Category: anti-aging

anti-aging, exercise, update

How exercise slows down aging and extend your life?

What do you think when someone tells you that they are getting older?  What comes to mind for most people is:

a. being slower in movement and thought

b. being in more pain

c.  experiencing poor sleep, and energy

d. having more disease burden

As seen from the diagram below, it is true that aging can impact multiple body  systems.

As we age, the following body systems decrease in function:

a. Brain

b.Cardiovascular

c. Lung

d. Muscle

In addition,  aging tends to decrease one’s resting metabolic rate,and increase one’s body weight.

However, this does not need to be the case. People can age gracefully and have productive lives in their old years and one way we can age gracefully is to engage in regular exercise.  Why is this? As the above diagram illustrates, exercise increase functioning of the brain, heart, lung and muscles. In addition, exercises positively effects cellular hallmarks of agings. One hallmark of aging is telomere shortening. What are telomeres? They are like caps at the end of the cell. Every time a cell divides, the telomeres reduces in size. All of us will have our telomeres reduce in size, but people who age faster will lose their telomeres quicker. What is the significance of this? This can result in cells being no longer functional and at an organ level, the organ becomes dysfunctional.

So, buy engaging in regular exercise, this can prevent telomere shortening.  How is this possible? Regular exercise can decrease oxidative stress and inflammation which can increase telomere shortening. How much is regular exercise? It is recommended for men to engage in 40 minutes of exercise , five days a week and for women to engage in 30 minutes of exercise , 5 days a week.

 

anti-aging, update

Is NAD+, the “fountain of youth” pill ?

The image for this blog posting shows elderly women entering a fountain on the left side and appear to be rejuvenated as they exit the fountain on the right side.  While this fountain of youth pool may be a mystical concept, there does exist a molecule in the body that may indeed help to slow down the clocks of aging. This molecule is known as NAD+ (nicotine adenine dinucleotide).

What is role of NAD+ ?

Inside cells, NAD+ plays a role in boosting mitochondrial function. The mitochondria is considered the powerhouse of the cell where ATP, an energy molecule, is made.

As seen in the diagram below, NAD+ has another role in supporting health of various body organs.

As we age, NAD+ levels fall. Boosting NAD+ through exercise, diet, and supplements, can have systemic effects:

  • Improving cognitive function
  • Supports liver fatty acid oxidation, and glucose production
  • Supports fat metabolism in adipose tissue
  • Supports healthy insulin secretion in the pancreas
  • Supports healthy immune function in lymph nodes
  • Supports insulin functioning in muscles
  • Supports healthy kidney functioning
  • Supports healthy fertility

Dosing NAD+ can vary among people.  I recommend NAD+ as part of my anti-aging protocol. If you want to take NAD+, but you don’t know how much to take, please reach out to me for a consultation.