Changes in Your Skin

Everyone notices that as they become older their skin becomes drier, less pliable and more irregular (wrinkles). It also seems thinner, as you lose some of the underlying fatty tissue, and you may notice that your skin makes less natural oils. Also, spots appear that weren’t there before. A myriad of topical skin products are available that may temporarily help with some of these issues, but an important consideration is the proper balance of natural lipids that are the building blocks of skin cell membranes. These structures need to be constantly replaced to keep your skin tissue from the effects of premature aging. MLR® with NTFactor® Lipids will help by providing the membrane lipids needed to help keep your skin cells healthy and flexible.

Changes in Your Heart 

When you reach 50 and beyond, your blood vessels become stiffer and your heart has to work harder to provide the blood that all tissues and cells require. This can result in higher blood pressure, which is a prime factor in future heart attacks. You’ve heard it a million times, but you really do need to stay physically active, keep your weight and blood pressure under control, get enough sleep, and maintain a proper diet so that your cells and tissues can repair themselves. Maintaining a proper lipid balance in your heart and blood is also important, and that is where MLR NTFactor® Lipids comes in. In our published studies, NTFactor® Lipids daily lowered the known blood markers of heart attack risk. This means that taking NTFactor® Lipids may help in maintaining heart health as you age.

Hearing and Vision Changes

As we age, we notice that we often have a hard time following conversations, and find it difficult to see distant signs or read small print. These are natural changes, but it would sure be nice to put them off for a few years or reduce their effects. In published studies with laboratory animals, MLR® with NTFactor® Lipids prevented natural age-associated loss of hearing, and the antioxidant properties of NTFactor® Lipids may help to prevent changes in your eyes that cause improper lens focusing on close or distant objects.

Changes in Teeth and Gums

As you get older, you may notice that your mouth seems drier and your gums seem to pull away more from your teeth. You can prevent some of this by eating a proper diet and brushing and rinsing more often. Daily use of NTFactor® Lipids could help by providing the lipids necessary to maintain gum epithelial cell membranes. In addition, normal teeth have live tissues inside, including nerve cells, and these require constant repair of their cellular membranes.

Your Bones Change and Joints Become Stiffer

As we age, our bones begin to slowly weaken as they become less dense and more brittle. Tissues in our joints may begin to break down, and our joints feel stiffer.  Some of these effects can be partially mitigated by proper diet, especially by including enough calcium and vitamin D. Your bones and joints contain important cells and tissues that provide the precursor components that replenish and maintain them, so it is important to keep these cells provided with essential components, especially cellular membrane precursors. This is why MLR® with NTFactor® Lipids is important to bone and joint health.

Urinary Changes

Aging presents noticeable changes in your bladder and urinary system. Sometimes, it may be difficult to control your bladder and a little unexpected leakage may occur. For men, a common problem is an enlarged prostate. Although clinical studies with NTFactor® Lipids on these specific problems in aging individuals are still being conducted, in some of our previous clinical trials, certain participants have reported fewer urinary problems. 

Strength and Mobility Changes

One of the more obvious changes that occurs with aging is loss of muscle mass, which can result in overall weakness and loss of mobility. Exercise and movement can help to prevent some of this loss of muscle mass and function, but diet is also important—especially maintenance of your mitochondria, the little batteries inside each cell that provide over 90% of cellular energy necessary for muscle contraction and function. MLR® with NTFactor® Lipids helps restore and rejuvenate mitochondrial membranes that provide the high energy molecules that all cells and tissues require for their function.

Researchers may still be looking for that Fountain of Youth, but, as I outlined in this article,  there are scientifically proven things you can do to battle the effects of aging. MLR® with NTFactor® Lipids can be used as part of an anti-aging routine that includes exercise, diet, proper sleep and other tried-and-true methods. 

Please visit our Science Page to learn more about how NTFactor® Lipids is scientifically proven to reverse the effects of aging, reduce fatigue, and repair cell damage.

