Some people say that Juan Ponce de León, the Spanish explorer, never actually went looking for the Fountain of Youth. They say a Spanish historian who knew him cooked up that story a few years after his death to make him look bad.
But if Señor de León ever did go looking for the legendary fountain, he would not have been the first. Stories about magical substances that grant youth and long life are found in cultures all around the world.
Today, while we no longer imagine there’s a supernatural elixir of life that will keep us around as long as the giant redwood trees, we continue the tradition of looking for ways to ease the difficulties of aging.
And thanks to science, new discoveries are improving our quality of life well beyond what many people once thought possible.
One of those discoveries is where the energy in your body’s cells comes from. Maybe you’ve heard of mitochondria, the powerful energy factories within your cells.
Researchers have recently proven that mitochondrial function is associated with cell aging.
In a recent study, a research team successfully ‘tricked’ older cells into eliminating their damaged mitochondria until all were removed. They were stunned to discover that once these older cells shed their worn out, damaged mitochondria, they resembled younger cells.
These newly rejuvenated cells displayed levels of oxygen free radicals and expression of genes typical of more youthful cells.
Studies such as this confirm three important points about how your mitochondria influence age-related changes in your body:
- As you grow older, your mitochondria undergo damage and mutations that affect how well they function.
- Damaged mitochondria accumulate in cells.
- Your cells produce fewer new mitochondria as you age.
Healthy mitochondria are essential to your health. They produce 95% of your body’s energy.
Your mitochondria also provide important signaling molecules for the expression of your genes, and they help promote a normal inflammatory response throughout your body.
Your mitochondria are so powerful, many experts believe they largely determine how long you live.
How Your Mitochondria Play a Central Role in Your Health and Longevity
DNA serves as a genetic blueprint, giving your body instructions for how to grow, develop, survive and reproduce. Many people are surprised to learn that they have two different types of DNA inside their cells.
The first type – cellular or nuclear DNA – is likely what comes to mind when you think of your cells’ genetic material.
But you have another whole set of genetic material, and this DNA may actually determine your longevity.
Unlike the other components inside each of your cells, your mitochondria have their own DNA. Considering some of your cells can contain as many as 2,500 mitochondria, we’re talking about a lot of genetic material.
Having their own DNA means your mitochondria have the ability to replicate and increase their numbers inside each of your cells.
Scientists now realize that the greater the number of mitochondria in your body and the healthier their functioning, the greater your odds are of living a healthy, long life.
But there’s a problem with your mitochondrial DNA... It’s far more susceptible to severe oxidative damage than your cellular DNA.
Because your mitochondria create 95% of the energy for your body’s processes, they sit in the midst of an enormous firestorm of oxidative activity. This continuous activity unleashes damaging free radicals and toxic reactive oxygen species.
Your mitochondrial DNA doesn’t have the same structural defenses and repair systems as your cellular DNA. So the genetic material in your mitochondria mutates at a much faster pace and accumulates in your body as you age.
Scientists are now convinced that damaged mitochondria and mitochondrial dysfunction are important contributors to the normal aging process and can affect your health.
What’s Harming Your Mitochondria?
When you’re younger, your mitochondria are well protected by your body’s natural defenses. As you age, that protection fades. The older you get, the faster your mitochondria deteriorate and become dysfunctional.
Mitochondrial dysfunction has the most significant impact in high energy-demanding tissues and organs like your brain, heart, and muscles.
Studies show that brain cells in people over 70, on average, contain 50% more mitochondrial damage that brain cells in middle-aged adults.
So what is it that affects oxidative activity in your cells? What choices increase or decrease the damaging oxidative load in your body?
Right at the top of the list of factors is your diet. What you eat can make or break the health of your mitochondria.
Fats are the primary building block of your cell membranes. So, eating the right types of fat is crucial for your health and longevity.
Reducing your intake of seed oils, especially linoleic acid (LA), a polyunsaturated omega-6 fat (PUFA), is the single most important thing you can do to both lower the oxidative stress in your mitochondria and improve your overall health.
Vegetable and seed oils are high in PUFAs, which are chemically unstable. This makes them highly susceptible to damage from oxygen species generated from the energy production in your mitochondria.
This damage generates harmful free radicals that damage your mitochondria, cell membranes, proteins and DNA.
And once PUFAs integrate themselves into your cell membranes, they remain there for at least five years.
What about ketogenic diets? How does low-carb eating affect your health?
How Extended Ketogenic Diets Can Backfire
When you follow a ketogenic or low-carb diet, you can reach a state called nutritional ketosis in which your body burns fat as its primary fuel, instead of sugar.
Ketogenic and low-carb diets are great short-term interventions for those who are overweight and metabolically inflexible – that is, you can’t easily switch from burning fat for fuel to burning glucose.
