One Supplement That Improves Health All Over Your Body

Many of us take supplements. Some because our diets are not balanced. Others take particular nutrients to live longer in better health. I take supplements – primarily vitamin E (all eight forms), vitamin K2, fiber, and a few more. One that I take regularly is PQQ (pyrroloquinoline quinone).

PQQ

https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/what-to-know-about-pqq-supplements. Some call this the longevity vitamin. It can be found naturally in fermented soybeans (natto), green bell peppers, kiwi, parsley, tea, papaya, spinach, and celery. This nutrient concentrates more on brain health; however, it is used throughout the body.

PQQ is an antioxidant that fights free radicals in our bodies. Some antioxidants cannot pass through the blood-brain barrier (BBB); however, PQQ passes through the BBB and can regenerate itself up to 25,000 times. One molecule of PQQ can act like 25,000 molecules. Vitamin C can regenerate itself about six times.

Tests show that PQQ addresses problems with mitochondrial dysfunction and enhances the new production of mitochondria.

Longevity

https://chemistry.berkeley.edu/news/behind-scenes-look-longevity-vitamin-pqq. Recent studies demonstrated that PQQ increased the lifespan of worms by 30%. Scientists believe that as mitochondrial function decreases in aging cells, PQQ provides a method to maintain cellular function and decelerate the aging processes.

From a chemical perspective, some vitamins (C & B2) function as redox-active cofactors that catalyze chemical reactions. A catalyst expedites the timing of reactions. PQQ is an enzyme cofactor with redox properties. As our cellular activities begin to wane as the decades go by, anything that keeps the home fires burning brightly keeps our bodies chemically younger.

A test was done using human lung cells in a broth and adding inflammatory agents to test the effectiveness of PQQ in protecting cells from aging. Cells without the PQQ protection showed signs of aging brought on by TNF-alpha (tumor necrosis factor-alpha) and other cytokines (inflammation-inducing molecules).

Human lung cells not pre-treated with PQQ showed signs of aging, inflammation, and decay. Those cells pre-treated with PQQ demonstrated an ability to shun the inflammatory effects of aging and damage to their signaling pathways. PQQ demonstrated the ability to prevent cellular aging.

PQQ studies were conducted on animals with heart damage. It was remarkable that the hearts of those animals with little to no PQQ showed significant damage and overall worse outcomes compared to those protected with PQQ. The areas of heart damage were less with PQQ. Cardiac function improved, blood flow improved, mitochondria function improved, and prevented heart muscle death after an ischemic attack (areas of the heart where blood flow was inadequate).

Additional animal studies were done in labs to test PQQ’s ability to improve diabetic conditions. PQQ treated animals with lower blood sugar, lower lipid abnormalities, increased insulin sensitivity, reduced overall oxidative stress, and more.

Supplementation

https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/what-to-know-about-pqq-supplements. PQQ is not the typical supplement you find at the local grocery store. There is no set dosage. I prefer to get my PQQ from spinach, parsley, green bell peppers, green tea, dark chocolate, etc. I had bought PQQ in the past when my diet was not well balanced.

The only adverse effect I know about is a risk of kidney damage when taking exceedingly high doses. Supplemental PQQ is several times higher than that derived from our typical foods. Always check with your physician or pharmacist before adding PQQ to your list of supplements.

I would opt for natural foods over-supplementation every time unless there is a reason I cannot get the needed nutrients through foods – hence the vitamin E (all four tocopherols and four tocotrienols), vitamin K2, and vitamin D3 that I take daily.

Conclusion

Many of the studies to date have been on animals. Yes, these studies were done on animals. Would it not be indicative of improved mitochondrial function in humans – at least a bit? Would not similar heart, brain, bone, lung, and other human cells expect to have some level of improvement, especially in cellular senescence (aging)?

Live Longer & Enjoy Life! – Red O’Laughlin – https://RedOLaughlin.com