Exercise Stops The Mitochondrial Aging Process In Its Tracks

New research published in the American Journal of Physiology indicates that exercise may minimize, and even reverse, age-associated declines in mitochondrial function.[1]  This has wide-ranging implications, as the health of the mitochondria intimately affect every cell, tissue and organ within the human body.

Mitochondria are known as the “powerhouse” of the cell because they are responsible for producing the body’s primary source of chemical energy: adenosine triphosphate (ATP), but they are also intimately involved in a wide range of other indispensable cellular functions, e.g. neurotransmitter, hormone and RNA/DNA production, which is all the more fascinating considering that they have their own bacteria-like DNA ring completely foreign to our own.

As we age, mitochondrial density (the number of mitochondria per cell), and mitochondrial quality (its genetic and structural integrity) decline.  While this is a natural process, it can be greatly accelerated as a result of excessive stress, environmental radiation and chemical exposures (including pharmaceutical drugs), nutritional deficiencies, imbalances and/or incompatibilities, and mitochondrial DNA defects inherited maternally.

In the new study titled, “Age-associated Declines in Mitochondrial Biogenesis and Protein Quality Control Factors are Minimized by Exercise Training,” researchers found animals that underwent exercise training, consisting of treadmill running at 60% of the initial VO2max (also known as maximal aerobic capacity, which is the maximum capacity of an individual’s body to transport and use oxygen during incremental exercise), “…reversed or attenuated significant age-associated (detrimental) declines in mitochondrial mass,” as well as a wide range of additional age-associated mitochondrial changes, e.g. SIRT1 activity, AMPK, COX 4, etc.

The researchers summarized their conclusions:

“Exercise training also decreased the gap between young and old animals in other measured parameters including NRF1, TFAM, Fis1, Mfn1 and polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPase) levels. We conclude that exercise training can help minimize detrimental skeletal muscle aging deficits by improving mitochondrial protein quality control and biogenesis.“

Mitochondrial biogenesis is the process by which new mitochondria are formed in the cell, and it is generally believed that the higher the mitochondrial copy number (or mitochondrial mass) the more protective it is for the cell.  Most of the research in the past 40 years has been performed on muscle mitochondria, which are believed to confer greater resistance to fatigue and strength. The muscle cell type with the highest mitochondrial density is cardiac muscle – because the heart never stops working – which may have as high as 10-100 times more mitochondria per cell versus skeletal muscle (approximately 50 vs. 5,000). This is also why statin drugs like Lipitor (atorvastin), which reduce heart mitochondrial function,[2] are so illogical for the primary prevention of heart disease; a disease which is certainly not caused by a lack of drugs. The well-known myotoxicity (muscle-damaging) properties of this chemical class of drugs may be primarily caused by their fatal disruption of mitochondrial function, and may explain why statins have been linked to such a broad range of pathologies, numbering over 300 on our database alone.

This is not, in fact, the first study showing exercise-induced mitochondrial biogenesis. A 2011 study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology showed that exercise training increased mitochondrial biogenesis in the brains of mice, which opened the door to the possibility that exercise may reduce or reverse age-associated declines in cognitive function, especially those related to inactivity.[3]

Another more recent study published in the journal Neuroscience (Jan. 2012) titled, “Exercise induces mitochondrial biogenesis after brain ischemia in rats,” found that “…exercise can promote mitochondrial biogenesis after ischemic injury [associated with stroke], which may serve as a novel component of exercise-induced repair mechanisms of the brain.”[4]

Finally, a 2011 study published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism, reviewed the role of exercise training in inducing mitochondrial biogenesis in tissues beyond that of skeletal muscle, namely, adipose tissue, liver, brain and kidney.[5]

Exercise, of course, is another way of saying intentionally moving our bodies – something which increasingly, in a world of mechanization and technological extension and/or substitution of bodily functions (transhumanism?), is performed regularly only rarely by the majority of the world’s industrialized populations.

The saying “move it or lose” speaks volumes to what is implied by the research on mitochondrial biogenesis, or conversely, the mitochondrial degeneration implied by lack of exercise.  In other words, exercise may not be so much a ‘magic bullet’ that we apply to disease like we would a palliative drug. Although we have indexed over 80 “diseases” which appear to be prevented or improved with exercise, another way of putting it is: 80+ “diseases” may be caused by exercise deficiency, i.e. daily, moderate-to-intense physical exertion, may be a default, necessary state of the body in order to produce or maintain health. This is, after all, the very meaning of re-generation, which is the truly the default moment-to-moment state of our body, and the implied meaning of “re-creational” activities.

In closing, there are a few natural substances which may enhance mitochondrial biogenesis, but please remember there is no “magic bullet” superior to a truly healthy diet, lifestyle and attitude:

• Grape polyphenols: Shown to increase muscle mitochondrial biogenesis and decrease age-associated muscle atrophy in aged rats.[6]


• Acai berry: While I am truly fatigued by the acai-berry hype that has proliferated like a virus with the typical multi-level-marketing intensity over the past few years, it has been studied in the fruit fly model to promote healthy aging and reducing oxidative stress, while measurably increasing transcript levels of genes involved in mitochondrial biogenesis.[7]


• Resveratrol: It has been shown to induce mitochondrial biogenesis in a rat model.[8]


• Quercetin: Shown to increase brain and muscle mitochondrial biogenesis and exercise tolerance in an animal model.[9]

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[1] Age-associated Declines in Mitochondrial Biogenesis and Protein Quality Control Factors are Minimized by Exercise Training. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2012 May 9. Epub 2012 May 9. PMID: 22573103

