Holiday parties and weekly errands, work and hosting duties, family get-togethers and getting the kids ready for school—having to juggle the holiday joys with the day-to-day demands and to-dos can leave you feeling exhausted during the holiday season. If you’re a coffee drinker, maybe you reach for a second (or third) cup of Joe. If energy drinks are your thing, maybe you pick up an extra one of those. But these are only short-term solutions, akin to trying to jump-start a car battery. Sustained energy is established through habits that penetrate deeper, such as regular and restful sleep, proper nutrition, and ample hydration, among other factors—all of which influence the true energy makers in our body: our mitochondria.

The Power and Pitfall of Mitochondrial Function

If we think of our body as a machine, then the mitochondria are our batteries, as they supply the energy our cells need to do their jobs. Being the all-important powerhouses they are, our mitochondria have a profound effect on our overall health. (If they’re zapped, then we are too.) Just like any battery, it needs to be changed often to ensure it can meet the energy needs and demands being asked of it, and the body does this through a renewal process called mitophagy.

Mitophagy essentially cleans up damaged and/or dysfunctional mitochondria, thereby allowing the mitochondria to repair themselves and improve their performance. This recycling and cleansing process is proven to provide valuable health benefits that can be felt across all systems of the body. (Fresh batteries equals a fresh, powerful supply of energy.) However, as we age, a decline in mitophagy occurs; therefore, more defective mitochondria tend to stick around and can’t meet the energy demands our body requires. Timeline, however, has harnessed the power of Urolithin A: a molecule that activates this crucial recycling and cleansing process. 

Urolithin A: A Powerhouse Molecule

A review published in 2021 by D’Amico et al. surveying the impact of the natural compound Urolithin A on health, disease, and aging, defines “Urolithin A (UA) [as] a natural compound produced by gut bacteria from ingested ellagitannins (ETs) and ellagic acid (EA), complex polyphenols abundant in foods such as pomegranate, berries, and nuts,” and notes that both age and gut microbiome composition can influence one’s ability to make Urolithin A from the precursor compounds found in those foods. So, even if you include these foods in your diet, the review notes that approximately only 40% of the population can convert these polyphenols into UA. Based on these differences, another study concluded that supplementation with Urolithin A was the best way to contend with this variability. Specifically, the study found that Mitopure delivered six times more UA than an 18-ounce glass of pomegranate juice (Singh et al., 2021). 

Knowing that each of our gut microbiomes is as different as the snowflakes that fall, Timeline’s clinical science has focused for nearly two decades on the power of Urolithin A, specifically its positive effects on muscle and skin health. Why these two? Muscle cells have a very large number of mitochondria and the skin is the largest organ of the body. One study, in particular, showed that oral supplementation with UA led to an increase in muscle strength, increased protein expression linked to mitophagy and mitochondrial metabolism in skeletal muscle, and had a positive impact on exercise-performance measures (Singh et al., 2022). Better muscle health means a greater ability to exercise effectively—and exercise in and of itself can already support mitochondrial renewal. Talk about a positive feedback loop to support mitochondrial health.

Stay Merry and Energized With Mitopure

When we are energized, we feel good. Even though our mitochondria are small, their impact is big. Support your little powerhouses with Mitopure: the first and only clinically tested pure Urolithin A. If you love Mitopure Softgels or are not a fan of swallowing pills, try their powder. Mitopure Powder is a great way to mix it up while still getting the same energy-packed benefits and recommended daily dose of Urolithin A. Increase your cellular energy first thing in the morning by incorporating this tasty berry-flavored powder packet into your yogurt, blending it up in a smoothie, or adding it to any one of your breakfast favorites. Even during the business of the holiday season, you can continue to feel merry and energized with Mitopure and support your cells to transform into a vital, more energized you.   

Use code “AGEIST” and receive 10% off your Timeline purchase. 

References

D’Amico, D., Andreux, P. A., Valdés, P., Singh, A., Rinsch, C., & Auwerx, J. (2021). Impact of the Natural Compound Urolithin A on Health, Disease, and Aging. Trends in Molecular Medicine, 27(7), 687–699. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmed.2021.04.009.

Singh, A., D’Amico, D., Andreux, P. A., Dunngalvin, G., Kern, T., Blanco-Bose, W., Auwerx, J., Aebischer, P., & Rinsch, C. (2021). Direct supplementation with Urolithin A overcomes limitations of dietary exposure and gut microbiome variability in healthy adults to achieve consistent levels across the population. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 76(2), 297–308. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-021-00950-1. 

Singh, A., D’Amico, D., Andreux, P. A., Fouassier, A. M., Blanco-Bose, W., Evans, M., Aebischer, P., Auwerx, J., & Rinsch, C. (2022). Urolithin A improves muscle strength, exercise performance, and biomarkers of mitochondrial health in a randomized trial in middle-aged adults. Cell Reports Medicine, 3(5), 100633. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100633.