Intermittent fasting (IF) and time-restricted feeding (TRF) have emerged as cornerstone strategies in longevity science and metabolic medicine. Beyond simple caloric restriction, fasting activates evolutionary cellular survival pathways that clean out damaged cellular components.
Understanding Autophagy and Cellular Housekeeping
Autophagy—literally 'self-eating'—is the intracellular degradation system that delivers cytoplasmic cargo to lysosomes. This process eliminates misfolded protein aggregates and dysfunctional mitochondria (mitophagy), mitigating risk factors associated with neurodegenerative and metabolic diseases.