See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/01/990127112552.htm
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Institution: University Of Florida
Contact: Steve Orlando , News Desk Editor
E-mail: sorland@nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu, Phone:
352-392-0186
Posted
1/27/99
UF Researcher Finds Way To Slow The Aging
Process
Writer: Kristin Harmel
Source: Christiaan Leeuwenburgh, (352)
392-0584
GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- Contrary to what
Juan Ponce de Leon thought when he searched
for it in the 16th century, the fountain of youth
is made of anti-oxidants, not water, and it's a
lot easier to find than the famed explorer
thought.
In a study published in this month's American
Journal of Physiology, Christiaan
Leeuwenburgh, a professor in the University of
Florida's College of Health and Human
Performance, found that anti-oxidant
intervention, which can come from taking
vitamin supplements or from a steady routine of
exercise, slows parts of the aging process.
"Our most significant finding was that
anti-oxidant intervention slows down basal
skeletal muscle oxidation, which causes the
body to age," said Leeuwenburgh, who did the
study with Jay Heinecke, John Holloszy and
Polly Hansen of the Washington University
School of Medicine. "This is the first evidence
of this."
Regular exercise or a diet including plenty of
anti-oxidants such as vitamin E, vitamin C and
beta carotene, all of which fight the tendency of
oxygen to slowly break down muscle mass,
might protect against the type of tissue and
muscle loss that occur as individuals grow
older, Leeuwenburgh said.
"When an individual grows old, we all know
that the person loses a lot of muscle mass,"
Leeuwenburgh said. "One of the mechanisms
that causes this is increased oxidant
production, in a process known as muscle
oxidation. Regular exercise or anti-oxidant
supplements could potentially improve and
protect against this oxidative stress, which may
have direct implications on tissue loss and the
aging process."
Leeuwenburgh divided rats into two groups,
one of which was given an anti-oxidant diet of
beta carotene and vitamins E and C. After 21
months, the rate of muscle oxidation for the
rats in the anti-oxidant groups was 50 percent
lower than the rate for the rats in the control
group. Some of the rats that were not fed
anti-oxidants were exercised regularly, and
they, too, showed a decrease in muscle
oxidation.
"We were surprised to see that regular exercise
training was about as effective in reducing
levels of oxidation as a diet of anti-oxidants,"
Leeuwenburgh said. "The combined effect of
anti-oxidants and exercise, however, didn't
cause a significantly lower level of muscle
oxidation, which was interesting."
The study also was the first of its kind to show
that levels of oxidation in the body can be
determined noninvasively, by using specific
markers in the urine. This will allow people to
measure their levels of muscle oxidation more
quickly and easily.
"People are talking a lot about oxidative stress
these days, but we didn't previously have a way
to measure it noninvasively," said Heinecke, a
professor in the department of internal
medicine at Washington University in St. Louis
and one of Leeuwenburgh's partners in the
study. "It's nice to be able to measure this
without going inside the body."
The marker found in the urine also may be
useful as an indicator of other medical
problems, which will contribute not only to
slowing the aging process but also to protecting
people against various diseases.
"This marker could be useful in assessing a
variety of conditions, like Alzheimers,
atherosclerosis, cancer and the aging process
itself," Leeuwenburgh said. "They've all been
associated with increased free-radical
formation, which can be detected in the urine."
A previous study by Leeuwenburgh also
showed that a decrease in caloric intake, which
can lead to a longer life span because of a
reduction in the body's rate of metabolism, also
causes a similar decrease in skeletal muscle
oxidation.
Leeuwenburgh recommends an increase of
daily anti-oxidant intake, especially in the form
of vitamin E, because it also has been proven to
protect against heart disease. In addition, he
says that exercising more and eating less --
both of which have been promoted for years as
ways to stay healthy in everyday life -- also
will increase the human life span and help
people stay younger longer.
"A big problem in society is that we're not
active enough, and things like fast food
contribute to an almost toxic lifestyle," he said.
"If we could increase our daily activities and be
more conscious of what we eat, we'll come a
long way."