sure to purchase high-quality, organic coffee as conventional coffee has very high levels of pesticides.

9 | Drink Apple Cider Vinegar

A fantastic tonic to drink during your fasting window is apple cider vinegar (ACV). ACV contains acetic acid, a compound that helps to boost your metabolism and burn body fat.

Drinking ACV can help you feel full longer and reduce your appetite. It helps to slow digestion when paired with starchy foods. This helps stabilize your insulin levels and keeps you feeling full while you digest. Try 1-2 tablespoons in water before meals or as a morning primer. You can also add ACV to your soups, stews, and other foods.

10 | Perform Resistance and High-Intensity Interval Training 

High-intensity exercise creates intermittent stress to stimulate autophagy. Performing high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and resistance training while fasting also promotes fat burning and improves mood and mental focus. 

Exercise in a fasted state helps to increase the autophagy signaling mechanism. When you train while fasting, your body senses that it needs more nutrients to produce energy. As exercise damages muscle cells, the body breaks down and rebuilds cellular material. 

HIIT and resistance training also stimulate human growth hormone (HGH). This creates an environment that favors autophagy, fat burning, and muscle tissue repair and preservation. This boost is greater when fasting. A great strategy is to work out in the morning or mid-day on a 12-16+ hour overnight fast. 

Conclusion 

Autophagy is your body’s cellular recycling system. It is critical in cellular development, cell death, and tumor suppression. In cancer, autophagy has a dual role. It plays a powerful role in cancer prevention but may also enable tumor cells to grow and survive. 

Strategies to stimulate autophagy include a ketogenic diet, consuming high-quality protein, and fasting. Rapid heat-and-cold exposure, prioritizing good sleep, and doing resistance and HIIT can initiate autophagy. Other strategies include using green tea, black coffee, apple cider vinegar, and anti-inflammatory herbs.

Editor’s Note: This article was initially published in 2022 and has been updated in 2024.