Aging is something that automatically happens to your body. You can see it in the mirror and feel it when you get out of bed – yet most people know little about how it occurs.
For years, scientists believed the length of the telomere – or the endcaps on your DNA – played a pivotal role in the aging process. With each cell replication, the telomeres would gradually shorten.
According to the telomere theory of aging, the shorter your telomeres, the greater your risk of premature death. If you had longer telomeres, you could assume you had the potential to live a long, healthy life.
This was a controversial theory for decades and now researchers have disproven the link between telomeres and aging. Newer research shows that both shorter and longer telomeres hold greater risks for ill health and early death.
So, what might be a better explanation of how your body ages?
DNA methylation, or the actual expression of your DNA, appears to be more aligned to the aging process than telomeres, and therefore, a better marker of disease risk and longevity.
In fact, data on a pair of twins showed that only 2% of their aging was due to telomere length, whereas about 35% of their aging was based on epigenetic methylation clocks.
A complex-sounding term, epigenetic (or genetic) methylation is based on the concept that every cell in your body has the exact same DNA, or genetic information, but expresses that DNA in different ways. For example, your heart cells don’t express the same genes as the cells of your skin.
Epigenetic age reflects your “biological age,” which may be younger or older than your chronological age. Your biological age reflects the impact of your lifestyle and environmental factors on your overall health.
A field still in its infancy, I believe epigenetics represents an exciting way to view the aging process. Most importantly, it allows you to make meaningful changes in how you age.
While you can’t stop the aging process or even change your DNA, there are strategies you can use to help lower your biological age – and affect how you look and feel.
Let’s take a closer look at some of those strategies…
5 Strategies That Can Help Slow Your Body’s Cellular Aging Clock
I’ve identified five strategies that have been shown to help lower biological age and, at the same time, improve your quality of life.
These basic strategies include…
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Optimize your vitamin D level – Aim for maintaining a vitamin D blood level of 60 ng/mL to 80 ng/mL (see our Mercola Market for at-home test kits). In one study, participants reduced their biological age by 1.8 years on average, taking just 4,000 IUs of oral vitamin D a day for 16 weeks.
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Attain metabolic flexibility – It’s estimated that 95% of individuals are not metabolically flexible, which can seriously affect their health. Time-restricted eating – eating your last meal of the day at least three hours before bed and then not eating again for at least 12 to 14 hours afterwards – can help.
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Limit your intake of linoleic acid (LA) – Found in vegetable and seed oils and just about all processed foods, LA can impair your mitochondrial function and remain clogged in your cells for up to a decade.
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Get regular exercise and daily movement – In a study of 1,481 older women, those who sat the longest, on average, had a biological age eight years older than women who moved around more often.
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Manage your stress – Any type of stress – physical, mental or emotional – can increase your biological age. Engaging in meditation and other stress-reduction strategies on a regular basis can help reverse the process.
In addition to these five strategies, I’ve uncovered three valuable amino acids that can also play a role in helping you lower your biological age…
The Small yet Mighty Amino Acid That Supports Your Youthful Well-Being
Glycine, the smallest and simplest amino acid, is a powerful supplement that supports healthy aging. It may not be as well-known as some of the other amino acids, but it plays a tremendous role in many aspects of your health, including the following:
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Helps your body make glutathione, your body’s master antioxidant that helps prevent cellular and mitochondrial damage, including the signs of early aging*
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Promotes glycogen storage, making glucose readily available for energy production*
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Builds and protects collagen, a protein that provides structure to your bones, joints, muscles and connective tissues*
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Enhances protein synthesis and inhibits protein breakdown to help improve muscle cell growth and reduce muscle wastage*
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Helps repair cellular damage caused by the stressors you’re exposed to every day, including cellphone radiation and other electromagnetic frequencies, or EMFs*
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Supports metabolic health, including your weight and healthy blood sugar as well as blood glucose levels already in the normal range*
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Optimizes the secretion of a gut hormone that supports the normal healthy actions of insulin in blood sugar health*
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Helps reinforce your matrix surrounding your cells to act as a physical barrier against threats*
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Acts as a calming neurotransmitter in your brain and nervous system, and affects your cognition, mood, appetite and level of comfort*
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Contributes to the production of melatonin and enhances sleep quality by promoting REM sleep and helping you to move more quickly into deep sleep*
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Promotes the production and maintenance of your red blood cells to supply your cells, tissues and organs with oxygen and energy*
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Supports gut health and healthy digestion by helping to regulate your body’s production of bile acid to assist in the digestion of fat*
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Supports your normal detoxification processes*
With such a wide range of influence over so many systems in your body – your brain, muscles, heart, digestion, blood sugar levels, immune function as well as your vascular and metabolic health – it’s easy to see why glycine sits so high on my list, and why you wouldn’t want to run low either.
