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10.12.2022

More beta-carotene, longer life

Beta-carotene is present in green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, celery, lamb's lettuce, endive and in cabbage varieties, but also in orange vegetables and fruit such as carrots and mandarins. The more beta-carotene is in your blood, the more your aging process may slow down.

Study
Gerontologists at the University of Perugia in Italy analyzed the blood of 68 and more elderly men. 37 of them were healthy, 31 study participants had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

Epidemiologists have already found a significantly reduced level of the carotenoid beta-carotene in people with Alzheimer's disease several times. [For example: Eur J Neurol. 1999 Jul;6(4):495-7.] That is why the Italians looked specifically at beta-carotene.

Results
The researchers did indeed find less beta-carotene in the blood of the study participants with Alzheimer's than in the blood of the healthy group. But they also found something else.

The more beta-carotene the study participants had in their blood, the greater the activity of the enzyme telomerase in their white blood cells. The Italians found this association in both groups.

Telomerase makes the telomeres in the DNA molecule. As a result, telomerase counteracts a prominent aspect of aging at the molecular level. As an organism ages, the telomeres in its cells become shorter and shorter. When the telomeres wear away due to aging, the genetic material in cells can no longer function properly.

Conclusion
"In this pilot study, we observed, for the first time, a significant relationship between beta-carotene and telomerase activity, suggesting a new potential role of this nutritional factor as a protective molecule against aging and age-related disease", write the Italians.

"Our data could be used to design a more extensive and confirmatory study to better understand the role of beta-carotene."

Source:
Eur J Nutr. 2020 Feb;59(1):119-26.

More:
More carotenoids in your blood, longer telomeres 02.11.2020
More beta-carotene in your blood, longer life 02.01.2019

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