L-Carnosine

 

 

 

L-Carnosine is found in all cells, but in higher quantities in muscles, heart, kidney and brain cells. As we age, optimum conversion from dietary sources becomes inefficient. A naturally occurring product in our food, but with the passing of time it decreases, this is believed to be one of the primary factors leading to the aging process. The human body has an optimum design factor of over 120 years, but few people live beyond their 80’s.

 

 

L-Carnosine, when introduced into the body's cells, has been shown to rejuvenate the cells; in essence, it is working as an anti-aging agent from within our cell structure.

 

 

 

Each capsule contains

 

L-Carnosine 163 mg
Capsule: Vegetable Cellulose

 

 

Adults: Maintenance use 2 to 3 capsules daily.

 

Up to 9 Capsules daily may be taken in times of extra need.

 

Take before food or on an empty stomach.

Three capsules daily provides 489mg of L-Carnosine

Natural and pure, free from any additives, preservatives, flavourings, sweeteners and GM ingredients

 

Studies have shown that L-Carnosine (Hereafter referred to simply as Carnosine), is a major tool in the fight against aging and degenerative disease.  It is found in all cells, but in higher quantities in the muscles, heart, kidney and brain cells. As we age, optimum conversion from dietary sources becomes inefficient.  In studies, the longer living animals had more carnosine present in their cells.

 

Carnosine is a naturally occurring product in our food, but with the passing of time it decreases, this is believed to be one of the primary factors leading to the aging process. The human body has an optimum design factor of over 120 years, but few people live beyond their 80’s. Carnosine, when introduced into the body's cells, has been shown to rejuvenate the cells; in essence, it is working as an anti-aging agent from within our cell structure.

 

Decades of research on human cells and the well-defined pattern in the growth, development and aging of them, was referred to as the "Hayflick Phenomenon”. Placed in a growth vat with a fluid rich in essential nutrients, cells from young donors will quickly begin to reproduce, forming colonies, which fill the vat and then stop reproduction, to prevent starvation. If half of these cells are removed from the container, the remaining cells will begin growing again to fill their environment. But this process only goes on so far.

 

At each round of division, the cells are aging or becoming "senescent”. Senescent cells stop producing the right proteins from their DNA, losing the functions for which they were designed. The appearance of the cell culture takes on a degraded texture. Eventually, after about 60 divisions, the cells will stop reproducing and are just alive, inactive and waiting for death.  This is the same process that happens in aging and deterioration of the skin.

 

 

Cultures of old, dying (senescent) cells cannot be mistaken for younger cells, which are uniform in appearance and line up in parallel arrays.   Senescent cells exhibit a grainy appearance and take on peculiar shapes and sizes. They lose the ability to organise themselves in a regular pattern. These striking changes are called the senescent phenotype.

 

Carnosine has been shown to rejuvenate old, dying cells quickly restoring the juvenile phenotype (McFarland GA et al. 1999; McFarland GA et al. 1994).  The scientists raised lung and skin cells in one of two standard cell culture mediums, then kept half of the cells in the original medium, and transferred half to the same medium supplemented with Carnosine.  The results were vivid and amazing. The cells in Carnosine not only had from 1 - 7 more population doublings, the cells lived up to two thirds longer than the standard medium cells! 

 

Furthermore, adding Carnosine to the cell medium made the cells younger! Scientists described the results as "striking effects on the cell morphology" (shape and structure). The cells grown in Carnosine-supplemented medium looked the same as they did when they were young even over time, yet the ones raised in the regular medium became damaged and irregular and finally broke apart.

 

The scientists took the old, damaged cells from the standard medium and put them into the Carnosine supplemented medium and this process was reversed by taking the Carnosine supplemented cells and putting them in ordinary medium. The once Carnosine treated cells rapidly degenerated into what would be a normal state, but the damaged, old cells from the normal medium were made younger again by the Carnosine. Quote:

 

"These cells showed a remarkable rejuvenation, with regard to their Morphology... and finally reached ages significantly greater than the control culture from which they were derived.”

 

Scientific experiments have since repeated, confirmed and expanded on the original results. They have shown that they could take regular cells, observe them age and put them in the Carnosine, observe them grow younger and switch them back and watch them age again. They propose that Carnosine is integral to cellular organization and function, optimising longevity.