However, once you have regained your metabolic flexibility, it’s best to switch up your strategy and add carbs (and glucose) back into your diet.
We now know that your body releases cortisol to produce glucose when your levels of glucose are too low. Cortisol’s primary purpose is to raise your blood sugar, and it does that by breaking down your muscles.
A process called lipolysis, cortisol uses up stored fat, but it also sacrifices your lean muscle tissue to make amino acids that convert to glucose.
The problem is that it’s not getting rid of the harmful belly fat wrapped around your organs that causes inflammation – it is burning your good, useful fat. And in the process, it may also impair your immune function and increase food cravings.
Bottom line… you don’t want your cortisol to be elevated.
You still want to avoid processed foods and simple carbs, or sugar, however - simple carbs can cause you to age faster. Instead, you want to include some complex carbs, such as cooked starches and ripe fruits in your diet, as they have the opposite effect.
Most important, you want to severely restrict your intake of seed oils, especially linoleic acid and other omega-6 fats.
How to Help Protect and Increase Mitochondrial Functions as You Age
Researchers believe you may have about a 10-year window of opportunity to help save your mitochondria, from the time they first experience damage.
Early changes in mitochondrial function may be reversed if addressed early and before damage becomes permanent.
In addition to restricting your seed oils and linoleic acid, as well as simple carbs and
sugar, there are other things you can do to help protect your mitochondria.
By making a few wise choices, you can help stimulate mitochondrial biogenesis, or the growth of new mitochondria:
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Exercise.
Studies show that the mitochondrial DNA in muscle declines as you grow older. Regular, high intensity exercise and maintaining a healthy weight may have a positive influence on mitochondrial health and life span.
Moving throughout your day – and avoiding prolonged sitting – are both beneficial for your mitochondria. Any time your body experiences a greater demand for energy (as with exercise), it creates new mitochondria.
Exercise also helps stimulate mitophagy, or the removal of damaged mitochondria, so they don’t accumulate in your cells.
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Avoid environmental toxins.
Our food supply is overloaded with toxic pesticides and herbicides. These can end up in the salad on your plate or the apple in your hand, presenting a danger to your mitochondria.
For example, Glyphosate – the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup – prevents the uptake of manganese and zinc, important minerals for protecting your mitochondria from oxidative damage.
The Roundup formula also makes your mitochondrial membranes more permeable, allowing more glyphosate to enter. And that further interferes with energy production.
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Ensure you have healthy levels of certain nutrients.
A number of nutrients support mitochondrial function:
- Ubiquinol (or CoQ10) – One of the most important antioxidants for protecting mitochondrial DNA, but levels decline rapidly with age
- Magnesium – Helps increase the efficiency of your mitochondria to repair damage and produce ATP (energy)
- Animal-based omega-3 fatty acids – Positively alter mitochondrial membrane structure and improve mitochondrial function in brain aging
- All B vitamins (including thiamin, riboflavin, and B6) – Required as coenzymes for cellular and mitochondrial function
- Berberine – Supports mitochondrial health by activating AMPK, which helps regulate energy homeostasis*
- PQQ (Pyrroloquinoline quinone) – Helps protect mitochondria from oxidative damage and stimulates the growth of new mitochondria*
There’s a good chance you haven’t heard much about Berberine or PQQ, especially as they relate to your mitochondria. However, the latest research shows both offer significant benefits to mitochondrial health by regulating key biochemical pathways.
Let’s look closer at these two nutrients…
Berberine: One of the Few Compounds in Nature Known to Activate Your Metabolic Switch and Help Protect Your Brain Cells
Berberine is a yellow-colored alkaloid compound found in a number of plants: European barberry, goldenseal, Amur cork tree, Oregon grape, goldthread, tree turmeric and phellodendron.
Originally isolated from traditional Chinese herbs, Eastern practitioners have known about berberine’s many potential benefits for centuries.
But it’s the most recent research that has Western scientists and doctors excited about berberine and its impact on overall health and mitochondrial health.
There are thousands of berberine studies listed on PubMed, and the number grows every year.
So, why all the excitement over a yellow-colored compound?
It has a lot to do with a vital enzyme inside your cells called adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, or AMPK. Regarded as your metabolic master switch, AMPK plays a crucial role in regulating your metabolism.*
Researchers have discovered that berberine activates AMPK, which helps:
- Regulate biological activities that promote normal balances of energy, lipids, and glucose.*
- Coordinate your body’s response to stressors.*
- Support cellular repair and maintenance.*
And here’s something else you need to know about this alkaloid compound…
Berberine Imitates the Effects of Exercise, Dieting and Weight Loss*
When AMPK is activated in your cells, an interesting cascade of events occurs. AMPK produces benefits similar to exercising, dieting and weight loss.
