- Mitochondria are organelles within our cells that generate energy and are vital to our well being.
- As you get older mitochondria begin to fail which leads to less energy and more inflammation.
- Reservatrol and quercetin can help restore mitochondrial biogenesis and energy.
Mitochondria are known as the powerhouse of the cell and may be one of the most important factors in human aging. This small organelle that sits inside of our cells is one of the most important components that supply our cells with the energy it needs to survive and carryout the functions the cell is supposed to do. If you want to be able to see, hear, talk, walk, etc all of these things require energy for our cells. As we age the mitochondria unfortunately don’t make as much energy and may lead to failures of RNA and protein expression which leads to malfunctioning cells.
There are multiple areas in which mitochondria can fail. An important function of mitochondria is to handle reactive oxygen species (ROS). Many of us have heard of anti-oxidants and the need to get them by eating extra fruits and vegetables or by taking supplements. We know that by reducing the amount of ROS we can lessen the burden of destruction in our cells. ROS are highly reactive chemicals formed as a result of normal metabolism of oxygen (1). If they are allowed to roam freely in our cells they can bind to DNA, RNA and proteins in a way that can damage them. ROS must be controlled.
Our cells have special enzymes that stop ROS such as superoxide dismutases, catalases and glutathione peroxidase. They attach elements that disarm the activity of ROS. If they fail to work then a build up of ROS may occur leading to DNA mutations, protein malfunction and lipid membrane destruction, all of which are toxic to your cells.
So what can we do to help ourselves? Increasing your intake of antioxidants through diet and supplements are a good first step. As we get older the amount of ROS increases in our cells leading to increased inflammation. Dietary supplements such as pomegranate juice (1), Acai berry juice (2) on a daily basis can be very helpful to reduce inflammation. Making these juices as a part of your daily routine can help you feel younger and more energetic.
Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.
Hippocrates
Treating ROS is only one part of this puzzle. Mitochondria can also decline if they are not made at an appropriate rate. Each time a cell divides in your body more mitochondria will be needed to provide energy to the new cells. If mitochondrial biogenesis stalls and they are not made fast enough your cells won’t have the energy they need to stay healthy. Fortunately there are ways to improve this too. Mitochondrial biogenesis, that is making more mitochondria, is assisted by a family of proteins called sirtuins. Sirtuins basically help repair your DNA and keep your cells healthy by making more mitochondria and removing the old damaged ones (2).
Exercise positively affects the activity and/or expression of sirtuins, resulting in better oxidative metabolism efficiency, increased biogenesis and mitochondrial function, as well as maintenance of the antioxidant system.
Exercise and Sirtuins: A Way to Mitochondrial Health in Skeletal Muscle: Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Jun; 20(11): 2717.
Daily exercise can increase sirtuin activity and thus enhance mitochondrial biogenesis (3). There are also specific supplements that can also activate sirtuins namely reservatrol and quercetin (4). Many people have heard of the health benefits of red wine. Red wine is believed to be helpful due to its polyphenol content which are powerful antioxidants that reduce ROS (5). Reservatrol is thought to be one of the main polyphenols in red wine that is responsible for this benefit, however, several studies examining this have been conflicting and don’t clearly show the benefit. Taking reservatrol supplements also has limitations since the absorption is known to be very poor. The micronized version of reservatrol likely has the highest absorption of the over-the-counter supplements.
Quercetin is a plant pigment (flavonoid) and is one of the most abundant antioxidants found in many plants and foods, including red wine. It has been shown to inhibit growth of several cancer cells such as breast, colon, prostate and lung cancers (6). Also helpful in inhibiting viral replication in Herpes simplex virus-1 infected cell lines as well as reducing ROS (7). There are many quercetin supplements on the market but this compound has the same issues of reservatrol which is poor absorption. Quercetin phytosome, however, is the best absorbed version of this supplement. This version combines quercetin with food grade sunflower lecithin to enhance its absorption (8) up to 20 times more than the unformulated quercetin. It can be found easily online.
Quercetin Paradox
With any effective therapy there is always the potential for possible side effects and quercetin is no exception. Quercetin, although has been proven to be safe but also has the potential to produce toxic metabolites that are neutralized by glutathione (GSH). GSH is an important antioxidant, however, the metabolism of quercetin which yields the benefits may paradoxically decrease important GSH levels (9). Supplementation with N-acetylcysteine (NAC) may help to restore GSH levels and also give additional anti-inflammatory benefits (10).
Treating mitochondrial dysfunction is an important for your overall goal of staying healthy. Addressing each element of the 9 components of aging is the best way to improve your chances of staying healthy to 100 plus years.