[2] Effects of atorvastatin on heart mitochondrial function and coenzyme Q content in the experiment. Bratisl Lek Listy. 2011 ;112(11):603-4. PMID: 22180983

[3] Exercise Training Increases Mitochondrial Biogenesis in the Brain. J Appl Physiol. 2011 Aug 4. Epub 2011 Aug 4. PMID: 21817111

[4] Exercise induces mitochondrial biogenesis after brain ischemia in rats. Neuroscience. 2012 Jan 8. Epub 2012 Jan 8. PMID: 22266265

[5] Skeletal muscle and beyond: the role of exercise as a mediator of systemic mitochondrial biogenesis. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2011 Sep 2. Epub 2011 Sep 2. PMID: 21888528

[6] Polyphenols decreased liver NADPH oxidase activity, increased muscle mitochondrial biogenesis and decreased gastrocnemius age-dependent autophagy in aged rats. Free Radic Res. 2012 May 18. Epub 2012 May 18. PMID: 22607117

[7] A botanical containing freeze dried açai pulp promotes healthy aging and reduces oxidative damage in sod1 knockdown flies. Age (Dordr). 2012 May 26. Epub 2012 May 26. PMID: 22639178

[8]  Resveratrol induces mitochondrial biogenesis and ameliorates Ang II-induced cardiac remodeling in transgenic Blood Press. 2010 Jun;19(3):196-205. PMID: 20429690 rats harboring human renin and angiotensinogen genes.

[9] Quercetin increases brain and muscle mitochondrial biogenesis and exercise tolerance. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2009 Apr;296(4):R1071-7. Epub 2009 Feb 11. PMID: 19211721

© April 14, 2018 GreenMedInfo LLC. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of GreenMedInfo LLC. Want to learn more from GreenMedInfo? Sign up for the newsletter here http://www.greenmedinfo.com/greenmed/newsletter.

The post Exercise Stops The Mitochondrial Aging Process In Its Tracks appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.

2 Simple Things Can Cut a Woman’s Risk of Needing a C-Section

A study in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) suggests that a pregnant woman can reduce her risk of needing a caesarean section, or C-section, by around 10% by doing 2 simple things: eating healthy and staying active. Not terribly surprising, is it?

In 2015, 32% of all deliveries in the United States were C-sections. These procedures may entail less pain, but they are by far riskier than natural childbirth, for both mom and baby. The surgery puts women at risk for:

• Infection.


• Heavy blood loss.


• A blood clot in the legs or lungs.


• Nausea, vomiting, severe headache after delivery (caused by anesthesia and having an abdominal procedure).


• Constipation or, worse yet, the bowels stop working completely – a condition called ileus.


• Injury to the bladder and other organs during surgery.


• Maternal death (around 2 in 100,000 caesarean births).

Some long-term complications can also occur, such as:

• Rupturing the uterus during a future pregnancy or vaginal birth.


• The growth of the placenta low in the uterus, blocking the cervix (Placenta previa).


• The placenta grows deeper into the uterine wall than usual, causing severe bleeding after childbirth and sometimes requiring a hysterectomy.

What’s more, babies delivered via caesarean section face certain risks of their own, including:

• Injury during the delivery.


• Need to spend time in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).


• Immature lungs and breathing problems, if the due date was miscalculated or if the infant is born 39 weeks of gestation.

Read: 7 Reasons Expecting Moms Shouldn’t Neglect Exercise

The studies in the analysis included 23 women of any weight at the beginning of the study, 7 involving obese women only, and 6 that included overweight and obese women only. The data of more than 12,000 women were included in the studies.

The researchers found that women of any weight who were given diet and exercise advice during pregnancy reduced the likelihood that they would need a C-section or gain extra weight. These women were additionally less likely to develop diabetes during pregnancy – about 24% less.

Exercise programs included aerobic classes and cycling at the gym.

The combination of healthy eating and exercise significantly reduced the mother’s weight gain by 0.7 kilograms, or 1.5 pounds, compared with the control group. They also cut their risk of needing a caesarean section by 9%. [1] [2]

That translates into 1 fewer woman having a C-section for every 40 mothers who follow a healthy diet and are moderately active. [1]

Study author Shakila Thangaratinam said:

“Our findings are important because it is often thought that pregnant women shouldn’t exercise because it may harm the baby.

But we show that the babies are not affected by physical activity or dieting, and that there are additional benefits including a reduction in maternal weight gain, diabetes in pregnancy, and the risk of requiring a caesarean section.

This should be part of routine advice in pregnancy, given by practitioners as well as midwives.”

Read: Exercise in Pregnancy is Good for Healthy Mom AND the Baby

Thangaratinam added that all women should receive guidance on healthy lifestyle practices during pregnancy, not just obese women.

“Often with interventions like these, certain groups benefit more than others, but we’ve shown that diet and physical activity has a beneficial effect across all groups, irrespective of your body mass index (BMI), age or ethnicity, so these interventions have the potential to benefit a huge number of people.”

It is especially important for overweight and obese women to adopt a healthier lifestyle when pregnant, however. Women who are overweight during pregnancy increase their baby’s risk of having a high birth rate, which can lead to obesity and high blood pressure later on during childhood. Excess weight also puts a woman at risk for preeclampsia during pregnancy. [2]

It should be noted that the majority of women in the study (80%) were white. More research is needed into how a healthy diet and exercise affect women of other ethnicities.

Sources:

[1] The Huffington Post UK

[2] Live Science

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About Julie Fidler:
	Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.