While using berberine is never recommended as a replacement for exercise or a healthy diet, research clearly shows it holds value for:
- Slowing the release of free fatty acids to help prevent fat deposits.*
- Promoting insulin, leptin and adiponectin function for a healthy metabolism.*
- Supporting healthy blood sugar levels already in the normal range.*
- Promoting healthy insulin sensitivity.*
- Promoting healthy gut microflora.*
- Supporting healthy lipid metabolism.*
- Stimulating the release of nitric oxide for healthy blood flow.*
Researchers have found that, while berberine activates the enzyme AMPK, it also inhibits what’s known as PTP1B activity. That action provides important support for healthy normal blood sugar levels.*
Berberine also plays an important role in promoting brown fat activity and boosting fat burning in your mitochondria.* Brown fat is a mitochondria-loaded, heat-generating type of fat that burns energy instead of storing it.
If you have a few extra inches to spare, especially stubborn belly fat, increasing the burning of brown fat may be a desirable side benefit of berberine.
Isolated in Interstellar Stardust by NASA, PQQ May Be a Breakthrough for Mitochondrial Health*
Every now and then, a nutrient comes along that generates a great deal of excitement in the research community. We’ve just looked at some of the reasons Berberine is one of those nutrients.
PQQ, or pyrroloquinoline quinone, is another…
First identified in 1979 as an enzyme cofactor in microorganisms, PQQ has also been potentially detected in interstellar samples collected by NASA’s probe Stardust.
Here’s the significance of this finding:
- PQQ has been around for a long, long time.
- PQQ is ubiquitous and humans and animals have been widely exposed to it.
- PQQ is involved in many critical biological functions.
Its potential benefits are impressive, and its involvement in important cell signaling pathways indicate PQQ is an especially beneficial nutrient for your mitochondria.*
Researchers have found that PQQ works exceptionally well with CoQ10 or ubiquinol, the reduced form of CoQ10, with one supporting creation and the other helping to provide protection of mitochondria.
Ubiquinol and CoQ10 optimize mitochondrial function and help protect them from free radical and ROS damage, while PQQ, also a coenzyme, triggers the creation of new mitochondria.*
PQQ Helps Create New Mitochondria in Aging Cells*
Even though PQQ is bacterial in nature, your body and your gut microbiome do not have the ability to produce it naturally. That suggests PQQ may be an essential micronutrient, meaning you need to consume it regularly.
In 2010, a team of researchers at the University of California discovered that PQQ has the unusual ability to activate not one but three cell signaling pathways:
- PGC-1 stimulates genes that enhance mitochondrial and cellular respiration, growth, and reproduction*
- CREB interacts with histones that protect and repair cellular DNA while stimulating the growth of new mitochondria*
- DJ-1, like PGC-1 and CREB, supports cell function and survival, especially in the brain, and helps guard against cell death from antioxidant stress*
A 2012 research advance took a closer look and found that PQQ activates genes that induce mitochondrial biogenesis, which is the spontaneous formation of new mitochondria in aging cells.*
Scientists also observed that when cells are deficient in PQQ, a significant number of genes can be profoundly affected.
A total of 438 genes to be exact…
Most impacted are those genes involved in cellular stress, cell signaling, metabolite transfer and the biogenesis of new mitochondria.*
However, the researchers were able to reverse the negative effects by providing PQQ supplementation.
Up to 5,000 Times More Efficient Than Vitamin C at Reducing Oxidation
Damage to mitochondrial DNA from the massive assault of free radicals and reactive oxygen species is a root cause of aging. As mitochondria are damaged, your body’s ability to generate energy decreases.
That makes antioxidants especially important for protecting your mitochondria. But some antioxidants are clearly more effective than others.
For example, research shows that PQQ is 30 to 5,000 times more efficient at reducing oxidation than other common antioxidants such as vitamin C.
One study contrasted the protective effects of PQQ with other antioxidant compounds. The difference in the amounts needed of various compounds to effectively increase the number of mitochondria and mitochondrial functioning was especially striking.
While it took millimoles of other compounds to achieve cellular protection, the dietary concentrations of PQQ required could be measured in nanomoles.
Considering that one millimole equals one million nanomoles, that’s a profound difference in concentrations.
PQQ is found in human milk and in small amounts in many common foods, including kiwi, natto, tofu, green tea and green peppers.