REFERENCE: Nicolson GL, Ferreira de Mattos G, Settineri R, Breeding PC. Membrane Lipid Replacement and its role in restoring mitochondrial membrane function and reducing symptoms in aging and age-related clinical conditions. Nature Cell Science 2024; 2(4): 238-256. https://doi.org/10.61474/ncs.2024.00038

As we age, some of this higher organization of various molecules and structures, along with the communication systems to control them, slowly breaks down.  This is due partly to the loss of high energy ATP necessary to maintain this organization, and partly to our genetic programs that control the synthesis and turn-over of various molecules and enzymes at the cellular level.  

Cells, tissues and organs like our heart, brain, and skeletal muscles require high-energy molecules like ATP from mitochondria to drive almost all of our cellular, organ and tissue processes.  If you ever wondered how we move our muscles and limbs, we need mitochondrial energy in the form of ATP and organized structures both within and outside cells to do this, as well as nerve cells to transmit the messages from our brain to our muscles to execute these movements.

As we age, some of this higher organization of various molecules and structures, along with the communication systems to control them, slowly breaks down. This loss of organizational control is increasingly visible as we get older, and in our last days it becomes very obvious that our systems and organs are no longer highly coordinated and under strict control.  

If you’re a science buff like me, here’s a bit more to digest! An important part of the control and organization of our tissues and organs depends on our ability to move nutrients (and molecular messages) to various places where they are utilized, and, when these nutrients are in excess, to store them properly in cells and tissues until they are needed.  Our cells also break down structures and molecules that are no longer needed or are functionally deficient, and they recycle the subcomponents of these structures or individual molecules and repair them or destroy them and remove them from cells. Eventually the molecular remains that are removed from cells, organs, and tissues are sent to the gastrointestinal system for further degradation and elimination.  This system works like a series of conveyor belts that move molecules around our bodies, from nutrients being imported to degradation products being exported out of our cells and tissues and sent to organs for secretion.  This whole process of building components and structures and later tearing them down and recycling or eliminating their parts when they are no longer functional requires cellular energy, and this is also an important part of aging.   As we get older, our bodies seem to do less building and more tearing down, and there is less coordination in the process.

How can we reverse this?  One validated way is to keep moving—literally.  Continuing to move and exercise, even in our later years, helps to maintain our muscle mass and stimulate the processes that maintain our body’s structures and functions.  Another important ingredient in aging is to maintain the energy necessary to keep building new molecules and structures and to maintain existing structures that are essential.  This is where Membrane Lipid Replacement with NTFactor® Lipids comes in—providing the essential membrane lipids that build mitochondria and other cellular membrane systems in order to provide the energy to keep our molecular conveyor belts moving.  

Prof. Emeritus Garth Nicolson, PhD, MD (H)
The Institute for Molecular Medicine
Huntington Beach, California

References:

Nicolson GL. Membrane Lipid Replacement—a functional approach to repairing cellular membranes, reducing symptoms,  and restoring function.  Functional Food Science 2022; 2(8): 198-204. https://doi.org/10.31989/ffs.v2i8.990

Nicolson GL, Ferreira de Mattos G, Settineri R, Breeding PC. Membrane Lipid Replacement and its role in restoring mitochondrial membrane function and reducing symptoms in aging and age-related clinical conditions.  Nature Cell Science 2024; 2(4): 238-256.
https://doi.org/10.61474/ncs.2024.00038

At Nutritional Therapeutics, we’ve been working on repairing mitochondria and returning their function back to normal.  One of those functions is providing the energy required to naturally decontaminate our cells and tissues. We are being continuously exposed to various chemicals in our foods and our environment, from smoke to fuels to food additives, and this can damage our mitochondria. We are also increasingly exposed to natural neurotoxins from various sources. Neurotoxins are the biotoxins released from mold, bacteria and other biosources that are often extremely damaging to our cells and tissues. Nutritional Therapeutics has an important new program in safely reducing chemical and neurotoxin contaminants from our cells and tissues.  As a part of this program, we have worked with chemical- and neurotoxin-contaminated patients who have multiple symptoms and problems, including damage to their cellular membranes and reduced abilities of their mitochondria to produce ATP.  

