Disease and aging begin at the cellular health level. So many factors can injure a cell and lead to damage, including nutritional imbalances, low oxygen, radiation, viruses, bacteria, parasites, inflammation, chemical exposure, genetic issues, and physical and psychological stress.
On the plus side, if we can keep our cells healthy, we can prevent many chronic diseases and even slow the aging process. Unfortunately, cells that are highly active and constantly “turned on,” can accumulate damage over time. Just as a car you drive too much becomes less efficient and even a bit rusty, cells undergo their own form of wear and tear. That’s why you typically see cancer in cells that are the most active in the body, the ones that are constantly replicating turning over, such as the epithelial cells that line the digestive tract and the lining of the lungs.
Sometimes, the genetic material inside cells, called DNA, becomes mutated and produces abnormal proteins. These proteins can fold in abnormal ways and not function as they should. In other cases, these mutations alter critical genes called tumor suppressors gene. These genes make proteins that help protect a cell against uncontrolled growth. When this happens, it sets the stage for a cell to grow out of control and become cancer. When a cell is exposed to free radicals, as it frequently is, it can damage DNA as well as other cellular components. So, what’s a cell to do? Fortunately, cells have a process called autophagy that helps eliminate the damaged and broken material inside the cell.
Cellular Health: Eliminating the Damage
Why is it important to eradicate the damaged insides of cells? Allowing excess damage and junk to accumulate can make the DNA inside the cell unstable – and when the DNA becomes unstable, the risk of a cancer forming goes way up. Plus, it can cause the powerhouses of the cells called mitochondria to function improperly. In extreme cases, this can lead to cell death.
Poor autophagy is also linked with other chronic health problems, including type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. Autophagy is a type of cellular health“housecleaning” and, literally, means “eating of self.” Organelles inside cells called lysozymes make enzymes that engulf and break down the damaged parts of the cell so the cell can make a fresh start. It’s analogous to the spring cleaning many people do to get rid of stuff that no longer serves a useful purpose.
Cellular Health: How Exercise Helps Clean Up Cells
Studies show that exercise ramps up autophagy, giving cells the ability to eliminate “junk” and damage more effectively. In other words, it makes cells better at cleaning themselves up so they can function better.
You hear so much about the health benefits of exercise, how it enhances the health of most tissues and organs in our bodies, including heart, muscle, and bone health. We also know that it lowers the risk of a variety of health problems, but it’s easy to forget that the benefits start at the level of the cell. Boosting autophagy is one-way exercise helps keep cells healthy.
In a study carried out on mice, researchers at U.T. Southwestern used a special technique that caused cells to light up as autophagy increased. When mice exercised by running on a wheel, the cells glowed due to enhanced autophagy. Such a response is not surprising since exercise is a form of stress and stress is a powerful activator of autophagy. When they used specially bred mice that weren’t able to ramp up autophagy in response to stress, the mice became lethargic and had poor exercise tolerance.
Even more compelling is the fact that mice, in the study, that had the equivalent of mouse diabetes were able to reverse their poor metabolic health by running on a wheel. However, mice that were unable to increase autophagy continued to have high blood sugar levels. So, one of the ways that exercise may improve metabolic health and lower the risk of type 2 diabetes is by boosting autophagy or cellular health clean-up.
Cellular Health: Exercise, Autophagy, and Inflammation
Another way in which enhanced autophagy, induced by exercise, offers benefits is by keeping inflammation in check. You often hear that exercise has anti-inflammatory benefits. One way in which exercise subdues the fires of inflammation is by helping cells clean up more efficiently. In turn, this may balance the immune response and protect against autoimmune diseases.
You might wonder what happens to the damaged proteins that that get engulfed by autophagy? Cells don’t like to waste things, so they recycle them. The amino acids and other components that are removed are recycled to make new, healthier proteins.
Also interesting is the fact that fasting ramps up autophagy. This makes sense since cells break down the damaged proteins and fats during autophagy and use the amino acids to make new proteins and use the fatty acids as a source of energy. When you’re deprived of food, you have to conserve molecules that can be turned into energy by recycling.
So, exercise and fasting have something in common – they both stimulate the cell clean-up process and the recycling of old materials inside the cell. Some studies also show that intermittent fasting has health benefits – that it reduces inflammation and even promotes the growth of new nerve cells. Exercise seems to do that too! So, increased autophagy may explain some of the health benefits that both of these practices have. Of course, it’s easier to do a workout than to deprive yourself of food for 24 hours to improve the ability of your cells to houseclean.
What kind of exercise is best for activating the cell clean-up process? According to a study published in the FASEB Journal, intensity is important. So, kicking up the intensity of your workouts might be best for keeping your cells healthy.
The Bottom Line
Now, you have another reason to exercise – it’s good for your cells! And happy cells lead to happy tissues and a healthy body. So, keep working out hard.
References:
J Pathol. 2010 May; 221(1): 3–12.doi: 10.1002/path.2697
Journal of Applied Physiology Published 15 March 2016 Vol. 120 no. 6, 664-673 DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00550.2015.
Nature 469, 323–335 (20 January 2011) doi:10.1038/nature09782. Published online 20 January 2011.
International Journal of Cell Biology. Volume 2011 (2011), Article ID 732798, 11 pages.
The FASEB Journal 29(8) · May 2015 with 385 Reads DOI: 10.1096/fj.14-267187.
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