The lysosome is an acidic, membrane-bound organelle that is responsible for the degradation of unwanted intracellular materials. This degradation is carried out by a large variety of hydrolytic enzymes contained within the lysosome.

Autophagy is mediated by a unique organelle called the autophagosome. As autophagosomes engulf a portion of cytoplasm, autophagy is generally thought to be a nonselective degradation system.

Autophagy is a normal physiological process in the body that deals with destruction of cells in the body. It maintains homeostasis or normal functioning by protein degradation and turnover of the destroyed cell organelles for new cell formation. During cellular stress the process of Autophagy is upscaled and increased.

Autophagy is an important catabolic process that delivers cytoplasmic material to the lysosome for degradation. Autophagy promotes cell survival by elimination of damaged organelles and proteins aggregates, as well as by facilitating bioenergetic homeostasis.

Depending on the individual’s metabolism, significant autophagy may take two to four days of fasting in humans. Autophagy is believed to begin when glucose and insulin levels drop considerably.

“Fasting is [the] most effective way to trigger autophagy,” explains Petre. “Ketosis, a diet high in fat and low in carbs brings the same benefits of fasting without fasting, like a shortcut to induce the same beneficial metabolic changes,” she adds.

For these cells, simply inhibiting autophagy is sufficient to cause the tumor cells to die. This suggests that some tumor cells are dependent on autophagy, but others are not.

During a water fast, you are not allowed to eat or drink anything besides water. Most people drink two to three liters of water per day during a water fast. The water fast lasts for 24–72 hours. You should not water fast for longer than this without medical supervision because of health risks.

SUMMARY There’s no evidence that fasting causes more muscle loss than conventional calorie restriction. In fact, studies demonstrate that intermittent fasting may help you maintain muscle mass while dieting.

Depending on the particular activity you’re performing, it can take your body up to an hour to deplete your glycogen stores. Once the glycogen is out of the way, your body begins to burn fat, then eventually muscle when there is no more fat to burn.

The American Council on Exercise says a 1 percent body fat loss per month is safe and achievable. Given that math, it could take a woman with average body fat about 20 to 26 months to achieve the appropriate amount of fat loss for six-pack abs. The average man would need about 15 to 21 months.

Foods for flat stomach

• Our absolute top 10 foods for flatter stomachs. There’s a lot of buzz at the moment around research into foods that can help you eat your way to a flatter stomach.
• Yogurt. Choose natural, Greek style, unsweetened/flavoured yogurt.
• Quinoa.
• Almonds.
• Beans.
• Eggs.
• Salmon.
• Extra virgin olive oil.