In our research, we’ve found that one of the most common causes for mitochondrial dysfunction is damage to membrane lipids. The result is leaky membranes that cannot maintain proper electrical/chemical gradients inside mitochondria, especially the inner mitochondrial membrane. We use the natural approach of Membrane Lipid Replacement to remove and replace the damaged membrane lipids that are essential for maintaining mitochondria inner membranes and thus mitochondrial membrane function. Natural, safe lipid supplements like NTFactor^® Lipids can replace the damaged mitochondrial lipids and restore mitochondrialmembranes and their function.

As I have been discussing, the high-energy molecules like ATP produced by fully functional mitochondria are essential in the removal of contaminating chemicals and toxins from your cells.  But that is not all that NTFactor^® Lipids does; it also acts by first surrounding the contaminating neurotoxic chemicals and forming little lipid globules and micelles that can be removed from cells without leaking the chemicals out and causing more damage . The removal of these lipid globules and micelles with the chemicals and toxins safely inside also requires energy in the form of ATP.  Eventually these lipid containers containing the toxic materials are secreted from cells and tissues in an energy-dependent (or ATP-dependent) process, and they can then be transported in the blood circulation to the gastrointestinal system and later removed in the stool. We have found that the slow removal of chemicals and biotoxins eventually results in reductions in a variety of different symptoms associated with chemical and toxin contamination.

Although the process of partitioning and removal of chemicals and biotoxins is slow, we have found that it is exceptionally safe. If chemicals or toxins are removed too rapidly, adverse symptoms and sickness can occur. Along with this slow detoxification process, the daily use of NTFactor^® Lipids also helps provide the mitochondrial energy necessary for fighting fatigue and other problems associated with loss of mitochondrial energy.

Prof. Emeritus Garth Nicolson, PhD, MD (H)
The Institute for Molecular Medicine, 
Huntington Beach, California  

References

Nicolson GL. Membrane Lipid Replacement—a functional approach to repairing cellular membranes, reducing symptoms and restoring function.  Functional Food Science 2022; 2(8): 198-204. 
https://doi.org/10.31989/ffs.v2i8.990

Nicolson GL, Ferreira de Mattos G, Settineri R, Breeding PC. Membrane Lipid Replacement and its role in restoring mitochondrial membrane function and reducing symptoms in aging and age-related clinical conditions.  Nature Cell Science 2024; 2(4): 238-256.
https://doi.org/10.61474/ncs.2024.00038

Nicolson GL, Breeding PC. Membrane Lipid Replacement with glycerophospholipids slowly reduces self-reported symptom severities in chemically exposed Gulf War veterans. International Journal of Translational Medicine 2022; 2(2): 164-173.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijtm2020014

How does NTFactor Lipids^®  improve the effects of other dietary supplements?

Humans have evolved with digestive and transport pathways that sequester important nutritional molecules, absorb them and transport them to tissues and cells.  This starts in the lining of the small intestine where most nutrients are transported into epithelial cells.  This type of transport can be modeled in the laboratory by the use of intestinal epithelial cells (Caco-2 cells).  The ability of these Caco-2 cells to transport nutrients has been found to be similar to the process in the human small intestine. 

When NTFactor Lipids^® was added to nutrients in the laboratory model of small intestine epithelial cell transport, the NTFactor Lipids^® increased the ability of the nutrients to be transported and thus be available for cells.  This transport across epithelial cells is known as bioavailability.  The Caco-2 epithelial model was used to see if NTFactor Lipids^® could increase the bioavailability of three commonly used nutraceuticals: quercetin, curcumin and coenzyme Q10.  The NTFactor Lipids^® increased the transport, or bioavailability, of the three supplement nutrients 2-fold above controls [1]. 

