Fancy anti-aging mitochondrial boosting supplements are all the rage but are they better than eating the foods containing precursors or their same ingredients?
Urolithin A supplementation is a hot topic in the functional medicine and biohacking space right now.
It’s been found to improve…
- muscle endurance
- reduce cartilage degeneration
- boost immune function
- improve insulin sensitivity
What is Urolithin A?
It’s a post-biotic.
Urolithins are the final products produced in the intestine from ellagitannnin and ellagic acid from the digestion of walnuts, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and pomegranates. (learn more HERE.)
Post-biotic are the leftovers after your body digests prebiotics (think fiber) and probiotics.
B vitamins and vitamin K are examples of pos-tbiotics as they are by products of probiotic bacterial action.
Short chain fatty acids, amino acids and some antimicrobial peptides are all post-biotics.
Perhaps you’ve heard me mention tributyrin, a butyrate containing supplement for gut lining health… this is another example of a post-biotic.
Fermented foods like unpasteurized kefir, sauerkraut, pickles and kimchi are all post-biotic producers.
Researchers have isolated various urolithins from A to C but one company, Mitopure decided to create a Urolithin A supplement based on the results they were seeing it provided.
Perhaps you’re like me and thinking – well couldn’t I just eat walnuts, pomegranate, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries?
You sure could.
Research shows that they have their benefits too and who knows maybe more benefits because you’re not isolating a molecule on it’s own for benefit.
Insulin resistance is a hot topic and it’s also common over 40.
Urolithin A has been found to help.
But here’s the catch – you need to have sufficient lactobacillus species bacteria and inulin containing fiber in your gut to get the full effect.
You could supplement with a lactobacillus based probiotic and eat an inulin containing food while sipping on pomegranate juice (yes a study proved that helped with insulin resistance).
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Or you could eat inulin rich foods…
- banana
- leeks
- onions
- garlic
- burdock
- chicory
- artichoke
- Jerusalem artichoke
- barley
- dandelion
Sounds complicated to think about all these things right?
Consider this…
Gut health is touted as the foundation to health for a reason.
If your good gut bugs aren’t thriving it’s going to be hard to get the good by products aka post-biotics from the probiotics gobbling up your food during digestion.
To get the most out of any whole foods diet – you have to work on your gut health.
If you’re not up for that – then supplements may be the way to go.
Likely you’ve heard me say over and over again – you can’t supplement your way out of a poor diet.
This is why.
Just because something is isolated from a naturally occurring process in the body – does it mean it’s more effective?
It could be because it’s targeted but what if the interplay between food and beneficial bacteria were intelligently created for you to glean the good stuff naturally.
While Urolithin A hasn’t been out long enough for me to give a solid answer as to it’s benefits I can say I’ve seen people improve their health by eating a diet including the foods I’ve listed above.
How would I get Urolithin A to support my muscles, tendons, ligaments and prevent insulin resistance?
- Eat berries, pomegranate or drink no sugar added pomegranate juice daily
- Support lactobacillus containing beneficial bacteria with a probiotic
- Eat inulin rich foods on a daily basis – rotating them of course
Perhaps you may be thinking – I struggle to digest these foods?
It’s common to have issues digesting the stuff that’s considered “good for you” – stay tuned for tomorrow’s email where I break down how to fix up your leaky gut.
Here’s to your health,
Dr. J
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