In the experiment, Dr. Tarnopolsky and his colleagues used lab rodents that carry a genetic mutation affecting how well their bodies repair malfunctioning mitochondria, which are tiny organelles within cells. Mitochondria combine oxygen and nutrients to create fuel for the cells — they are microscopic power generators.But shiny fur was the least of its benefits. Indeed, in heartening new research published last week in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, exercise reduced or eliminated almost every detrimental effect of aging in mice that had been genetically programmed to grow old at an accelerated pace.
Category Archives: fountain of youth
Why turmeric is the fountain of youth and the key to vibrant health
by Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
(NaturalNews) To the many traditional cultures around the world that have long utilized the spice in cooking and medicine, turmeric’s amazing anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-cancer benefits are no secret. But modern, Western cultures are only just now beginning to learn of the incredible healing powers of turmeric, which in more recent days have earned it the appropriate title of “king of all spices.” And as more scientific evidence continues to emerge, turmeric is quickly becoming recognized as a fountain of youth “superspice” with near-miraculous potential in modern medicine.
A cohort of scientific studies published in recent years have shown that taking turmeric on a regular basis can actually lengthen lifespan and improve overall quality of life. A study conducted on roundworms, for instance, found that small amounts of curcumin, the primary active ingredient in turmeric, increased average lifespan by about 39 percent. A similar study involving fruit flies revealed a 25 percent lifespan increase as a result of curcumin intake.
In the first study, researchers found that turmeric helped reduce the number of reactive oxygen species in roundworms, as well as reduce the amount of cellular damage that normally occurs during aging. Curcumin was also observed to improve roundworms’ resistance to heat stress compared to those not taking the spice. And in fruit flies, curcumin appeared to trigger increased levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), an antioxidant compound that protects cells against oxidative damage. (http://www.lef.org)
“Given the long and established history of turmeric as a spice and herbal medicine, its demonstrated chemopreventive and therapeutic potential, and its pharmacological safety in model system, curcumin, the bioactive extract of turmeric, promises a great future in human clinical studies designed to prevent and/or delay age-related diseases,” explained the authors of a review on these and other animal studies involving turmeric.
Improve the quality of your life with therapeutic doses of curcumin
Even with all the data showing that it can help boost energy levels, cleanse the blood, heal digestive disorders, dissolve gallstones, treat infections, and prevent cancer, some health experts have been reluctant to recommend taking turmeric in medicinal doses until human clinical trials have been conducted. But unlike pharmaceutical drugs, taking turmeric is not dangerous, and civilizations have been consuming large amounts of it for centuries as part of their normal diets.
According to consumption data collected back in the 1980s and 1990s, the average Asian person consumes up to 1,000 milligrams of turmeric a day, or as much as 440 grams per year, which equates to roughly 90 milligrams of active curcuminoids per day at higher end of the concentration spectrum. And these figures, of course, primarily cover just the amount of turmeric consumed as food in curries and other traditional dishes, which means supplements with similar concentrations are perfectly safe and effective.
But the truth of the matter is that you can safely take much higher doses of both turmeric and curcumin, and doing so will provide even more benefits. The Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University (OSU) has compiled a thorough list of turmeric’s benefits with detailed information about the doses used to achieve such benefits. You can access this list here:
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/phytochemicals/curcumin/
You can also check out the Natural Attitude Turmeric extract formula available at the Natural News Store. This particular product contains a highly-bioavailable form of turmeric for maximum benefits:
http://www.naturalnews.com
Sources for this article include:
http://www.mindbodygreen.com
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/phytochemicals/curcumin/
http://www.drsinatra.com/turmeric-super-spice
5 Secrets Of How To Stay Young
>Can Exercise Keep You Young? – NYTimes.com
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In the experiment, Dr. Tarnopolsky and his colleagues used lab rodents that carry a genetic mutation affecting how well their bodies repair malfunctioning mitochondria, which are tiny organelles within cells. Mitochondria combine oxygen and nutrients to create fuel for the cells — they are microscopic power generators.But shiny fur was the least of its benefits. Indeed, in heartening new research published last week in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, exercise reduced or eliminated almost every detrimental effect of aging in mice that had been genetically programmed to grow old at an accelerated pace.
Fountain of youth
There is no fountain of youth for aging muscles. The best advice for now: Eat well and exercise regularly throughout life.
