The antioxidant that resists age-related decline

They say that there are two things certain in life — death and taxes — but there is one more thing you can be sure of… Every single day, you get a little older.

But, while aging is inevitable, age-related decline and loss of function aren’t. After all, we’ve all known people well into their 90s who were just as active and sharp as ever.

So, what’s the secret? How can you age without aging?

According to scientists at Oregon State University, the key could lie in one specific antioxidant — and its important role in detoxification…

Detoxification prevents cell death

The research, published in the journal Redox Biology, tried to identify the resistance to toxins of young cells, compared to those of older cells since the toxic stresses of everyday life lead to many health problems and whether or not your body can support detoxification can determine your risk.

In fact, according to scientists, the decline of detoxification pathways are linked to heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, some of the leading causes of death and disability throughout the world.

To determine why younger cells are able to better handle an influx of toxins, clear them out and remain healthy, while older cells wither and die, they used a toxic compound called menadione to stress the cells of rats.

They found that in response to toxic stress, younger cells lose significantly less of an antioxidant known as glutathione than older cells.  In fact, the glutathione levels of young rat cells never decreased to less than 35 percent of its initial level despite the toxic assault, whereas in older rat cells glutathione levels plummeted to just 10 percent of their original level.

They say this loss of glutathione is why health declines with age.

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Tory Hagen, lead author of the study and professor of biochemistry in the OSU College of Science said, “In young animal cells, stress doesn’t cause such a rapid loss of glutathione. The cells from older animals, on the other hand, were quickly depleted of glutathione and died twice as fast when subjected to stress.”

The good news is that they didn’t just figure out why cells die off and frailty occurs and poor health goes up, they also figured out how to fix it.

According to the researchers, “Pretreatment with NAC increased glutathione levels in the older cells and largely helped offset that level of cell death.”

NAC for better aging

You’re probably wondering what in the world NAC is and what they mean by pretreatment. After all, who wouldn’t want to prevent cell death and age better?

Well, let’s break those down into two parts…

First, NAC is a compound called N-acetyl-cysteine and is best known for its ability to support the liver — in other words, to amp up those detoxification pathways.

In fact, NAC is already used in high doses in hospitals for detoxification emergencies such as when someone is exposed to poisonous levels of heavy metals and is considered very safe to use even at those high levels.

What the researchers found in this study though is that at much lower levels NAC can help maintain glutathione levels as well as the metabolic function of the antioxidant and prevent the routine metabolic declines associated with aging.

Even though the study was on mice, the author went so far as to say, “I’m optimistic there could be a role for this compound in preventing the increased toxicity we face with aging, as our abilities to deal with toxins decline. We might be able to improve the metabolic resilience that we’re naturally losing with age.”

NAC for prevention

So, now you know what NAC is and why you need it but what did the researchers mean when they said pretreatment with NAC is what worked?

Well, the answer is simple… They mean that you should take NAC on a regular basis, not just when you’re already sick, worn out and already suffering from health problems.

As they put it, “Using NAC as a prophylactic, instead of an intervention, may allow glutathione levels to be maintained for detoxification in older adults.”

A great source of NAC I’ve discovered is Peak Liver Support™. Not only does it contain NAC, but also five additional nutrients that provide pre-cursors the body needs to produce its own natural stores of glutathione as well as support your body’s detoxification processes.

Remember, aging is inevitable but an age-related decline is not when you improve your body’s ability to process the toxins you’re exposed to on a daily basis.

Sources:

1. Boosting levels of known antioxidant may help resist age-related decline — Oregon State University