Researchers now believe taking higher doses of PQQ – higher than the amounts found in foods – may be valuable for:
- Energy production.*
- Supporting neurological function.*
- Supporting immune health.*
- Supporting cardiovascular health.*
- Enhancing antioxidant status in tissues and cells.*
It may also have beneficial effects on cerebral function and metabolism…
Studies Confirm PQQ’s Potential Effects on Brain Function, Memory, Stress and Sleep Quality
In the face of the daily demands of our modern society, along with the toxins we are exposed to on a regular basis, maintaining optimal brain function, sleep quality and a feeling of general well-being can be a struggle.
PQQ may provide a unique support for protecting these important markers of well-being. Several human studies support claims about PQQ’s effects on cognitive health and brain function as well as stress and sleep quality:
- PQQ helps brain cells function more efficiently.* PQQ has been shown to support nerve regeneration and enhance nerve growth factor.* Plus, it increases the number and efficiency of mitochondria.*
- PQQ optimizes cerebral function.* The effect of PQQ on cerebral function and anti-stress activity was tested in 71 human subjects over a 12-week period using 20 mg of PQQ and 20 mg of PQQ with 100 mg of CoQ10. Both groups showed improvements in high-level cerebral functions, including attention and information discrimination.*
- PQQ with or without CoQ10 supports memory.* A double-blind study among adults aged 50-70 evaluated PQQ with CoQ10 (or ubiquinol) and PQQ alone for 24 weeks. Both groups experienced positive effects on memory and other brain functions, like spatial awareness.*
- PQQ helps counteract the effects of stress and enhances sleep quality.* A group of 17 adults took a daily dose of 20 mg of PQQ for eight weeks. All six measures of vigor, fatigue, tension, mood, anger-hostility and confusion improved significantly.* Quality of life and sleep quality also improved significantly.*
PQQ, like Berberine, clearly has a lot of benefits to offer for many aspects of health and daily life.
A Synergistic Blend that Amplifies the Impressive Benefits of Berberine and PQQ
No one has ever before connected the dots between Berberine and PQQ. But extensive research on mitochondrial health suggests that combining these two exceptional supplements into one formula may offer exceptional benefits.
Berberine offers uniquely powerful support and PQQ is essential for your mitochondrial health, as they play critical roles in upregulating and downregulating important biochemical pathways.*
Because Berberine’s and PQQ’s impact is on different pathways in your mitochondria, when put together, they have a combined, synergistic effect.
In essence, the more good pathways can be upregulated, and the more bad pathways can be downregulated, the greater the synergistic or combined impact on your mitochondrial health.
Our Berberine and MicroPQQ Advanced formula takes advantage of that synergy and brings you the unique benefits of each of these two extraordinary nutrients.
Based on the most cutting-edge research on mitochondrial health, there’s no other formula like this on the market today.
More Than Twice as Effective and Stays in Your Bloodstream Three Times Longer
Berberine and MicroPQQ Advanced is no ordinary berberine or PQQ supplement. Never before combined into one formula, this combo provides unique multi-functional effects.
What really sets Berberine and MicroPQQ Advanced apart from other PQQ supplements is the type of PQQ it contains.
While other PQQ-only supplements use regular PQQ, our formula uses a patented MicroPQQ that:
- Is more than twice as effective (2.2 times to be exact), so 5 mg of MicroPQQ provides the same benefits as 10 mg of regular PQQ.
- Stays in your bloodstream longer, nine hours compared to only two or three hours for regular PQQ. Longer blood exposure may mean greater potential benefits.*
- Is specially formulated to enhance absorption through sustained release of PQQ for higher availability.*
- Is very stable and can complete thousands of redox/antioxidant cycles instead of self-oxidizing.
Take Control of Your Mitochondrial and Metabolic Health Today
You have about a decade from the onset of mitochondrial decline until early changes in mitochondrial function become irreversible. However, there’s no way to tell when those changes begin.
By exercising, avoiding toxins such as glyphosate and eating a healthy diet rich in nutrients, you help keep your mitochondria in good health. But as you age, it may be wise to include extra support for those vital cellular processes.
Berberine and MicroPQQ Advanced provides a two-punch approach to optimizing both your mitochondrial and your metabolic health:
- Helps protect your mitochondria from oxidative damage*
- Promotes the growth of new mitochondria*
- Supports neurological and cognitive function*
- Supports immune and cardiovascular health*
- Encourages fat burning*
- Promotes insulin, leptin, and adiponectin function for a healthy metabolism*
- Supports healthy blood sugar levels already in the normal range*
- Promotes healthy insulin sensitivity*
- Promotes the growth of healthy gut microflora*
- Supports healthy lipid metabolism*
That’s a lot of benefits packed into one daily dose. All this extra support for your body’s healthy function means more living and doing the things you love.
Take advantage of this unique synergistic blend of cutting-edge nutrients, and order Berberine and MicroPQQ Advanced today.