Clock Turned Back on Aging Muscles, Researchers Claim
Scientists have found and manipulated body chemistry linked to the aging of muscles and were able to turn back the clock on old human muscle, restoring its ability to repair and rebuild itself, they said today.
The study involved a small number of participants, however. And the news is not all rosy.
Importantly, the research also found evidence that aging muscles need to be kept in shape, because long periods of atrophy are more challenging to overcome. Older muscles do not respond as well to sudden bouts of exercise, the scientists discovered. And rather than building muscle, an older person can generate scar tissue upon, say, lifting weights after long periods of inactivity.
The findings are detailed today in the European journal EMBO Molecular Medicine.
“Our study shows that the ability of old human muscle to be maintained and repaired by muscle stem cells can be restored to youthful vigor given the right mix of biochemical signals,” said study leader Irina Conboy of the University of California, Berkeley. “This provides promising new targets for forestalling the debilitating muscle atrophy that accompanies aging, and perhaps other tissue degenerative disorders as well.”
More research would be needed before any anti-aging products might result from the work, however.
Strong mysteries
Scientists know that muscles deteriorate rapidly in old age. Mechanisms that prevent muscle breakdown work less effectively in people over the age of 65, a study earlier this month found. Other research has shown that neurons have to yell louder to kick aging muscles into gear.
Yet much about how and why muscles respond to exercise, and atrophy without it, remains unknown.
Previous research in animal models led by Conboy revealed that the ability of adult stem cells to do their job of repairing and replacing damaged tissue is governed by the molecular signals they get from surrounding muscle tissue, and that those signals change with age in ways that thwart tissue repair. But the animal studies also showed that the regenerative function in old stem cells can be revived.
Meanwhile, there is no fountain of youth for aging muscles. The best advice for now: Eat well and exercise regularly throughout life.
Human muscle atrophy
In the new study, a team of researchers compared samples of muscle tissue from nearly 30 healthy men. The young group ranged from age 21 to 24 and averaged 22.6 years old, while the older group averaged 71.3 years old, ranging from 68 to 74.
Muscle biopsies were taken from one quadriceps (upper leg muscle) of each test subject, who then had that leg immobilized in a cast for two weeks to simulate muscle atrophy. After the casts were removed, the men lifted weights to regain muscle mass. More muscle tissue samples were taken.
Analysis showed that before the legs were immobilized, the adult stem cells responsible for muscle repair and regeneration were only half as numerous in the old muscle as they were in young tissue. (Muscle stem cells produce other muscle cells.) The disparity increased during exercise, with younger tissue having four times more regenerative cells compared with the old muscle.
Muscles of the older participants showed signs of inflammation and scar tissue formation during immobility and again four weeks after the cast was removed.
“Two weeks of immobilization only mildly affected young muscle, in terms of tissue maintenance and functionality, whereas old muscle began to atrophy and manifest signs of rapid tissue deterioration,” said Morgan Carlson, another UC Berkeley researcher and the study’s lead author.
“The old muscle also didn’t recover as well with exercise,” Carlson said. “This emphasizes the importance of older populations staying active because the evidence is that for their muscle, long periods of disuse may irrevocably worsen the stem cells’ regenerative environment.”
The researchers warned that in the elderly, rigorous exercise after immobility can cause replacement of functional muscle by scarring and inflammation.
“It’s like a Catch-22,” Conboy said.
Restoring powers
Previous studies have shown that adult muscle stem cells have a receptor called Notch, which triggers growth when activated. Those stem cells also have a receptor for the protein TGF-beta that, when excessively activated, sets off a chain reaction that ultimately inhibits a cell’s ability to divide. In aging mice, the decline of Notch and increased levels of TGF-beta ultimately block the stem cells’ ability to rebuild muscle.
The new study found the same process at work in humans. But it also revealed that an enzyme called mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) regulates Notch activity.
In old muscle, MAPK levels are low, so the Notch pathway is not activated and the stem cells no longer perform their muscle regeneration jobs properly, the researchers said.
In the lab, the researchers cultured old human muscle and forced the activation of MAPK. The regenerative ability of the old muscle was significantly enhanced, they report.
“In practical terms, we now know that to enhance regeneration of old human muscle and restore tissue health, we can either target the MAPK or the Notch pathways,” Conboy said. “The ultimate goal, of course, is to move this research toward clinical trials.”
The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine, the Danish Medical Research Council and the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research.
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