Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "
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01.11.2015 |
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More stress, less longevity hormone
The kidneys and brain secrete a hormone that delays aging, lengthens life expectancy, reduces the chance of age-related diseases and cardiovascular disease, and keeps muscles strong. This longevity hormone is called klotho. Psychologists at the University of California in San Francisco discovered that chronic stress reduces the concentration of klotho in the body.
Klotho
In 2005 molecular biologists at the University of Texas published the results of an animal study [Science 2005; 309: 1829–1833.], which confirmed the Japanese' suspicions. The Texans modified mice genetically in two ways so that they produced greater amounts of klotho – the EFmKL46- and the EFmKL48 mouse – and observed that twenty to thirty percent of these lived longer than ordinary mice [WT].
Epidemiological studies suggest that klotho has the same effect in humans. The over 65s in the Italian Chianti study had more strength in their hands [Eur J Appl Physiol. 2012 Apr;112(4):1215-20.] and legs [J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2015 Sep 9. pii: glv077. [Epub ahead of print].] the higher the klotho concentration in their blood. In addition, a high klotho level reduced the chance of cardiovascular disease [J Am Geriatr Soc. 2011 Sep;59(9):1596-601.] and symptoms of mental aging such as forgetfulness. [J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2015 Aug 21. pii: glv140. [Epub ahead of print].] Elderly people with relatively high levels of klotho in their blood also functioned better and needed help less often. [Rejuvenation Res. 2012 Jun;15(3):295-301.]
Longer life
It's not yet known exactly how klotho delays aging, but it seems that klotho does something with the way insulin and FGF work. [Aging (Albany NY). 2010 Sep;2(9):567-81.]
Klotho and stress
The figure below on the left shows that caring for an autistic child reduced the klotho level. The figure below on the right suggests that the reduction in the concentration of klotho as a result of stress becomes bigger as the years roll on.
So a lifestyle that involves little stress could lengthen life expectancy, according to these findings. But we knew that already.
Might there be other lifestyle factors that are affected by changes in klotho levels? Watch this space.
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