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PDFTURING BACK THE CLOCK ON AGING
There are plenty of anti-aging products on the market these days, but one that is getting a lot of press right now is carnosine. Not to be confused with L-carnitine, carnosine is actually a dipeptide, a combination of the two amino acids beta-alanine and histidine. It protects us not just from physical signs of aging, such as wrinkles and age spots, but also from the neurodegenerative effects that can lead to such debilitating conditions as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
INHIBITION OF ADVANCED GLYCATION END PRODUCTS
Carnosine addresses the biochemical paradox of life: the elements that make and give life—oxygen, glucose, lipids, protein, trace metals—also destroy life in ways that are inhibited by carnosine. It protects against their destructive sides through potent antioxidant, anti-glycating, aldehyde quenching and metal chelating actions.
Carnosine’s role in the anti-aging process is mostly due to its ability to protect proteins. Unfortunately, proteins tend to undergo destructive changes as we age, due largely to oxidation and interactions with sugars or aldehydes. These interrelated protein modifications include oxidation, carbonylation, cross-linking, glycation and advanced glycation endproduct (AGE) formation. They figure prominently not only in the processes of aging but also in its familiar signs such as skin aging, cataracts and neurodegeneration. Studies show that carnosine is effective against all these forms of protein modification.
Every time our cells divide, which they do throughout our lifetime, they age. Older cells are less efficient at performing the functions for which they were designed, are less efficient at creating energy and removing by products. Inefficient function of older cells leads to buildups of toxic by products and cross-linked proteins associated aging skin (wrinkles and liver spots), cataracts, and build-up of plaque in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. After about 60 divisions, cells stop reproducing and are just alive, waiting for death. However, carnosine, when introduced into the body’s cells, has been shown to rejuvenate older cells, acting as an anti-aging agent from within our cell structure. 
THE ANTIOXIDANT VALUE OF CARNOSINE
As an antioxidant, carnosine potently quenches that most destructive of free radicals, the hydroxyl radical, as well as superoxide, singlet oxygen and the peroxyl radical. Surprisingly, carnosine was the only antioxidant to significantly protect chromosomes from oxidative damage due to 90% oxygen exposure.
If you have more questions about carnosine, or wish to purchase a bottle, feel free to call us here in Atlanta at 404-266-9115, or just drop by if you’re in the neighborhood.
