By David Blyweiss, M.D.

Lately, there seems to be an endless array of products promising to halt and even reverse the aging process. And some like resveratrol may live up to the hype.

But separating the worthwhile from the worthless isn’t always easy.

That’s why I get excited when I find something that really does what it claims. You see, there’s a secret nutrient body-builders and pro-athletes have known about for years that has the ability to reduce muscle fatigue.

But now, more than 800 studies suggest this nutrient just might be one of the most important keys to longevity. According to preliminmary studies, it can:

• boost immunity
• reduce inflammation
• exert anticancer effects
• promote wound healing
• help eradicate Helicobacter pylori, a bacteria linked to peptic ulcers and stomach cancer
• reduce or completely prevent damage caused by beta amyloid, a protein found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease
• help protect against cataracts
• protect against the effect of glucose damage and protein oxidation
• inhibit (or even reverse) the pro-aging effects of eating simple carbohydrates
• increase muscle strength and endurance
• improve appearance

Yes, it’s quite possible that carnosine can do all that and more.¹

In fibroblasts—a type of cell found in connective tissue—carnosine can reduce telomere damage. A telomere is a sequence of DNA at the end of a chromosome that protects the chromosome from deterioration. When a chromosome makes a copy of itself, the telomere gets shorter—and the shorter your telomeres are, the faster your cells age. Carnosine can help keep your telomeres from shortening prematurly, and this can help keep your cells from aging too quickly.² This is why some researchers think that increasing the amount of carnosine in the body may be one of the keys to life extension.

Made up of the amino acids histidine and alanine, your body makes plenty of carnosine when you are young. But as you get older, carnosine levels taper off. And that may be one of the main reasons we lose muscle mass, strength and function as we head into old age.

But age isn’t the only factor that contributes to low carnosine levels.

Being a woman or a vegetarian reduces the amount of carnosine stored in your muscles, too.³ Stress and trauma also contribute to a reduction in carnosine levels, which may be why some older people are more vulnerable to dying after a stressful event. All the more reason to take a carnosine nutritional supplement.

In one preliminary anti-aging experiment, researchers gave 50 mg of supplemental carnosine to 20 healthy volunteers daily for 1 to 4 months. The participants were all between the ages of 40 and 75. Five users noticed significant improvements in their facial appearance (firmer facial muscles), muscular stamina and general well being.

Five others said they slept better, had better mental focus and clarity, and experienced a boost in their libido.

The rest didn’t report any noticeable effects.

That’s not to say the other 10 participants didn’t benefit from the carnosine supplements. After all, this was an extremely short experiment and not everyone may have seen overt benefits. But that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t have received long-term protection against aging if they had continued to take the supplement.

If you want to try a safe and effective anti-aging supplement, you can’t go wrong with 100 to 200 mg of carnosine daily. For even more protection, take it along with 400 mg of vitamin E and 100 mg of ubiquinol form of CoQ10.

References:

1. Quinn PJ. Carnosine: its properties, functions and potential therapeutic applications. Mol Aspects Med 1992;13:379-444.
2. Shao L. L-carnosine reduces telomere damage and shortening rate in cultured normal fibroblasts. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 2004;324:931-936.
3. Everaert I. Vegetarianism, female gender and increasing age, but not CNDP1 genotype, are associated with reduced muscle carnosine levels in humans. Amino Acids. 2011;40:1221-1229