Carnosine Protects Against Vascular Injury and Extends Lifespan

Most allopathic medical practitioners would argue that the process of aging is nothing more than a normal process whereby cells deteriorate at a predetermined rate controlled by genetically determined commands and heredity. Standing in stark opposition is a rapidly growing body of research and documented evidence to indicate that aging is a product of many varied lifestyle choices including physical activity, smoking and most importantly, the type of diet we regularly consume.

In addition to being a potent cellular antioxidant, carnosine exhibits a number of other unique capabilities that help limit glycation (the abnormal linking of proteins with glucose or lipids) to prevent injury to tissues and organ structures. These actions improve cardiovascular performance to protect against stroke, heart disease, dementia and increased susceptibility to cancer. Researchers publishing in the journal, Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry demonstrates that carnosine from supplements can help protect against a first stroke, and can significantly lower the damage caused by stroke.

Carnosine Binds with Zinc in the Brain to Prevent Abnormal Accumulation and Amyloid Tangles

Researchers have demonstrated that carnosine is particularly effective in providing multi-targeted protection to the heart and blood vessels through age-inducing processes such as oxidation, glycation, protein cross-linking, mitochondrial dysfunction, telomere shortening and heavy metal accumulation in tissues. Carnosine protects against ischemia or loss of blood flow to the heart muscle, preventing the devastating effect of reduced blood flow that leads to a heart attack.

A study team from the University of Glasgow in Scotland has released the result of their study in the journal Biochemistry to explain the importance of carnosine in the development and progression of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease in aging adults. They noticed that dementia patients displayed lower levels of carnosine in their brains and spinal fluid than those of other older adults, and found that the condition results from multiple factors, virtually all of which have some connection to carnosine and its function in the brain.

Supplement Daily with Carnosine to Help Prevent Dementia, Heart Disease, Stroke and Diabetes

The researchers demonstrated that those parts of the brain that are first affected in early Alzheimer’s disease are the same in which carnosine is normally found in the highest concentrations. As carnosine levels fall with age, those brain areas become the most vulnerable to Alzheimer’s-related damage. Carnosine is known to bind with zinc in the brain, ushering them away from delicate tissues and preventing abnormal accumulation. Supplementation in known to increase blood levels and cellular saturation to halt protein cross-linking and the characteristic neurofibrillary tangles so frequently associated with the disease.

A growing number of forward-thinking scientists refer to carnosine as an “anti-aging dipeptide”, capable of defending against cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, cognitive decline and dementia. Carnosine is readily available from high protein animal dietary sources including milk, eggs, cheese, beef, poultry and pork. Most health-minded individuals avoid these food sources for health and ethical reasons, and will want to supplement (500 to 1,000 mg per day) to shield against vascular disease and abnormal cellular aging.

Carnosine and Lifestyle Changes Extend Telomere Length to Extend Lifespan

Scientists have understood the basic mechanism of telomeres, the small zipper-like capsules that bind our DNA genetic material and enable precise cellular reproduction, for more than a decade now. As each cell replicates, the telomere shortens and the potential life-cycle of the cell diminishes slightly until there is no more telomere and cell death ensues. Researchers publishing in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology have found that telomere shortening accurately predicts the risk of developing heart disease, suffering a heart attack and early death from all causes.

Smoking and obesity cause systemic inflammation and are a direct cause of telomere shortening. In addition to improving diet and lifestyle risk factors, carnosine supplementation is emerging as an important nutrient that can block telomere shortening and reduce aging effects to increase lifespan.

Carnosine Shown to Dramatically Lower Heart Attack Risk from Shortened Telomeres

Researchers from The University of Copenhagen in Denmark examined the DNA of 20,000 Danes to analyze their specific telomere length, an established measurement of cellular aging. The participants were followed for a period of nineteen years and the results demonstrated that when the telomere length was short, the risk of heart attack and early death was increased by fifty and twenty-five per cent, respectively.

The study author and team leader, Dr. Borge Nordestgaard noted “The risk of heart attack or early death is present whether your telomeres are shortened due to lifestyle or due to high age.” Many lifestyle choices including smoking and poor diet leading to overweight and obesity are independent risk factors for telomere shortening that increase heart attack risk and early death. Any factor that shortens the length of these critical DNA markers, whether from lifestyle digressions or age, will have the same detrimental consequences.

Nutritionally Optimized Diet and Healthy Lifestyle Slow the Aging Process

It is now possible to examine cellular wear and aging by means of a simple blood test to reveal a person's telomere length. In addition to following a diet optimized for proper nutrients and calories and avoiding negative lifestyle habits, the dipeptide carnosine has been shown to maintain and actually lengthen telomeres. Due to the potent antioxidant action of carnosine, the naturally derived nutrient is shown to play a protective role in preventing telomere damage while decreasing the rate of telomere shortening during cell division, effectively slowing down the aging process.

Carnosine is presently used for preventing or treating complications of diabetes such as nerve damage, cataracts and kidney problems, as it prevents the damaging effects of advanced glycation end products (AGE’s). Carnosine is naturally found in free-range meats and fish. As many health-minded individuals avoid animal based foods, carnosine supplements are available (1000 mg per day) that may help prevent telomere shortening and protect against heart attack and premature death.

Carnosine Boosts Antioxidant Reserves to Battle Stress, Improve Cognitive Function

Carnosine is a naturally occurring antioxidant and metal-chelating nutrient that is shown to minimize the damaging effects of stress on cellular function. Research presented in the PLoS One journal explains that carnosine can help to drastically reduce the formation of amyloid beta protein associated with the brain tangles seen with Alzheimer’s disease.

