Survival of the species and regulation of heat shock protein (HSP) levels are critical to prevent toxic protein aggregation and mitophagy. Dietary activators, drugs and inhibitors may reverse protein aggregation, but excessive caffeine and curcumin levels may inactivate and promote toxic amyloid beta aggregation. In various species zinc levels and core body temperature are critical to survival with HSP and amyloid regulation important to toxic protein aggregation with relevance to programmed cell death.