First off, before you get all conscientious based on the headline alone, don’t run out to buy a bunch of pomegranates. That’s not going to help.
Here’s the deal … there’s a compound called urolithin A (UA) that’s not found naturally in any food, but biomolecules in fruits like pomegranates and raspberries break down into UA in the human gut.
In a recent study, researchers synthesized the UA compound, and administered it in various dose sizes to a group of 60 elderly test subjects. Why the interest?
The compound appears to fight aging by improving the function of mitochondria – the energy-producing part of a cell — in a way similar to the benefits of exercise.
The study was aimed at determining if the compound has beneficial results. More importantly, the researchers wanted to make sure there were no side effects.
Here comes the exercise pill?
Much as with therapies being developed to eliminate senescent cells, improving the function of our mitochondria can help stave off the diseases that come with aging. So far, the results are promising:
Importantly, the team found that at doses of 500 and 1,000 mg, the gene expression of mitochondria in skeletal muscle cells was affected, stimulating biogenesis in the same way exercise does.
Of course, maybe one should just exercise to get the benefits of exercise? While that’s true, many people are praying for a pill to do the work for them, and the pharmaceutical industry is more than happy to take that money.
Getting better at getting older
The exciting part of longevity research is not the development of magic pills, necessarily. It’s about better understanding why age-related diseases happen in the first place, which could lead to radical life extension therapies.
In the meantime, doing the work the old-fashioned way is required for now. And there are all sorts of collateral benefits to exercise and better nutrition, specifically when it comes to your brain health and maintaining cognitive function.
It’s still early stages for all of these approaches, but the allure of those Baby Boomer dollars will keep the accelerator firmly pressed down. And that means Generation X will certainly benefit, so let’s start thinking more about what we want to do with the rest of our extended lives.
Anti-aging compound from pomegranates proves promising in human clinical trials (New Atlas)