Our antioxidant defense system is in a continual state of flux, being tested by external pathogens, metabolic glycation and stress that can determine quality of health and risk for disease. Carnosine is shown to boost and recycle existing antioxidants throughout the body to provide a natural shield against chronic illness, and may specifically halt the progression of deadly diseases that lead to dementia and cognitive dysfunction.

Carnosine Supplementation Improves Cellular Energy Production to Prevent Dementia

Researchers understand that a crucial marker of Alzheimer’s dementia and cognitive decline is the formation of beta-amyloid protein clumps that inhibit the normal electrical and neurotransmitter activity required to function optimally and form new memories. Until recently scientists have not fully understood if the tangles were the cause or result of dementia. New evidence exists to support the theory that amyloid plaques form as a result of a declining ability to naturally clear the protein tangles. Neuroscientists believe that a failure in the energy producing mitochondria where glucose is converted to ATP is to blame.

The study included mice that have been genetically bred to develop a form of dementia that closely resembles Alzheimer`s disease in humans. Energy-producing mitochondria are susceptible to the ravages of free radicals and cellular imbalances in metals like copper, iron, and zinc that cause ultimate failure of the organelles leading to numerous chronic diseases. Supplementing the mice with carnosine was found to “promote a strong reduction in the hippocampal intraneuronal accumulation of amyloid-beta and completely rescue Alzheimer`s disease and aging-related mitochondrial dysfunctions.”

Carnosine Helps Prevent Glycation and May Provide a Treatment Option for Alzheimer’s Disease

Carnosine is a potent antioxidant shown to dramatically lower mitochondrial damage typically caused by stress and glycation (protein-sugar bonds) leading to cellular dysfunction and disease. The study authors went so far as to conclude “Our data indicate that carnosine can be part of a combined therapeutic approach for the treatment of AD.” This is a powerful conclusion considering that Big Pharma has no approved cure or effective treatment for this insidious form of dementia.

Carnosine coupled with other natural nutrients known to be neuroprotective (grape seed extract, resveratrol, curcumin, DHA) can lower the stress placed on critical brain structures and provide an effective shield against development and progression of disease. Carnosine is found most commonly in beef, pork, poultry and dairy products. Many health-minded individuals avoid a diet centered around animal-derived foods and supplementation (1,000 mg per day) has been found to be an effective and bioavailable alternative.

Carnosine and Carnitine Key to Anti-Aging Health

(Article first published as Anti-Aging Nutrients Carnosine and Carnitine Help Prevent Diabetes and Heart Disease on Technorati.)

Arterial stiffness caused by glycation is one of the key underlying causes of aging and has been shown to contribute to increased risk of heart disease, dementia, DNA damage and metabolic dysfunction. The aging process accelerates as blood sugar levels slowly increase as a result of poor dietary choices and can cause damage to proteins.

Protein structures are rendered useless as they are bound with sugar as combined units known as advanced glycation end products (AGE’s). Carnosine and carnitine are natural compounds that have been shown to prevent the damage caused by excess sugar and can reverse the development of AGE’s that lead to disease proliferation.

Carnosine Shown to Demonstrate Anti-Aging Effects

The heart muscle and vascular system are very sensitive to the effects of free radical damage and protein degradation from sugar glycation. When critical proteins become non-functional from AGE accumulation, the heart and endothelial structures lose their elasticity and blood pressure rises.

The results of research published in the journal Experimental Gerontology demonstrate carnosine’s ability to scavenge and neutralize free radicals and repair damaged protein structures. This was shown to effectively reduce the damaging effects of atherosclerosis and lengthen life span.

Carnosine Reduce Damage from Diabetic Complications

Elevated glucose causes destructive changes to vital enzymes and proteins that set the stage for metabolic syndrome and tissue damage. This problem is particularly devastating in diabetics as blood sugar levels remain elevated throughout the day and sugar-protein cross links wreak havoc with renal health, vision and the nervous system.

Information provided in the journal Mechanisms of Aging and Development shows how carnosine can prevent and even reverse glycation by inhibiting the chemical reaction that links sugar and protein to form non-functional structures. Carnosine effectively stabilizes cellular integrity and helps to prevent the devastating complications that are so common in diabetics.

Carnitine Lowers Risk from Heart Disease

Carnitine is made in the body from the two amino acids lysine and methionine and is essential to lipid metabolism. Research has shown that carnitine is able to lower the damaging effects of free radical damage to the arteries, prevent deterioration of the heart and reduce arterial stiffening. These processes are common in aging individuals and are a key cause of heart disease and heart attack, especially in diabetics.

The European Journal of Clinical Investigation explains how carnitine (Acetyl-l-carnitine) improves arterial flexibility by helping to prevent AGE cross-links that cause hardening of the delicate endothelial structures. The study authors theorize that carnitine may lower levels of oxidized LDL cholesterol that is known to provide the `glue` for compounds that develop into arterial plaque.

Carnosine and carnitine levels in the body naturally decrease with age. The main dietary source for both compounds is from meat and dairy products. Many health conscious people limit their consumption of these foods and supplementation may become necessary. Nutritional experts recommend supplementing with 1000 mg of carnosine and 500 mg of carnitine daily to achieve the antioxidant and anti-aging health benefits experienced in most research studies.