Therefore, combining various nutrients with NTFactor Lipids^® should enhance their absorption and value to the user.  This may be particularly significant when taking a multi-vitamin, mineral, cofactor supplement like Propax with NTFactor Lipids^®.  Propax was shown to significantly improve fatigue and other health parameters in middle-aged subjects [2].  In conclusion, adding NTFactor Lipids^® to your daily regimen will likely enhance the effectiveness of the supplements you take, while providing the added benefits of the Lipids themselves.

How does NTFactor Lipids^® work to improve health?

Each cell in our body is surrounded by a physical barrier called the cell membrane, which separates our cells from each other and from the environment.  There are also barriers inside cells that divide different internal compartments known as organelles, which contain and manage cellular energy production (mitochondria), genetic machinery (nucleus), synthesis of new proteins (endoplasmic reticulum), degrading waste (lysosomes), bringing in materials from outside the cell (endosomes), and more.  These organelles are all surrounded by intracellular membranes that separate them from the cell’s interior and other organelles.  All of these organelle membranes have in common a lipid matrix that is composed of a specific class of membrane phospholipids called glycerolphospholipids.  Other components of cellular membranes, such as proteins and glycoproteins, are sandwiched into the lipid matrix of cellular membranes where they provide many needed functions, such as platforms for chemical and enzyme reactions, and cell messenger mediators [3].  Unfortunately, these membrane phospholipids are very sensitive to damage that occurs during aging and as a consequence of various health conditions.  When these critical molecules are damaged, cells can’t function normally.  This is where Membrane Lipid Replacement comes in—to repair the damage to cellular membranes and return cellular function to normal states.

One classic example of this is the cellular energy production, which is critical in every aspect of cell function from the transport of materials into cells to the function of organelles such as mitochondria.  Mitochondria provide up to 90% of cellular energy function, and this naturally declines during aging; when you reach 80-90 years-old, you have only about half of the mitochondrial energy production compared to a 30 year-old.  This is primarily but not completely due to the damage to the inner mitochondrial membrane where critical membrane lipids are necessary for mitochondrial function.  When mitochondrial function is impaired, we experience fatigue and malaise, among other effects.  However, when membranes are repaired with NTFactor Lipids^® mitochondrial and cell function can return to more normal states.  We can see this when fatigued individuals take NTFactor Lipids^®, and they eventually find that their fatigue and other health problems are significantly reduced [4, 5].

References

1. Settineri R, Ji J, Shields ZP, Shirvani T, McLaren CE, Nicolson, GL.  The effects of Membrane Lipid Replacement with NTFactor Lipids^® on increasing bioavailability of three test nutrients. Bioactive Compounds in Health & Disease   In press 2022.
   
2. Ellithorpe RR, Settineri R. Nicolson GL. Reduction of fatigue by use of a dietary supplement containing glycophospholipids.  Journal of the American Nutraceutical Association 2003; 6(1): 23-28.
   http://www.immed.org/illness/treatment_considerations.html
   
3. Nicolson GL, Ferreira de Mattos G. A brief introduction to some aspects of the Fluid—Mosaic Model of membrane structure and its importance to Membrane Lipid Replacement. Membranes 2021; 11(12): article 947.
   https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/11/12/947
   
4. Nicolson GL.  Membrane Lipid Replacement: clinical studies using a natural medicine approach to restoring membrane function and improving health.  International Journal of Clinical Medicine 2016; 7: 133-143.
   http://www.scirp.org/Journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=63602
   
5. Nicolson GL, Rosenblatt S, Ferreira de Mattos G, Settineri R, Breeding PC, Ellithorpe RR, Ash ME.  Clinical uses of Membrane Lipid Replacement supplements in restoring membrane function and reducing fatigue in chronic diseases and cancer.  Discoveries, 2016; 4(1): article e54.
   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6941554

Fortunately, there is a safe and natural way to lose weight and shed inches without starving yourself or using unproven, costly, and sometimes unsafe remedies.  The answer?  An extremely safe and convenient natural food supplement called Healthy Curb^TM that has years of demonstrated success without using stimulants.