High-protein foods, such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs and dairy, contain some glycine, but the best sources of glycine are what most people throw away – the bones and skins from meat, fish and poultry.
Your body can make some glycine, but research confirms that supplemental glycine may be needed to ensure a healthy metabolism, bone and muscle health.*
Because I am so impressed with its potential, I personally take three teaspoons of glycine powder a day.
Now, let’s look at the second amino acid that I consider essential for a long, healthy life…
Help Support Your Brain, Heart and Cells with This ‘Fountain of Youth’
Taurine is another amino acid that plays an important role in longevity and healthy aging. Because studies show it affects the hallmarks of aging that can lead to declining organ function and early death, it’s been dubbed a ‘fountain of youth’ by scientists.*
This sulfur-containing amino acid is largely found in your heart, brain, retina and skeletal muscles.
What makes taurine especially valuable for your brain and nervous system health is its ability to cross your blood-brain barrier. There, it supports the proper folding of proteins, crucial for brain health as you age.*
In your body, taurine supports…
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Mitochondrial function and energy metabolism, as taurine helps protect against mitochondrial dysfunction.*
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Heart health by promoting healthy cholesterol and blood pressure levels already in the normal range.*
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Metabolic health by supporting healthy glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, as well as helping to raise your metabolic rate.*
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Brain and nervous system health, including cognition and mood by increasing glycine and supporting calmness and healthy nerve growth.*
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Vision, as taurine is essential for the development and maintenance of the cells in your retina.*
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Digestion through the production of bile salts for digestion.*
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Muscle function by enhancing muscle contraction and improving strength, as well as delaying muscle fatigue.*
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Builds collagen and helps rebuild damaged collagen fibers to provide structure to your bones, joints, muscles and connective tissues.*
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Immune function, as taurine is involved in immune cell function and the supporting your body’s inflammatory responses.
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Bone health by supporting healthy bone mass and bone quality.*
In a study, supplementation with taurine slowed key markers of aging such as increased DNA damage, impaired mitochondrial function and the deterioration of cells.*
Could You Be Deficient in Taurine?
While not considered an “essential” amino acid, taurine does become essential in times of stress and illness.
Your body produces some taurine, but as you get older, your ability to synthesize it diminishes. It’s estimated that taurine levels drop by about 80% over your lifetime.
Taurine is found in animal foods such as grass-fed red meat, poultry, seafood, diary, pastured eggs, so if you are a vegan or vegetarian, or eat “fake” lab-made meat products, you likely are not getting enough taurine.
How would you know if you’re running low in taurine? You might experience…
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Fatigue and low energy
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Muscle cramps, muscle weakness, muscle wasting or atrophy and poor exercise performance
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Impaired immune function
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Vision problems
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Cardiovascular and blood pressure issues
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Digestive problems such as bloating, diarrhea and malabsorption
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Weight and metabolic issues
And now, let’s look at the third amino acid that’s so important for healthy aging…
Proline: Essential for the Synthesis of Collagen for Healthy Muscles, Joints and Organs
L-proline, or proline, is an amino acid that’s considered non-essential because your body typically can make enough to meet its needs.
However, like taurine, during times of stress, growth or healing, proline becomes essential because you need more than your body can make.
Proline is found in bone broth, grass fed beef and organ meats, pasture-raised chicken and egg yolks, wild-caught fish and gelatin. Natural sources of collagen, like bone broth and high-protein animal foods, contain the highest concentrations.
This amino acid is important for your…
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Collagen production to support your muscles, bones, joints, cartilage, connective tissue, organs and teeth,.*
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Immune health by supporting your body’s immune defense and promoting the secretion of immune cells and gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT).*
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Mitochondrial health, as proline acts as a signaling molecule to modulate mitochondrial functions and healthy gene expression.*
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Gut health, as proline helps strengthen the tissues that line your gastrointestinal tract and helps tighten junctions to avoid a leaky gut and to protect against threats.*
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Metabolism and energy production, as proline assists with energy output during physical activity and helps increase muscle mass.*
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Cardiovascular health by supporting blood pressure values already in the normal range and promoting healthy blood flow.*
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Antioxidant defense, as proline improves your body’s use of antioxidants.
What happens if you don't get enough proline?
Because proline is an essential part of collagen, with too low of levels, you may not be able to build muscle or maintain healthy joints.
So, if you’re experiencing joint discomfort and stiffness, skin or gastrointestinal issues, or heart concerns, you may benefit from more proline.*
Introducing Our 3-in-1 Formula: Pure Power Glycine + Taurine & L-Proline
Pure Power Glycine + Taurine & L-Proline provides 4 g of Glycine, 500 mg of Taurine and 250 mg of L-Proline per single-scoop serving.
