Is your body making enough Urolithin A to protect your brain?
Birgitta Lauren
CEO of Expecting Fitness Inc. Author, Speaker & Holistic Maternal/Infant Health Coach, Member of NHF Board of Governors & Nohrd rep. Mom of twin girls,
By Birgitta Lauren
6.27.2024
Your gut bacteria will form the compound Urolithin A by transforming polyphenols like Ellagitannins into powerful anti-oxidant Ellagic Acid. Consuming foods rich in the Urolithin A precursors Ellagic Acid and Ellagitannins, increases the production of urolithin A in the body.
Recent research has shown that Urolithin A can help improve your mitochondrial health, by removing damaged mitochondria and replacing them with new healthier ones, in a process called mitophagy.
However, some people lack the specific gut bacteria to produce it naturally in their body.?
Urolithin A supplements can ensure that those who cannot make Urolithins A on their own, have enough for all the necessary processes. Even those with healthy microbiomes capable of producing Urolithin A will benefit from Urolithin A supplements.
Urolithin A is very important for many processes and tissues in the body, including recycling faulty mitochondria and replacing it with new cells during aging.?
This helps prevent all inflammation, protects against inflammatory neuro cognitive brain diseases such as Parkinsons and Alzheimer’s. Urolithin A also reduces cytokines in many tissues, ROS, lessens Akt/NFkB/MAPK signaling, and helps induce autophagy.?
Urolithin A exhibits diverse biological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-tumor, and anti-aging properties. In terms of muscular health, new evidence suggests that Urolithin A may promote muscle protein synthesis and muscle growth through various pathways, offering promise in mitigating muscle atrophy. Moreover, Urolithin A has the potential to enhance muscle health and performance by improving mitochondrial function and regulating autophagy.?
Studies giving rats pomegranate juice resulted in significant neuroprotection from the negative effects of Parkinson’s Disease. It also improved the dehydrogenase activity of mitochondria and α-synuclein aggregation while providing significant protection to the brain against oxidative damage. Urolithin A was distributed throughout the brain.
Urolithin A Sources
Actual Urolithin A is not found in natural food sources. But the precursors of Urolithin A are polyphenols which are abundantly found in fruits, nuts and vegetables. When you eat these polyphenols, some of them are absorbed directly into the small intestine. The rest are degraded in the digestive system by bacteria into many compounds such as Urolithin A.
There are three forms of Urolithin compounds. A, B and O, but only A and B are well researched.
Ellagitannins and ellagic acid are the polyphenols that make Urolithin A.
?They can be found in:
Fruits:
Nuts:
领英推荐
Mitophagy
During the cells’ lifecycle and replication, some mitochondria deteriorate and become damaged. For the healthy cells to emerge, these damaged mitochondria must be replaced with healthier ones.
This process is essential for the overall health of the cells because it helps get rid of faulty parts of the cell and helps promote healthy mitochondria.
Aging causes cells to deteriorate and cause mitochondrial dysfunction in the cells making mitophagy inefficient as we get older and allows for accumulation of damaged and dysfunctional mitochondria. This creates species of reactive oxygen build-up, resulting in increased inflammation. In addition, your ability to convert the precursors into Urolithin A also diminishes with age.
More research is needed to determine how Urolithin A helps people with different metabolic profiles.
Supplement safety:
No obvious side-effects of Urolithin A have been observed. No studies including human supplementation of Urolithin A has reported any side effects.
How much Urolithin A should you take?
This depends on your goals, and natural nutritional intake of polyphenols.
According to the Food and Drugs Administration of the United States, Urolithin A is safe for consumption in the form of dietary supplements in the range of 250 grams to 1 gram per serving.?
Pregnant or breastfeeding?
No studies have so far explored the impact of the supplements on pregnant or breastfeeding women. Reducing inflammation and mitochondrial health is important in pregnancy, so these supplements should not only be fine, but may be very helpful. However, you may err on the side of caution in the absence of reliable studies and refrain from taking these supplements if you are breastfeeding or pregnant.
Where to buy Urolithin A??
You may sign up as my patient on Full Script and purchase either any supplement you wish or use my recommendations and protocols to help with various conditions. There is one Urolithin A supplement called RENUAL? by Pure Encapsulations?
This site is funded by affiliate recommendations of trusted companies and terrific products we prescribe and use ourselves. You will receive discounts, and free shipping on most.?
??
References:?
Haotian Zhao, Ge Song et al..Pharmacological Effects of Urolithin A and Its Role in Muscle Health and Performance: Current Knowledge and Prospects PubMed October 2023
Anurag Singh, Davide D’Amico et al.. Urolithin A improves muscle strength, exercise performance, and biomarkers of mitochondrial health in a randomized trial in middle-aged adults. PubMed May 17 2022