Most people don’t realize it, but weakened blood vessels are one of the first signs of aging. They lead to poor circulation, which deprives vital tissues and organs — including your heart and brain — of essential nutrients and oxygen.
But a team of Harvard researchers recently found that a natural compound called nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) significantly reverses this common sign of aging. And some mainstream magazines are even calling it the new “fountain of youth.”
We’ve actually known about NMN for a long time. In scientific terms, it turns into nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), a coenzyme required for every single biologic process in the human body — including converting your nutrients into energy. It’s also required for maintaining your DNA health. And without it, the Harvard team estimates that you’d die in about 30 seconds.
Let’s take a closer look at the study…
NMN boosts physical performance and endurance
For this study, the researchers gave NMN to aging mice and ran a battery of tests.
The team observed that NMN supplementation encouraged the growth of new blood vessels and improved the density of capillaries. As a result, blood flow to tissues and organs increased in the aging mice. (In humans, increased blood flow helps improve artery, muscle, and organ function, and also encourages cell growth and healthier skin). It also boosted the levels of a well-known “anti-aging” enzyme called SIRT1.
The researchers also wanted some measurable results in physical performance — so they put the mice on the treadmill.
And boy — did their performance improve!
The NMN mice increased their treadmill run time by 60 percent compared to mice that didn’t get the compound. Plus, they doubled their exercise endurance — to levels that matched or even exceeded that of younger mice.
Of course, I suspect the Harvard team has no use for these natural compounds. They want to turn NMN and NAD+ into an expensive, “anti-aging” drug.
But why bother when these compounds come directly from Nature? As you may have noticed from their long scientific names, NMN and NAD+ are derivatives of nicotine, a natural element found in plants grown all around the world.
Yes — dear reader — nicotine is actually a natural substance. And it’s also the basis of certain bodily compounds that are essential for human health!
Natural compound has been hiding in plain sight for millennia
A number of plants (including tobacco) contain nicotine — including tomatoes, bell peppers, potatoes, and eggplants. Nicotine is an alkaloid plants produce to deter predators.
Humans even have receptors for nicotine throughout the body. This characteristic makes sense because plants covered the Earth about 100 million years before animals appeared. And animal life evolved to use plants for survival.
Today, many people still use tobacco, or just plain nicotine, because of its beneficial physiological effects, which are derived from the nicotine it contains.
For example, in the brain, nicotine stimulates cognitive function. In the muscles, it stimulates physical performance. In the GI tract, it facilitates gastro-intestinal motility and digestion.
On top of all that, moderate nicotine consumption appears to reduce stress. And the calming effects are well-known to anyone who takes nicotine in any form.
Native cultures valued tobacco for medicinal uses
When Native Americans cleared new land for cultivation of crops, tobacco was often the first crop planted. (I personally observed this same practice when I traveled to the Amazon during the mid-1990s.) And they primarily used it for its medicinal properties.
For one, they rolled it up and used it as a suppository for constipation. Of course, they also smoked tobacco in their “Peace Pipes.” They were called this because of the relaxing, calming effects of nicotine. (Not because it was passed around during the signing of peace treaties.)
If it weren’t demonized, nicotine could probably still help more people with neuro-degenerative diseases. It likely has an important influence on the microbiome too. (Small studies have shown that nicotine therapy benefits sufferers of ulcerative colitis and other forms of GI conditions.)
But mainstream experts in our government squashed the science on nicotine because they associated it exclusively with tobacco. By taking this narrow view, we almost missed out on the “anti-aging secret” of NMN and NAD+.
As you might expect, instead of supplementing with NMN, I suggest simply eating more foods that contain it, including:
· Avocados
· Broccoli
· Cabbage
· Cucumbers
· Tomatoes
And in the meantime, you can learn all about the simple, natural strategies to stay vibrant, youthful, and healthy well into your 70s, 80s, 90s — and beyond — in my brand-new protocol, The Insider’s Ultimate Guide to Outsmarting “Old Age.” If you’d like to learn more, or enroll today, simply click here.
Sources:
“Diet Supplement Reverses Aging: Harvard Report,” Newsmax (www.newsmax.com) 3/25/2018
“This Compound Can Reverse Aging in Mice. Will It Work in People?” Time Magazine (www.time.com) 3/22/2018
“Is an Anti-Aging Pill on the Horizon?” Time Magazine (www.time.com) 2/15/2018
“Here Are The Ways Smoking May Actually Be ‘Good’ For You,” Gixmodo (www.gixmodo.com.) 8/7/2015