Ah, youth! If only we could take the experience we have acquired over the years and go back in time when we were in our 20's and had radiant young bodies! Wouldn't life be much more pleasurable this way? With a little know-how and a few key nutritional supplements you can get significantly closer to that youthful appearance and increase your energy levels, even more than you’ve expected.

The Reduction of Juvenile Hormones

One of the main causes for the deterioration of our physical nature is the fact that the levels of certain hormones and other vital chemicals in our bodies decrease with each passing year.

• CoQ10 – CoQ10 is an enzyme catalyst which is essential for the generation of energy within the cell. And just like any electrical appliance with no power supply, we can stop functioning as well. Unfortunately, as we grow older, our ability to absorb CoQ10 from foods, such as fish and eggs, slows down and begins to fade. We are starting to feel the effects, but we cannot always determine the cause.

• Melatonin – Melatonin regulates our internal clock, telling us when to sleep and when to wake up. Sleep is an absolutely essential anti-aging tool since this long period of rest is the time when the human body produces many important chemicals that we need in order to stay healthy, such as growth hormones and immune factors. If you cannot get the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep and you find yourself tossing and turning in bed during the long restless nights, then you must try melatonin.

• DHEA – DHEA is a precursor or the so called ‘Mother Hormone’ of the various anti-aging hormones, such as the oestrogen, testosterone, and growth hormone. It helps maintain muscle mass, skin colour, and even bone health. However, for many different reasons, the human body produces considerably less DHEA, especially as people get older. That is exactly the reason why this hormone was one of the first to become popular as a supplement because it greatly improves the energy levels and sexual libido.

A Powerful Anti-Age Threesome

Medical specialists in the field of anti-age technology have long studied the reasons why some nutrients significantly help maintain the protein in tissues, while simultaneously influencing the good overall condition and health.

When thinking of body proteins, the first thing that comes to mind is surely the muscles. Keep in mind, however, that muscle tissue is much more than impressively bulging biceps or attractively rounded gluteus. The heart is also a major muscle, as well as many other organs of the body. The skin consists of collagen and another type of protein structure which is also found in the cartilage and joints. The following three nutrients can remarkably preserve all protein structures in the best possible way.

1. Alpha Lipoic Acid plays a central role in maintaining protein and collagen. It provides a continuous source of energy for the cell. Furthermore, it fights free radicals both in the fatty and aqueous part of the cell, and is the only antioxidant able to stimulate the cellular levels of the tripeptide glutathione which is extremely important for the overall health and longevity.

2. Benfotiamine – a soluble form of vitamin B-1. It produces much more powerful effects in smaller doses than its water-soluble cousin – the Thiamine.

3. Carnosine – a dipeptide of the amino acids Beta-Alanine and Histidine. Binds excess levels of copper in the body in order to prevent cellular oxidation.
 

The King and Queen of Antioxidants

Any anti-age discussion would remain seriously incomplete if we fail to mention the two most major antioxidants – Vitamin C and Vitamin E.

• Vitamin C – It helps us stay young in two quite exceptional ways. Firstly, it is necessary for the production of collagen and elastin which maintain the skin's resilience, joints' flexibility and blood vessels' health. Secondly, it is the main nutrient for a healthy immune system. The immune system is an intricate complex which has to protect us on a daily basis from the onslaughts of free radicals that we permanently face. This is a constant game of detection and destruction the purpose of which is to find the proteins called antigens that do not belong to our bodies. If and when that task is accomplished, the immune system can strengthen and protect the body. Without immune system life can be over before it even began. As a universal and potent antioxidant, Vitamin C maintains the immune defenders of the organism in excellent shape.

• Vitamin E – We often consider aging only as something manifesting in our appearance and the way we feel from a purely psychological standpoint. But aging can seriously affect our mental health by limiting our ability to think and remember. As a fat-soluble antioxidant, Vitamin E is one of the best food allies for promoting brain health and cognitive function, since the brain is largely composed of adipose tissue, just as the protective membranes of all cells in the body. Vitamin E has many other remarkable applications. It is good for the health of the cardiovascular system, liver and skin. Vitamin E should definitely be a part of your diet, whether you get it from food or supplements.