Summary Excerpt.
The November 2003 issue of Reader's Digest Magazine
contains an excellent article titled "The End of Aging - Breakthrough
science may keep us all from growing old"
by Amy Ellis Nutt from the Star-Ledger.
In this article, Amy interviews Dr. Bruce Ames, a biochemist and Professor
at the University of California at Berkeley. The article explores the research
that Dr Ames has done over many years. Essentially, Dr Ames believes that
while the production of energy in themitochondria in your cells is highly
efficient, that minor element of inefficiency which releases free radicals
is the cause of aging. As people get older, the free radicals reduce
the effectiveness of the mitochondria inits energy production, thus releasing
even more free radicals. Dr Ames found that Acetyl L-Carnitine helps the cells
produce more energy, but they still generate free radicals. However,
the antioxidant Alpha Lipoic Acid does reduce the free radicals.
Dr. Ames' comment in the article on the effectiveness of the Acetyl L-Carnitine
and Alpha Lipoic Acid combination was "With these two supplements, these
old rats got up and did the Macarena. The brain looked better; they
were full of energy. It was the equivalent of making an 80-year-old
person look and act middle-aged." As a result of his research, Dr Ames
founded a company called Juvenon that formulated and patented a nutritional
supplement. This supplement includes 200 milligrams of alpha lipoic
acid and 500 milligrams of acetyl-L-carnitine to be taken twice per day by
most people. However, he says in the article that the two nutrients
can be purchased at any health food store.Another one: