By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

December 23, 2019

I remember shaving one day. I was standing in front of the bathroom mirror when I suddenly noticed my very first wrinkle. I was 55 years old.

It started on the left side of my nose and snaked down around my mouth. There it was — just staring at me. The whole thing had just folded in right before my eyes.

That’s the very same day I started paying more attention to things I could do to look and feel younger.

To start, I started taking CoQ10 every day, got regular with my Vitamin C and upped my intake of nitric oxide(NO) — an ingredient necessary for energy (more on that in a sec…)

Maybe you’re reading this and feel like your own body has passed its “best by” date.

Maybe you don’t move as quickly as you used to. Perhaps your brain doesn’t process things as rapidly as it once did or you just get worn out a lot faster than you used to.

If you’re missing the energy and stamina of your younger days, there may be a reason for it.

You see, your body has its own natural energy factories. Back in the 1890’s, a German scientist called them “bioblasts”.

I think this is an appropriate name for them, given how they power every cell in your body with youthful energy… your brain, heart, muscles and other organs.

Today, we call them mitochondria.

Now, you are given a bank account of mitochondria when you are born. Your supply can be traced back to your mother, then her mother, and so on to the dawn of time.

But there can be a problem with these little energy producers.

As you age, they become damaged. They mutate, and can’t produce energy as well as they used to. This means they have more trouble powering up your brain and body.

Now, nutrients like CoQ10 can help your surviving mitochondria make more energy. In fact, I recommend everyone take 100 mg. of CoQ10 in the ubiquinol form each day.

But the key to restoring the lively energy of your youth is to make more mitochondria. This is called “mitochondrial biogenesis”.

Give Your Mitochondria a Tune-Up

One way your body can make more mitochondria is by exercising. Personally, I like to hop on the treadmill every day for a long and lively walk to my favorite tunes.

Exercise helps boost your nitric oxide levels. This, in turn, flips on a molecular switch that triggers the whole mitochondrial biogenesis process.

Additionally, NO regulates your blood flow and is responsible for the release of oxygen into your cells… and into your mitochondria. So it’s a great way to restore energy to your cells.

The best type of exercise I recommend is called high intensity interval training, or HIIT. It’s great, because it doesn’t take very long at all. Depending on your current level of fitness, I’d say you should dedicate between 15 minutes and a half hour each day.

HIIT involves a burst of short-term high intensity exercise followed by a recovery period. For example, after warming up for a few minutes, do a 30-second sprint — walking or running as fast as you can — followed by 2 to 4 minutes of easy walking. Repeat 4 to 6 times. The workout ends with a 3 to 4 minute cool-down.

Don’t get scared by the word “sprint.” Just go as fast as you feel comfortable with to raise your heart rate.

The Secret Ingredient for an Instant Blast of Energy

Besides exercise, there’s another way to increase your body’s production of NO so your mitochondria can work to their full potential.

Try eating foods high in nitrates — a precursor to NO. This includes leafy greens like arugula, spinach and kale at the top of the list. Other foods high in nitrate include beets, celery, lettuce, Chinese cabbage, radish and turnips.

My favorite of these is red beetroot (or beetroot juice). It gives you the biggest blast of NO. I recommend looking for a plant-based NO enhancer with beetroot as its main ingredient.

You may also want to try my favorite beetroot juice recipe. I call it “blood” because of its color and positive effect on a body’s blood flow.

Just mix your beetroot juice with some lemon juice, apple juice, and… the secret ingredient… ginger. The first time I tasted this, I just said, “Whoa!” It’s got some kick, but I think you’ll like it.

Here’s to feeling younger!

SOURCES:

Celia Harumi Tengan, et al. Nitric Oxide in Skeletal Muscle: Role on Mitochondrial Biogenesis and Function Int J Mol Sci. 2012; 13(12): 17160–17184.

Nisoli E, et al. Nitric oxide and mitochondrial biogenesis. J Cell Sci. 2006 Jul 15;119(Pt 14):2855-62.

Dyakova EY, et al. Physical exercise associated with NO production: signaling pathways and significance in health and disease. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2015 Apr 2;3:19.

Ungvari Z, et al. Mitochondrial protection by resveratrol. Exerc Sport Sci Rev. 2011 Jul;39(3):128-32.

Yamashita S, et al. SIRT1 prevents replicative senescence of normal human umbilical cord fibroblast through potentiating the transcription of human telomerase reverse transcriptase gene. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2012 Jan 6;417(1):630-4.

Csiszar A, et al. Resveratrol induces mitochondrial biogenesis in endothelial cells. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2009 Jul;297(1):H13-20.

Brown, GC. NO Says Yes to Mitochondria. Science 07 Feb 2003:Vol. 299, Issue 5608, pp. 838-839

Larsen FJ, et al. Dietary inorganic nitrate improves mitochondrial efficiency in humans. Cell Metab. 2011 Feb 2;13(2):149-59.