Chapter 8: Boost Your Daily Energy

Ever heard of “mitochondria”?

If you think back to science class, maybe they sound familiar.

Mitochondria are microscopic structures found inside our cells.

You have a lot of them.

About 37 trillion (that’s 37,000,000,000,000).

And they have a really important job – they transform the food we eat into energy.

In fact, mitochondria provide 99% of the energy in our entire bodies.

You can think of mitochondria as tiny “powerplants” that power our cells and organs.

They’re so important, Harvard Medical School says mitochondria are linked to every single function of your body that keeps you alive.

And when we’re young, they work great… pumping out gobs and gobs of all-day energy.

Remember how much energy you had in high school?

That’s when your mitochondria were working at peak efficiency… churning out all the energy you could ever need.

Of course, things change over time.

Your mitochondria don’t work as well when you get older.

They break down and stop working.

They stop making all the energy your body needs to repair its organs, for your cells to create new, young cells…and to have the energy to do the things you used to be able to do.

Instead, we get old and feeble. And we’re more susceptible to diseases.

Our failing mitochondria are a major reason we get old.

In fact, we lose about 5% of our energy every 10 years. Decade after decade, our energy is dropping…

And it’s directly linked to our dying mitochondria.

A 5-year-old child’s mitochondria are essentially perfect… but 95% of a 90-year-old’s mitochondria are damaged or broken.

And it’s easy to see the difference in energy between a bouncing-off-the-walls 5-year-old child, and someone who’s 90.

Also, studies have linked having a lot of healthy mitochondria to living past 100 years of age.

Scientists don’t fully know yet why our mitochondria break down as we get older.

But they are learning that things like pollution, cell phone radiation, pesticides and toxins in our food and water could all be making it worse.

So, what can you do?

“Stardust” Vitamin Restores Mitochondria

Did you know there’s a natural nutrient – a type of vitamin – that does something amazing?

It actually restores mitochondria so they can start making energy again.

Scientists call this vitamin Pyrroloquinoline quinone or “PQQ”.

PQQ is found all over our universe. It’s even been found in stardust from space!

Here on earth, it’s made by certain soil bacteria. It is then absorbed by plants – and that’s how it gets into our food.

PQQ is actually found in every plant and animal… but your body doesn’t make PQQ.

So you must get it through your food or from supplements.

Here’s why PQQ is so important:

When cells are “fed” PQQ, the mitochondria start multiplying… filling the cells with new energy-creating powerplants.

Listen to this: A team of researchers at the University of California – Davis found that PQQ seems to work by “turning on” genes in mice that are related to energy metabolism in cells.

In a different study, a PQQ deficiency in juvenile mice resulted in a 20%-30% reduction of mitochondria in liver cells, plus elevated blood sugar.

But when PQQ was added back into the mice’s diets, the mice grew NEW mitochondria.

And there’s so much more PQQ does…

First of all, it has powerful effects on older brains.

Animal and human research shows it:

• • • Helps protect against Parkinson’s Disease
    • It also protects against brain damage after a stroke
    • It even helps stop some of the brain diseases brought on by getting older

And if you’re getting a little older, it could even improve your memory.

In a double-blind study on a group of 65 middle-aged and elderly people, 20 mg per day of PQQ resulted in improved cognitive function. This included showing better short-term memory.

The improvements in memory were even better when the subjects also took 300 mg per day of CoQ10 (CoQ10 seems to improve the bioavailability of PQQ).

That’s still not all.

PQQ even helps protects your heart from damage after a heart attack.

And it could even make your life a whole lot better.

In a small study on 17 men and women suffering from fatigue, supplementing with PQQ improved sleep quality and duration.

Not only that, but the participants’ mood was improved.

They felt less tired, and they reported better quality of life related to appetite, sleep, and pain.

Live Longer with PQQ?

As you’ve seen, PQQ appears to have so many benefits for your health as you get older.

But could it help someone live longer?

PQQ is an incredibly powerful antioxidant – meaning it protects cells and organs from the damage caused by free radicals, a major contributor to aging.

In fact, in some markers of antioxidant power, PQQ is up to 5,000 times stronger than vitamin C.

Scientists believe that’s one of the ways that PQQ could possibly help increase lifespan.

So far, we only have animal studies to look at.

Two different studies have now been done on C. elegans, a type of worm.

It has a very short lifespan, so scientists often use this kind of worm for longevity testing.

In both studies, supplementing the animals with PQQ increased their lifespan by 30%.

Now, of course, you’re not a worm and neither am I.

So we can’t draw many human conclusions from a 30% increase in lifespan in a worm – but the research is ongoing and it’s certainly interesting.

The National Academy of Sciences has gone so far as to call PQQ a “longevity vitamin.”

And so has Dr. Bruce Ames, biochemistry professor at University of California – Berkeley.

He also said that optimal levels of PQQ, along with some other nutrients (including CoQ10), are “necessary for promoting healthy aging.”

How Can I Get PQQ?

If you’re interested in supplementing with PQQ, it’s readily available on Amazon, in health stores, and many other online retailers.

Most supplements seem to offer 10 mg servings – though the human studies I looked at typically used 20 mg daily.

Studies have shown you can enhance the effects of PQQ by taking it with CoQ10 – which is another important nutrient.

As always, talk to your doctor before making any changes to your healthcare.