Protein Folding Support

Cells maintain protein quality through chaperones (heat shock proteins), the ubiquitin-proteasome system and autophagy. Failure of this machinery produces the protein aggregates seen in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's disease, and contributes to sarcopenia and cataract. The honest position is that proteostasis is measurable in cell and animal models but not routinely in humans, so anything sold as a proteostasis supplement is extrapolating from preclinical data.

1) Exercise is the best-evidenced proteostasis stimulus available — both endurance and resistance training upregulate heat shock proteins and autophagy. 2) Heat exposure through sauna or hot baths induces the heat shock response; observational Finnish cohort data links frequent sauna use to lower dementia and cardiovascular mortality. 3) Periods without food, whether overnight fasting windows or time-restricted eating, activate autophagy in preclinical models. 4) Sleep drives glymphatic clearance of misfolded proteins from the brain, and short sleep raises amyloid burden measurably. 5) Keep protein intake adequate; proteostasis is about quality control, not restriction. 6) Treat supplements marketed for autophagy — spermidine, trehalose, resveratrol — as preclinical and unproven in humans.

• •Regular exercise
• •Sauna or heat exposure
• •Time-restricted eating
• •Sleep quality
• •Cold exposure
• •Avoiding chronic hyperglycaemia