How to Detox Your Brain

Here’s the simple way to keep your brain young, sharp, and disease-free

Maria Cross
Feed Your Brain
Published in
7 min readJul 24, 2020

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In 2016, Japanese cell biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi won a Nobel Prize for his discovery of the mechanism of autophagy, the process the body uses to clear out and recycle old cell components. Making this discovery was phenomenal — but making it work is easy, and something you can do yourself.

About autophagy

Sometimes described as “cellular housekeeping”, autophagy — meaning “self-eating” in Greek - is a process that takes place in all mammalian cells and tissues.

It was in the 1960s that researchers first became aware that each cell can destroy its own components.

These components include damaged proteins and organelles, considered to becommon features of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease.

Brain cells are highly dependent on this quality control process. When functioning efficiently, autophagy protects neurons and slows the advance of these neurodegenerative disorders. Conversely, when autophagy fails to function, or is abnormal, disease may arise.

As well as destroying old, worn-out parts, the autophagy process includes engulfing and destroying bacteria and viruses, and…

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Maria Cross
Feed Your Brain

MSc. Registered nutritionist, specialising in gut and mental health. OUT NOW! My new book, How to Feed Your Brain. mariacrossnutrition @mariacross