Getting Started with Fasting
During an extended fast, you can use: • Water • Sugar-free gum • Electrolytes
To achieve significant health benefits, aim to get your GKI (Glucose Ketone Index) below 1.5 and maintain it for at least 24 hours. This takes dedication, but the rewards are substantial. When you reach this level, autophagy will be actively clearing damaged cellular components from your system.
Consider becoming a member - it's free! Track your progress as you work to eliminate accumulated toxins and address various health conditions.
Research & Clinical Studies
Clinical Trials on Autophagy
Skin Studies
Wet Macular Degeneration (WMD)
General Autophagy Research
Fundamental Research
Cancer Research
Skin Health & Rejuvenation
Expert Resources & Videos
Educational Content
Lysosome Function
Lysosomes Structure & FunctionMedical Experts
Simple Solutions for Complex Problems
This isn't rocket science. When your cells start rejecting excess glucose, you may develop temporary type 2 diabetes. The solution is straightforward: reduce your carbohydrate intake, especially high-glycemic carbs.
Cancer and Metabolism
Cancer cells preferentially use glucose for energy. By switching to ketones through high-fat, low-carb eating and fasting, you can potentially starve cancer cells while supporting healthy cells. A 4-day fast can be particularly effective in this process.
Understanding Fat Metabolism
When you eat fat, your liver converts it into ketones rather than storing it in fat cells. While glucose signals fat cells to open and store energy, ketones promote fat cell closure. This explains why a high-fat, ketogenic diet can actually lead to weight loss—a counterintuitive but scientifically proven process.
Eye Health and Macular Degeneration
This website originated from personal experience with wet macular degeneration. Through research, it became clear that aging and various diseases are linked to our understanding of how fasting can repair cellular damage through autophagy and lysosomal activity.
Understanding Lysosomes
Lysosomes function as cellular digestive systems, breaking down damaged components within our cells. They're crucial in:
- Eliminating viruses and bacteria
- Removing aging cellular components
- Activating during fasting periods
- Responding to physical stress (like exercise or cold exposure)
Timing Your Nutrition
Want to extend your lifespan and enhance your health? The key lies in balancing feeding and fasting periods. This aligns with our body's natural design, as evidenced by research including insights from cloning studies like Dolly the sheep, which showed that our cellular DNA remains pristine when properly maintained.
The Power of Autophagy
Autophagy represents one of the most significant medical breakthroughs of the 21st century, offering potential treatment for non-genetic diseases. This natural process activates during fasting periods, allowing cellular components to identify and eliminate damaged materials, essentially rejuvenating cells.
Dr. Yoshinori Ohsumi's Legacy
Since Dr. Ohsumi's Nobel Prize-winning work on autophagy in 2016, research institutions worldwide have conducted hundreds of clinical trials exploring autophagy's therapeutic potential. This site connects you with this research and provides tools to track your own autophagy levels during extended water fasts.
The Process of Autophagy
This diagram illustrates the remarkable power of phagophores and lysosomes within human cells. These cellular components can:
- Identify and break down bacteria
- Eliminate viruses
- Recycle damaged mitochondria
- Process broken proteins
- Convert cellular debris into building blocks for cell renewal
Monitoring Your Progress
Testing Equipment
You can monitor your own glucose and ketone levels using affordable equipment:
- Glucose Monitor: ~$18.59 on Amazon
- Ketone Tester: ~$33.88 on Amazon
- Test Strips: 30-50 cents per test
Understanding GKI Levels
The Glucose Ketone Index (GKI) measures your autophagy depth. By tracking these levels, you can understand exactly what repairs are taking place in your body. Reference the Autophagy Levels section above to understand what each GKI level means for your health.
Ketogenic Diet and Autophagy
While the exact impact of the ketogenic diet on autophagy is still being studied, GKI measurements suggest it does trigger some autophagy, though not as deeply as extended fasting. However, following a ketogenic diet before fasting can help you achieve deeper autophagy more quickly during your fast.
Track Your Progress
The graph feature on this website is a JavaScript conversion of my original C++ program. It visualizes your fasting progress and autophagy levels. As a member, you'll have access to:
- Personal fasting tracking
- Autophagy level monitoring
- Progress visualization
- Detailed hourly totals
Note: This is a development version. If you encounter issues or have suggestions, please email autophagy@mywaterfasts.com. We're actively working on improvements, including better handling of condition tracking during fasts.