Anti Aging
BP-RX was developed to promote healthy blood pressure, cholesterol, arterial health and to increase multiple antioxidants in your body. Additionally, BP-RX may provide a benefit for insulin resistance – the precursor to Type2 diabetes.
Anti Aging
Effectively managing all of these health conditions can lead to a longer life. But one benefit usually not found in nutritional or pharmaceutical blood pressure products – is a specific, clinically validated, anti-aging benefit. BP-RX contains not just one but TWO – anti-aging benefits.
Both of these anti-aging mechanisms are found in Gynostemma pentaphyllum used in the BP-RX formula. Gynostemma pentaphyllum – also known as Jiaogulan – was first discovered in two South Central Chinese provinces being consumed as a tea and referred to as the “Immortality herb”- due to the fact that many centenarians (people aged 100 years or older) lived in these provinces.
While little was known about why this tea provided this benefit – years later the reasons may have been discovered. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) was first discovered by researchers in 1968 and referred to as the “youth molecule”. SOD is one of the three powerful endogenous antioxidants naturally produced by the human body (Glutathione peroxidase and Catalase are the other two) and is considered the “master antioxidant”.
Endogenous antioxidants are significantly more powerful than secondary antioxidants like Pomegranate, Acai, CoQ10, Green tea and Grape seed extract. In fact, an article appearing in Life Extension Magazine states that SOD may be 3500 times stronger than vitamin C as an antioxidant (Green tea is thought to be 100 times stronger than vitamin C).
This is the reason SOD is so powerful. Secondary antioxidants destroy just one free radical per molecule before they are used up. SOD destroys hundreds of free radicals per molecule. SOD also signals your other cells to produce more SOD – secondary antioxidants do not.
Research conducted in the 1980’s by Richard Cutler PhD, at the Gerontology Research Center at the National Institutes of Health in Washington DC, showed that mammals that produced higher tissue and serum levels of SOD, lived longer lives than those with lower SOD levels. Humans have the highest levels of SOD – and live the longest – while rats have the lowest levels and have the shortest life spans. Pigeons and rats share 98.9% of the same DNA – yet pigeons live 12 TIMES longer than rats.
Scientists believe that higher levels of SOD in the pigeons is the reason why. Fruit flies bred to produce twice as much SOD as regular fruit flies, live twice as long as regular fruit flies.
In the largest human double- blind study to date (615 subjects) conducted by Dr. Lui Professor of Pathology at Guiyang Medical College in China, those study subjects taking Gynostemma pentaphyllum increased their SOD levels by 116%-282% on an age dependent basis.
This means that the older the test subject was – the higher their SOD level was increased. This stands to reason, because younger people naturally produce higher levels of SOD – while SOD becomes depleted in the body as we age (see more under Antioxidants).
The second ant-aging mechanism provided by Gynostemma pentaphyllum is activation of the AMPK enzyme – also known as the bodies “master regulating switch”. AMPK stands for adenosine monophosphate – activated protein kinase. A PubMed search shows over 7,500 published articles on various aspects of AMPK research. Reduced AMPK signaling brings on a range of damaging health conditions including:
- Increased belly fat
- Chronic inflammation
- Elevated blood sugar
- Insulin resistance
- High cholesterol and triglycerides
- Decreased numbers and function of mitochondria
- Increased accumulations of abnormal or damaged cells
AMPK cells are generally cleaner and healthier cells. Old cells with decreased AMPK activity become clogged with cellular debris which reduces their efficiency and shortens their life spans. These old clogged cells accelerate the aging process and contribute to diseases like Alzheimers and Parkinson’s disease and to the stiffening of vital tissues throughout the body.
Cells that have been energized by AMPK, empty their internal garbage cans of accumulated damaged proteins and then convert these damaged proteins for recycling, into healthy new ones. The result of AMPK re-activation is enhanced efficient cellular activity.
Research over the past few years has shown that it is possible to revitalize AMPK to youthful levels of activation. Experiments have shown the following:
- Extended life span by as much as 20% -30% in animals
- Improved glucose uptake in cells lowering blood sugar
- Inhibiting excess fat production and increased burning of stored fat
- Reduction of blood triglycerides
- Decreased liver fat accumulation and fat related chronic inflammation
- Increased numbers of new, healthy mitochondria
Gynostemma pentaphyllum has been clinically validated to be one of the best ways to safely and effectively increase AMPK activity in your body.
The anti-aging research conducted on Gynostemma pentaphyllum is just beginning – although Chinese have known about the life – extending benefits for many years. Why do you think they call Gynostemma pentaphyllum “ziancao’ or the Immortality herb?