These days there are lots of products to choose from to help halt the hands of time from the outside. There are creams, lotions and scrubs that can fool folks into thinking you’re ten or even twenty years younger than you are.
And hey, everyone loves a compliment, so that’s great. I’m all for it. But personally, what I’m much more worried about is how I’m aging on the inside where it really counts.
You should be too. Because although you can’t see them, your organs, muscles and even your cells are all feeling the effects of aging too. And unlike on the outside, there’s no way to apply an anti-aging cream or lotion to halt the march of time.
But that doesn’t mean there isn’t something you can do about it.
Stronger “younger” muscles with pomegranate
An exciting new study has uncovered an unexpected benefit in the juicy, ruby-red seeds of an ancient fruit that originally hails all the way from the Himalayas. According to researchers the pomegranate, first cultivated in the Bronze Age, could hold the answer to keeping your muscles young today.
Pomegranates have been cherished for thousands of years, and for good reason. Not only do they taste delicious, they’re also potent antioxidants that help fight disease, slash inflammation and even fight off parasites. No wonder they were chosen as a symbol to decorate the columns in Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem.
According to the study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, a special anti-inflammatory polyphenol found in pomegranates may have the power to slow aging by stimulating the regeneration of muscle cells. Ellagitannin—a neuroprotective polyphenol found in pomegranates as well as some other fruits and vegetables—stimulates our guts to produce urolithins.
Researchers say urolithins tackle muscle aging and boost muscle function in two ways. First the compounds clean house by getting rid of damaged and poorly functioning mitochondria, which are the powerhouses of cells that convert food to energy. Second they ramp up the production of fresh, healthy mitochondria.
The result is stronger “younger” muscles without pumping iron seven days a week or bulking up like a bodybuilder.
Endurance skyrocketed 42 to 65 percent!
And we’re not talking about a tiny statistical blip here either. When researchers gave elderly mice urolinthin they were able to run for 42 percent longer. And senior rats bumped up their running endurance by a stunning 65 percent!
The mice weren’t just able to run longer they apparently actually WANTED to exercise. After getting the compound they spontaneously exercised 57 percent more than the lazy bones control mice. (I don’t know about you, but there are some days I sure could use a little extra motivation to do my own exercise.)
And if you’ve been finding it increasingly harder to twist the tops off of jars these days, you’ll be happy to hear that urolithins improved grip strength by a healthy 9 percent too. Oh, and worms given the compound lived 45 percent longer than control worms.
Researchers want to do, well, more research. And the corporate race to create some sort of a urolinthin pill has begun.
Create the best belly environment to fight muscle aging
But remember, as I explained earlier, your body naturally produces this stuff. So rather than wait around for all the research to be done and the dust to settle we can create the optimal gut environment to encourage our body to make more of this stuff on our own.
Start with a healthy Paleo style diet and add in a quality probiotic with several good bug strains. Then head to the grocery store for some delicious, fresh, organic pomegranates if you can get your hands on them. If you have trouble finding pomegranates locally you can opt for a pomegranate supplement instead.
But pomegranates aren’t the only food that can help boost urolithin. These delicious options work too…
- Organic strawberries
- Organic black raspberries
- Organic red raspberries
- Organic almonds
- Organic walnuts
Eat more of all of these antioxidant-rich foods and you can help slow down aging and fight off the kind of damage that can lead to heart disease, vision loss memory problems and more.
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