 

Clinically Established General Properties and Actions of Carnosine

To be effective, the consensus is a maintenance amount of half a gram a day (500mgs). One gram daily is advised in times of extra need, such as an elderly person with health problems, or for an initial period of a few weeks to build up depleted reserves in the body. There are no adverse affects as any excess is expelled naturally. When broken down by the enzymes in the body it changes into two other essential nutraceuticals.

 

Carnosine occurs naturally in the body and food chain Nerve and muscle cells contain high levels of Carnosine. You are born with high levels in your body but unfortunately it decreases with age leaving you vulnerable to illness and the effects of aging. The good news is that you can now replace Carnosine naturally with a daily supplementation.

 

It is important to realize that carnosine naturally occurs in our bodies (mostly in our muscles) and in common food. The levels of carnosine fall as we age, especially in our hearts. The brain depends of high levels of carnosine for optimum function and carnosine is being investigated as a preventative for Alzheimer’s. It is a strong anti-oxidant, which fights dangerous free radicals.

 

The most important use may be to be enhancement of heart health generally. Coronary heart disease is the biggest killer of adults by far, and everything we can do to make our hearts stronger helps guarantee a longer life. This qualifies carnosine clearly as a life extension agent. It is also very critical in cell regeneration and the function of fibroblasts. "Cellular aging” is a key to understanding the power of carnosine as it seems to very much slow down the aging of many cells in our bodies. Many of the studies so far have only been on cell cultures and lab animals, but more and more human studies are being done. Let’s take a look at just a few of the studies. In the Russian journal Biokhimiya v.57, (1992) scientists at Moscow State University did a review with 52 references. They concluded that carnosine is a, "perspective immuno-modulating tool which has many applications in medicine,” due in part to its powerful antioxidative properties. Also in the same journal another review was published with 25 references on the history and actual physiological actions of carnosine.

 

At Ohio University, doctors published a study in Comprehensive Biochemistry and Physiology v. 103B (1992). Using rats, they found carnosine levels in the heart and skeletal muscles fell over 40% as they aged and were 40% lower in rats with high blood pressure. Heart muscle showed a dramatic decline. The same has basically been found in humans as well and the implications for heart metabolism are clear here. These same authors published a second study in Biochemical Society Transactions v. 23 (1995). Again, they showed the sharp decrease in carnosine in the heart and skeletal muscles as they aged, especially when high blood pressure is a factor. They also found that exercise was vital to keep carnosine levels high. It is clear that our epidemic rates of hypertension may benefit from carnosine supplementation. More studies will be reviewed in the future on high blood pressure and carnosine supplementation.

 

At King’s College in London doctors published a stunning review of the benefits, functions and therapeutic applications of carnosine with 252 references in Molecular Aspects of Medicine v.13 (1992). It would take days to wade through such a review, but you can see just how documented the therapeutic applications of carnosine are with 252 references in just one review at such a prestigious college. This same college later was granted a World Patent (meaning the European Community) for helping relieve diabetes with carnosine supplementation. Diabetes and blood sugar problems are now affecting our children as well as adults.

 

In the journal Nutrition Research v. 14, (1994) researchers at the University of Quebec in Canada found that dogs given carnosine in their food regulated their insulin and glucagon secretion by affecting the pancreas. This has obvious potential for our extreme rates of diabetes and other blood sugar problems.

 

In the Russian Journal Byull. Eksp. Biol. Med. doctors at the Omsk Medical Institute studied rats by reviving them from induced death. They gave them injections to kill them, revived them and then injected half of them with carnosine. The ones given the carnosine not only had a higher survival rate, but less damage from being clinically dead for about five minutes. You may not like studies such as this, but much was learned from it.

 

At the School of Medicine in Kawasaki, Japan doctors published a study in the Japanese Journal of Physiology v. 45, (1995) using rats, they found that carnosine is very important to physical endurance and exercise. This is due to the large amount of carnosine contained in both the skeletal muscles and the heart muscle. A World Patent (European Community) was issued in 1990 for using carnosine for improving athletic performance, endurance, fatigue and treating muscular disorders.