{"id":14172,"date":"2023-07-17T08:45:17","date_gmt":"2023-07-17T08:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foodpunk.com\/blog\/why-cells-digest-themselves-the-daily-bite-of-knowledge\/"},"modified":"2023-08-01T08:29:20","modified_gmt":"2023-08-01T08:29:20","slug":"why-cells-digest-themselves-the-daily-bite-of-knowledge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foodpunk.com\/en\/blog\/why-cells-digest-themselves-the-daily-bite-of-knowledge\/","title":{"rendered":"Why cells digest themselves – The daily bite of knowledge"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Read correctly. Your cells can digest themselves.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When certain signals are present, a cell begins to break down components of itself. Then proteins or entire cell organelles – e.g. mitochondria – are broken down into their individual parts and recycled.<\/p>\n

This process is called autophagy or – more scientifically – autophagocytosis.<\/p>\n

Autophagy is controlled by complex molecular processes. Because nothing would be more stupid than if suddenly cells just randomly started their own degradation here and there. No, the whole thing has to be highly organized and controlled, of course.<\/p>\n

The enzymes mTOR and AMPK, for example, are also involved in regulation. Together, they measure how much energy and nutrients (e.g. amino acids) are available to the cell. Then it is decided whether there is enough energy to build new cell structures or whether it is better to economize on energy. If they decide for autophagy, old cell components are degraded, which can be replaced anyway and are dispensable at the moment. The components obtained from this are used to build up indispensable cell components to ensure the survival of the cell even under difficult conditions.<\/p>\n

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Du m\u00f6chtest dich auch ges\u00fcnder ern\u00e4hren<\/span>?<\/p><\/div><\/div>

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Sense of autophagy<\/h2><\/div><\/div>[vc_column_text]Saving energy and nutrients is not the only reason this mechanism exists in our cells. Other functions of autophagy include:<\/p>\n