HOT TAKE: I think aging is cool. I personally can't wait to be old AF because I know my grandmas and great grandmas, and they're badass. So, I can't wait to join the ranks and be viewed as an equally badass grandma to all of my grandkids.
BRING ON THE GREYS.
But I know that's not a widely popular view. People go to great lengths to slow the signs of aging, and others make lifelong careers out of performing those procedures.
So, for all you crazy people who are deathly afraid of aging and will do anything to slow it down, science has some pretty fantastic news for you. Not for me, though. I couldn't give two shits.
Apparently, scientists have discovered an anti-aging compound in pomegranates.
You know, the fruit that is literally the biggest nuisance in the world to eat and every time you eat it, you wonder why you ever got one in the first place because just. how. worth. it. can it be to dig out all those little seeds?
Yeah. If you want to stop aging, you'll have to keep digging.
Just kidding. No amount of digging into the core of pomegranates and guzzling them down is going to reverse your wrinkles, so stop right where you are.
The anti-aging magic isn't actually in the fruit, but rather in the aforementioned compound itself, called urolithin A. When you eat the juice from a pomegranate, natural substances, called ellagitannins, are broken down in your stomach. Once the ellagitannins are broken down, your intestinal bacteria converts them into urolithin A. And that's when you turn into Benjamin Button.
A group of scientists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne has found that the ellagitannins-turned-urolithin A rejuvenates cellular function and reverses the effects of aging on the muscles. They've only tested this on worms and rodents so far, but it's a promising discovery, to say the least. The discovery was made with assistance from biotech firm Amazentis.
When they say the compound reverses the effects of aging on the muscles, they mean that the compound provides the muscles with the tools to protect themselves against a major cause of aging. So it doesn't turn back the clock but, for all intents and purposes, it hits pause.
The research showed that elderly worms (that's a funny term) exposed to urolithin A (UA for short) lived 45 percent longer than the unexposed worms. And older mice that were exposed to UA had 42 percent better endurance than unexposed mice. No news yet on how it will affect humans, but trials are beginning in Europe.
Don't sprint to the store and buy every pomegranate in sight, though. I know you want to, but chill.
Ellagitannins can be found in many fruits and berries but, at the end of the day, it all comes down to your body's ability to convert ellagitannins into UA. Some people have the ability, some people have no ability at all.
But Amazentis is working on finding a way to deliver very fine dosages of UA, so hang tight. If all goes as planned, the administration of this compound could help a slew of age-related issues, such as muscle degeneration.
So, no. Pomegranates will not turn you into Benjamin Button or give you the ass lift you desperately want but don't want to pay for, but if UA is developed into an administrative dosage of medicine, your chances of a healthier, longer lifespan could be much higher.
And that's what I'm all about.
