User:Sushmitha B K/sandbox

AUTOPHAGY

We Indians are very rich in our culture and heritage. Rituals play a significant role in our daily life. In these days many of our traditional rituals are disappearing and still some are practiced without knowing its significance. Everyone is familiar with fasting which we practice during some festivals. Its very interesting to know about the scientific principle involved behind it. Our ancestors have gave fasting a prime importance. After lots of research we could find out now that fasting induces AUTOPHAGY. This year Dr Yosahinori Ohsumi, got a Noble prize for his work on AUTOPHAGY. It is the process of self eating by which body eats up its own damaged cells and unused proteins and uses the resulting molecules for energy or to make up new cell parts.This mechanism which occurs in our body unknowingly has lots of benefits thereby our body gets repaired by itself. Skipping meals induces autophagy in our brain which reduces the risk of Alzheimer's and Parkison's disease. Even it destroys microbes and infectious cells. Also it helps in reducing the growth of cancerous cells and stops the metabolic dysfunctions like obesity ,diabetes and also slows the ageing process. Acute stress while doing exercises, lifting some heavy objects and starvation can induce autophagy easily. Thus we can see that unknowingly many processes occur in our body which we feel as uncomfortable at that moment but it indirectly helps the body to get cleaned by itself that is the beauty of nature. Like this there are many practices which we practice without knowing actually its significance.