Muscles?

March 30th, 2024| Topic: RaMbLeS | 0

Everything fades with time. Especially our strength. With aging, those muscles begin to decline: that’s a condition called sarcopenia.

(I don’t want to talk about the mind fading—that’s too depressing!)

There might be hope for us aging-muscle-decliners. Something called trigonelline.

So claimeth a bunch of scientists from Singapore, Switzerland, Japan, Australia, UK, and the USA in “Trigonelline Is an NAD+ Precursor that Improves Muscle Function During Ageing and Is Reduced in Human Sarcopenia,” published in Nature: Metabolism last week.

This compound, trigonelline (C7H7NO2), is a derivative of Vitamin B3. Mostly occurs in plants and plant-based foods. And … coffee—especially the arabica variety—is one of them! (And fenugreek, Japanese radish, garden peas, and potatoes.)

Trigonelline levels are low with ageing. And so are levels of NAD+. This is a critical currency of metabolism, an essential molecule that enables energy-production in the mitochondria of our cells and essentially keeps us alive. And muscles are packed with NAD+ to enable them to function properly.

Well, if trigonelline declines with age, and NAD+ declines with age, is there a connection? There is.

Vincenzo Sorrentino, of the National University of Singapore, one of the authors said:

Our findings expand the current understanding of NAD+ metabolism with the discovery of trigonelline as a novel NAD+ precursor.”

In short, trigonelline helps boost NAD+ levels and improve markers of mitochondrial function in aged muscle cells from both humans and mice. Remarkably, feeding trigonelline to elderly mice for twelve weeks increased their grip strength and protected them against muscle fatigue. Not just in rodents. Even worms—their lifespans were extended with trigonelline. But those creatures with a genetic tweak that eliminated their ability to process trigonelline into NAD+ died weak and feeble! (Folks, that’s what happens when you don’t drink your espresso! Go get your shot! Right now!)

The authors:

We identify nutritional supplementation of trigonelline as an NAD+-boosting strategy with therapeutic potential for age-associated muscle decline.”

So, is trigonelline a new miracle muscle supplement? Researchers caution that sarcopenia is a complex disease, and nutrition alone likely can’t completely reverse it. Trigonelline may be an important piece of the puzzle, but we older adults will still need adequate protein, and vitamins, and exercise, and stuff to fully combat muscle loss.

Get your coffee, by all means! But God is better, if strength is what you want!

Paul prays fervently:

[May] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
… give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation …
that you may know … what [is] the surpassing greatness
of His power towards us who believe.
Ephesians 1:17–19

Yup, God’s power is for us who believe!

And what kind of power is it?

God’s power …

… which He worked in Christ, raising Him from the dead
and seating [Him] at His right hand in the heavenlies.
Ephesians 1:20

Resurrection power! That’s the strength we need from God.

And this, God’s strength, is greater than that of any other entity (particularly the evil ones named below in their hierarchies) …

… far above every rule and authority and power and dominion
and every name that is named
… and He [God] put all things in subjection under His [Christ’s] feet,
and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, ….
Ephesians 1:21–23

Hey, if we are Christ’s body, and all things and beings are under Christ’s feet, well, where are those in relation to us?

Yup, under our feet!

Rejoice, ye strong ones (caffeinated or otherwise)! Christ is risen—he is risen, indeed!

SOURCE: Nature Metabolism; Study Finds