Our product is…
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Non-GMO
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Clean and tested for purity
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Not manufactured with ingredients containing wheat, gluten, soy, corn, dairy, egg, fish, shellfish, sesame or tree nuts
You already know the individual benefits of each of these amino acids, but what happens when you combine them?
If you’re a fitness buff like me, you’ll be pleased to know that these three amino acids can help improve your athletic performance and reduce muscle damage, especially taurine, as it helps protect DNA from damage.*
Glycine also promotes muscle growth, as does L-proline. Even more importantly, glycine helps guard against the breakdown of protein tissue that forms muscle by boosting the level of creatine in your body.*
Your body uses glycine to make creatine, which supplies energy to your muscles and to your nerve cells to repair damage and help them grow back stronger. Higher levels of creatine in your muscles enhances their performance in short bursts of activity such as weightlifting or sprinting.*
Studies show that boosting creatine can lead to increased muscle strength, greater muscle mass and power. Plus, more creatine may aid in recovery after exercise.
Could Glycine + Taurine & L-Proline Help You Move with Greater Ease?
One of the hallmarks of aging that no one looks forward to is increasing joint discomfort.
Collagen is the “glue” that holds your body together, and it’s needed for forming connective tissue, such as ligaments and tendons, which keeps your body strong and your joints flexible.
Starting in your mid-30s, your body starts producing less collagen. And factors, such as an unhealthy diet, stress and lifestyle habits, as well as hormonal imbalances and nutrient deficiencies, can speed up collagen losses.
To make matters worse, people with stiffness and joint issues tend to have severely diminished collagen synthesis.
Glycine, taurine and proline all play a role in the production of collagen. Approximately 30% of the collagen in your body is composed of glycine.
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Glycine enhances collagen synthesis and helps rebuild damaged collagen fibers, promotes flexible cartilage and healthy joints, and at the same time, helps prevent free radical damage.*
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Taurine builds collagen and helps rebuild damaged collagen fibers. Plus, taurine may help protect muscles and nerve cells from excessive protein breakdown and damage to the mitochondria of cells, all while promoting an already healthy inflammatory response.*
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Proline helps strengthen cartilage (which is made from collagen) by stimulating the cells within cartilage called chondrocytes, and supports immune function and an already normal inflammatory response to protect joints and connective tissue.*
For all these reasons, athletes often choose to include glycine, taurine and proline in their supplement regimens – since all three help rebuild damaged collagen fibers, helping you to recover faster.
The Formula You Can Trust: Glycine + Taurine & L-Proline Is NSF Certified for Sport®
With the goal of providing individuals with safer choices when selecting dietary supplements, National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) International has developed the first truly independent testing standard and product certification program known as NSF/ANSI 173.
NSF International’s Certified for Sport® program meets the growing demands of athletes, coaches and all those concerned about banned substances in dietary supplements and functional foods.
Pure Power Glycine + Taurine & L-Proline is Certified for Sport® by NSF International, the only independent third-party certification program recognized by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League and the Canadian Football League.
Certified for Sport® is also recommended by the NFL, NBA, PGA, LPGA, CCES, CPSDA, iNADO, Ironman, NASCAR, Taylor Hooton Foundation and many other organizations seeking to mitigate the risks of contaminated dietary supplements.
There are four major quality components of the Certified for Sport® certification program:
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The product is manufactured at a facility that is GMP registered and audited up to two times per year for quality and safety by NSF International to comply with the U.S. FDA’s Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements.
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Toxicological review of the label to make sure all ingredients are allowed to be in a dietary supplement and that the amount of each ingredient does not exceed typical use levels established by NSF.
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The product and label are tested to verify product formulation and label claims to be sure that what’s on the label is in the product. Then chemical and contaminant testing is conducted to make sure there are no potentially harmful levels of specific contaminants, pesticides, heavy metals and more.
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Products are tested for more than 272 substances which are banned by major athletic organizations and anti-doping associations.
This valuable certification ensures you can trust Glycine + Taurine & L-Proline.
Take Control of Your Healthy Aging with Glycine + Taurine & L-Proline
Many scientists now agree… the best longevity benefits come from leading a healthy lifestyle. Beyond that, amino acids like glycine, taurine and proline can also potentially help you age well in the following ways:
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Maintaining healthy collagen for the structure of your bones, joints, muscles and connective tissues.*
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Helping to avoid the breakdown of muscle tissue so you can exercise and move comfortably at any age.*
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Providing the right building blocks for building and preserving lean body mass, protecting cell health, rebuilding your gut lining and supporting your metabolic health.*
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Supporting your brain and nervous system for healthy aging and rejuvenation.*
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Supporting your body’s detoxification processes.*
From providing the building blocks for collagen to the recharging of glutathione, you can help protect your cells and mitochondria, and help resist the signs of early cellular aging.*
Take control of your healthy aging, and replenish your body with Pure Power Glycine + Taurine & L-Proline. Order your supply today.