Naturally-occurring chemicals found in green tomatoes and green apple peel can turn back the clock on body ageing, a recent study shows.
The old saying that and apple a day keeps the doctor away has finally been found to be scientifically true. Research conducted by the University of Iowa has found that ursolic acid, found in green apple peel, and tomatidine, found in green tomatoes, both fight ATF4 protein, the protein responsible for muscle mass and strength loss in old age.
The study, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, says that as people age ATF4 protein accumulates in the body and interferes with gene formation. This starves muscles of the healthy proteins they need to repair and nurture themselves, which eventually leads to muscle atrophy and a loss of strength.
The study found that ursolic acid and tomatidine can effectively turn back the clock and transform elderly people’s muscles into those of a much younger adult after just two months of treatment.
Initial tests, which were conducted on older mice, show a dramatic reduction in age-related muscle weakness and atrophy as well as an increase in muscle mass by 10 per cent and muscle quality by 30 per cent after just two months.
Researchers hope the discovery could lead to new therapies targeting older adults to allow them to stay fit and active for as long as possible. This is big news for the beauty and health industry; combined with our in-salon and take-home treatments, this finding could mean that our clients stay healthier and fitter a lot later into their older years.
Christopher Adams, professor of internal medicine and lead author of the study said,
“Many of us know from our own experiences that muscle weakness and atrophy are big problems as we become older. These problems have a major impact on our quality of life and health.”
“Based on these results, ursolic acid and tomatidine appear to have a lot of potential as tools for dealing with muscle weakness and atrophy during ageing,” says Professor Adams. “By reducing ATF4 activity, ursolic acid and tomatidine allow skeletal muscle to recover from effects of ageing.”
Have a client who’s feeling the strain of muscle ageing? Get them onto green apples and green tomatoes. It’s early days for this research but you may be doing them a big favour.
Have your say: Do you eat an apple a day?