Rapamycin: A True Anti-Aging Drug

by Mila McManus, MD

Rapamycin, also known as Sirolimus A True Anti-Aging Drug

Rapamycin, also known as Sirolimus, is a prescription drug derived from a bacteria found in the ground decades ago in the Easter Islands. Though a drug, it is a natural product with a 30 year history and a very high safety record. There are over 50,000 PubMed journal articles about rapamycin published since 1975.

Originally Rapamycin was used at high doses to prevent kidney transplant rejection by suppressing the immune system. It is also recognized to have antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties and is used in both oncology and cardiology. Oncologist have found Rapamycin to slow solid tumor growth and also effective for a type of lymphoma. Cardiologists use Rapamycin in stints to open up arteries in the heart, thus cutting down on inflammation.

This is the kind of prescription drug profile that interests functional medicine professionals. A long history with very high safety standards, this natural product is not only helpful with transplants, cancer, and cardiovascular concerns, but at low doses, is also proving to be an effective anti-aging drug.

Here’s how Rapamycin works:

The human body has an enzyme that is in our cells known as mTOR. It is the key to our cellular activity and our aging process. The mTOR enzyme drives the growth and aging in our cells. When we eat, we stimulate the mTOR pathway which is great for a 5 year old but as adults we do not need the same high level of mTOR activity. An active mTOR pathway drives the aging process and when always active, it also increases the inflammatory pathways which leads to diseases like cardiovascular, cancer, and Alzheimer’s, just to name a few.

Alternatively, when the mTOR is modulated, and slowed down, the process of autophagy occurs. The human body needs both mTOR and autophagy processes and they happen alternately, i.e., when one is stimulated the other is modulated or halted. Autophagy is an important cleansing process needed in the body where we recycle things and clean out debris that is clogging things up. In the standard American diet and culture, we tend to eat too much and/or too frequently, thus driving a chronic, overactive mTOR pathway driving growth and cellular activity toward aging. The good news is, Rapamycin, binds to the mTOR enzyme, slowing down its activity, and inducing autophagy. Autophagy is a repair process and needs to occur to restore youthfulness, detoxification, and healing.

Autophagy is stimulated by intermittent fasting, Rapamycin imitates fasting.

Other Benefits of Autophagy:

Enhance and modulate immune function
Reducing inflammation
Clean up debris and remove it from the body
Enhance cellular repair and healing
Increase longevity and lifespan.
Protect against tumor growth

Patients who have used Rapamycin for anti-aging report increased energy levels, a more positive outlook, and reduced need for pain medication due to fewer aches and pains.

If you are over 50, you may want to discuss Rapamycin with your medical provider to see if it is right for you.

Resources:

https://www.hotzehwc.com/blog/dr-donald-ellsworth-on-the-benefits-of-rapamycin-aka-sirolimus/

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41419-019-1822-8

By Admin|2022-10-20T10:02:57-05:00October 20th, 2022|Articles, General|

Our Need for Collagen

by Nancy Weyrauch Mehlert, MS

Ensuring you are getting adequate sources of collagen is important as an anti-aging strategy as well as an immune building strategy!

Collagen is the most abundant protein found in the human body. Our physical structure and function requires it to make and repair our bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, skin, and gastrointestinal tract, so it is critical for movement, healthy skin, and digestion. Ensuring you are getting adequate sources of collagen is important as an anti-aging strategy as well as an immune building strategy! Your gastro-intestinal tract and skin barrier are two critical organ systems essential for protecting your body from outside harm.

There are many barriers to getting adequate collagen in the diet. An important one to remember is that, as we age, we produce less collagen, precisely when we need it the most. Processed foods, chronic stress, strenuous exercise, sleep deprivation, environmental pollutants, smoking, excessive alcohol, and poor nutrient absorption all diminish odds for adequate collagen to be obtained by the body.

The most ideal food sources to support collagen production in the body include:

Homemade authentic bone broth
Spirulina (use dried powder or tablet form, and purchase high quality)
Wild Alaskan fish including cod, salmon, sardines, and mackerel
Eggs – we recommend pasture raised chicken eggs
Leafy green vegetables – spinach, kale, and arugula are the best
Pumpkin seeds
Berries
Citrus fruits
Garlic
Fermented Foods
Herbs and Spices

There are also excellent supplemental forms, and selecting a high quality, properly sourced, and formulated one is very important. We carry two excellent products to support collagen needs. CollaGEN is a powdered dietary supplement easily mixed with a liquid. Pure PaleoMeal is a Bone Broth Protein powder in chocolate or vanilla.

By Admin|2022-11-01T12:24:15-05:00July 21st, 2021|General, NANCY’S NUTRITIONAL NUGGET|

Product of the Month Resveragen™

Klaire Labs®

Resveratrol is found in plants where it is designed to help increase the life span of the plant by making them resistant to disease, injury, and stressors. In the human body, resveratrol is known for a host of anti-aging protective benefits including[1]:

Combating damaging free radicals in the body
Reducing inflammation
Has antioxidant and antimicrobial properties
Has an especially potent neuroprotective effect
Improves mitochondrial health by promoting autophagy (self-cleaning), see Main Article
Protecting against depression
Improving brain blood flow and suppressing brain inflammation
May be able to make cancerous tumors more vulnerable to conventional cancer treatments (i.e. chemotherapy and radiation) and reduce side effects of treatment

Resveratrol is a polyphenolic compound with antioxidant activity found in grapes, wine, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, mulberries, pomegranate, ginger, and organic dark chocolate or raw cacao. The typical 5-oz glass of red wines contains about 0.5 mg trans-resveratrol. It would take approximately 500 glasses to obtain what is found in one capsule of Resveragen. Japanese Knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum) root extract has been concentrated and standardized to 50% trans-resveratrol. Each capsule provides 250 mg elemental trans-resveratrol[2].

To clarify, drinking wine is not the way to ensure optimal levels! Unfortunately, the alcohol counteracts the resveratrol benefit by elevating insulin levels and having neurotoxic effects. While muscadine grapes are known for high levels of resveratrol, most of which resides in the skin and seeds, this is also a high sugar source, detrimental to your glucose levels, especially if you are insulin resistant. In addition to the foods listed at the beginning of the article, you may want to look into itadori tea, also made from the Japanese knotweed. Optimal levels may best be accomplished through supplementation and should be discussed with your functional medicine provider.

[1] https://articles.mercola.com/vitamins-supplements/resveratrol.aspx

[2] Klaire Labs, 2019 Practitioner Product Catalog, Resveragen, pg. 82.

By Admin|2020-11-10T08:43:25-05:00November 10th, 2020|General|