May 18, 2024

Alcohol...and Ageing with Professor Ben Loos

53 minutes

My guest today is Ben Loos, he’s a professor at Stellenbosch University and leads a neuro research group. His team focuses on neurodegenerative diseases and brain cancers, with a major focus on autophagy

Autophagy is the body’s way of cleaning out damaged cells, in order to regenerate newer, healthier cells – a process which is essential to good health.

Ben's research is at a particularly exciting stage right now as he is busy developing a device that will enable us to measure our autophagy rate – much as we can measure our resting heart rate or our glucose levels.

He is CEO of a start up called Phagoflux which will bring this product to market.

Knowing our autophagy rate can make a big difference and will motivate us to strive for a healthy lifestyle –for example if we see it is too low then we can do something about it – we can do some exercise or we can implement a 12 hour fast.

Of course I asked Ben about what impact alcohol has on the autophagy process as well as other aspects of our health.

In this episode:-

Health Risks of Alcohol: Excessive alcohol consumption is linked to various diseases, including cancer and neurodegeneration, due to its stress-inducing effects on cells and interference with processes like memory consolidation and sleep.

Effects on Memory and Aging: Alcohol impairs both short-term and long-term memory formation, and chronic consumption accelerates brain aging, increasing susceptibility to neurodegenerative diseases like dementia.

Alcohol Dependence and Blackouts: Regular heavy drinking can lead to alcohol dependence and blackouts, which indicate severe brain impairment and are precursors to brain damage. Particularly dangerous as we get older

Alcohol and Autophagy: Alcohol abuse can impair autophagy due to oxidative stress, inflammation, and mitochondrial dysfunction.

Thinking about our general health: Quitting alcohol leads to significant improvements in health, including liver regeneration, reduced inflammation, and better immune function, emphasizing the importance of avoiding alcohol dependency, especially as one ages.

With an autophagy monitoring device like Phagoflux we could monitor our personal autophagy levels, just like checking our blood pressure or glucose levels. If the levels are high, it's a good sign that our cellular cleaning mechanism is functioning optimally. But if it's low, then interventions like exercise or dietary changes could help boost autophagy and improve cellular health.

It's all about empowering us to take control of our wellness at a cellular level and I think many of us ex drinkers are keen to take action to heal our bodies and brains as much as we can.

Autophagy in Healing: Autophagy plays a vital role in cellular healing by removing damaged components and restoring function.

Autophagy Monitoring Device: Fagovlux aims to measure personal autophagy levels, crucial for understanding aging.

Personalized Autophagy: Understanding one's daily autophagy activity can guide lifestyle choices like diet and exercise.

Exercise and Autophagy: Exercise increases autophagy, contributing to healthy aging and reducing disease risk.

Intermittent Fasting: Fasting triggers autophagy by sensing a lack of amino acids, promoting cellular repair and health.

Of course we already know the basic health rules and we try to stay alcohol free, eat a healthy diet and fast occasionally and exercise regularly.

But how motivating would it be to be able to monitor our autophagy rate and see what impact our hard working is having on our health!

Connect with Ben: Contact Ben through the Stellenbosch University website or the Neuro Research Group website for more information.

www. neuroresearchgroup. com

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