2 Autophagy Tea Recipes: Hack Your Fast

Thoughts of food rarely bombard me. Except when I’m fasting. Knowing that I’m not eating only adds fuel to the fire. My mind drifts from meat to desserts, and in extreme cases, vegetables.

Fasting may be a powerful health optimization tool, but skipping meals isn’t fun. What if you could get the benefits of a longer fast in less time?

Autophagy tea is one such solution to more effective fasting using just a few all natural ingredients. Today you’ll learn two recipes. I prefer the bedtime recipe to relax the body, calm the mind, and prepare for a night of rejuvenating sleep.

Autophagy & Fasting

Your old, damaged cells consume energy but do not perform their jobs properly. Autophagy is the cellular recycling process where the body replaces dysfunctional cell parts with newer healthy components.

It’s like clearing the cobwebs out of an apartment. Afterward, your whole body becomes more efficient.

Activating autophagy takes time, and different amounts for each organ and tissue. Scientists are still probing just how long. Current estimates that autophagy begins in as little as 18 hours of fasting, and fully ramps up by 72 hours.

It’s no coincidence that ancient civilizations drank herbal autophagy-activating teas during their fasts. Anything that enhances the process of autophagy will improve your fast.

Here are the two most popular autophagy tea recipes: one for the morning (contains caffeine), and the other for night.

Autophagy Tea for Sleep

The now popular concoction of Dr. Mercola, this tea recipe winds you down for better, deeper, more restorative sleep.

I mix these ingredients in bulk every week so. That way each night I simply dump a pre-measured container into a glass of boiling water.

I tweaked his original formula (doubled glycine) slightly for a greater sedative effect.

Ingredients:

• 2 Pau d’Arco tea bags (or 1 tsp powder).
• 1 tsp glycine powder.
• ½ tsp hydroxycitrate and garcinia (HCA/Garcinia powder).
• ½ tsp quercetin powder.
• ½ teaspoon chamomile powder.
• 1 cup water
• Optional: Stevia or monk fruit sweetener.

Directions

1. Steep the Pau d’Arco in boiling water (205 degrees F) for 10-15 minutes.
2. Remove tea bags and stir in the other ingredients
3. Optional: for best consistency, mix in a blender.
4. Enjoy 30-60 minutes before sleep

Autophagy Green & Black Tea for Energy

For a refreshing morning autophagy boost, try Naomi Whittel’s “AutophaTea”. The polyphenols in the green tea, the citrus bergamot in earl grey, and the antioxidants in cinnamon all activate autophagy.

Though her original recipe calls for green tea, I prefer its even better cousin matcha.

I rarely make this recipe because I already consume my own hacked Bulletproof Coffee and other autophagy-boosting morning health elixirs. But I’ll enjoy my version of Naomi’s tea occasionally.

Ingredients

• 1 green tea bag or 1 tsp matcha powder
• 1 earl grey tea bag
• 1 cup water
• 1 Ceylon cinnamon stick*
• Optional: 1 tbsp raw, extra virgin coconut oil
• Optional: stevia or monk fruit sweetener as needed.

*Use only Ceylon cinnamon, as other forms are high in a liver-toxic compound called coumarin.

Directions

1. Steep tea bag(s) in boiling water (205 degrees F) for 5 minutes to maximize potency.
2. Remove tea bags. If using matcha instead of green tea, add it.
3. Optionally add coconut oil and stevia.
4. Stir thoroughly.
5. Enjoy.

Upgrade Your Fast With Autophagy Tea

Autophagy is one of the widely accepted mechanisms behind the benefits of fasting. But it’s a slow process, noticeably increasing after fasting for 18 hours, and gradually building through hour 72. I don’t love fasting for three days, so I looked for shortcuts.

Common healthy lifestyle activities like exercise increase autophagy. As do certain nutrients and compounds.

I’ve listed morning and evening recipes, but I’m sure there are more. What do you drink when fasting? Let me know in the comments below.