INTRODUCING: HEALTHY CURB

What is Healthy Curb^TM, and what makes this supplement so effective and special?  Healthy Curb^TM is a formulation of all-natural ingredients that combines a plant enzyme called amylase inhibitor with a natural, plant-derived lipid mixture called NTFactor^®. This lipid blend provides the little batteries inside each of your cells (more formally known as your mitochondria) with molecules that repair the damage to their membranes caused by aging and stress, which in turn helps them produce the cellular energy that fuels everything you do.  Why is this helpful for weight loss? When you have less energy, you burn less sugar and fat, eventually storing these materials in fat cells that can grow and increase your weight and girth.

How did the ingredients of Healthy Curb^TM end up in the same product?  First, amylase inhibitor has been known for some time to reduce sugar uptake by blocking the breakdown of complex sugars in the gut, but this ingredient alone is not enough to cause significant long-term weight loss.  Second, it was noticed that taking the oral supplement NTFactor^® reduced the urge to snack and over-eat while providing the energy to increase daily physical activity.  In clinical studies, NTFactor^® is known to increase mitochondrial function and cellular energy production by restoring the activities of the mitochondrial membranes. 

MEET YOUR MITOCHONDRIA

Inside our cells, there are hundreds of mitochondria, and each mitochondrion is surrounded by a double membrane system, but it is the inner membrane in this organelle that contains the specialized lipid molecules and protein constituents that form what has been called the ‘electron transport chain.’ The electron transport chain (ETC) is where almost all cellular energy is generated and oxygen is used to produce high-energy molecules that are needed in almost all cellular processes.  However, these critical organelle structures are also very sensitive to damage by stress, chemicals, disease, and even natural aging—and this is especially true of the mitochondrial membranes.  We can repair our mitochondrial and other cellular membranes using “Membrane Lipid Replacement;” this is where NTFactor^®  comes in to rebuild our cellular membranes by replacing damaged membrane lipids and restoring function.

When our mitochondria are damaged and ETC-produced cellular energy declines, we perceive this as fatigue, malaise and a lack of overall energy to perform daily tasks.  Cellular energy is needed for almost everything that our cells and tissues do, from our internal organs to our muscles and nerves. Damage to our mitochondrial membranes manifests as a decline in every organ system in our body. 

Normally a healthy diet should provide all of the membrane molecules, such as membrane lipids, to maintain mitochondrial function, but for millions of us it isn’t possible to consume enough fresh meats, fruits and vegetables to replace all of the damaged membrane lipids. However, we can maintain our mitochondrial and other cellular membranes by “Membrane Lipid Replacement” with daily consumption of NTFactor^®.  And there are a number of different over-the-counter products containing NTFactor^® that can provide enough undamaged membrane lipids to maintain or even increase mitochondrial function.

WHY HEALTHY CURB?

What is the evidence that Healthy Curb^TM can increase daily activity and safely reduce weight and girth?  In a peer-reviewed, published clinical study we examined the effects of Healthy Curb^TM on weight loss, body girth, body mass, metabolic rate, appetite, cravings for sweets, fatigue and overall activity. In this 2-month study 30 men and women took tablets of Healthy Curb^TM before each meal and were told to eat and exercise normally.  Weight, waist and hip measurements were taken weekly, and appetite and sweet cravings were assessed weekly.  Fatigue and activity were determined by standard methods. 

Here is what we found.  Most participants lost an average of 6.1 pounds (2.8 kg), along with average reductions of 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) and 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) from waist and hip circumferences, respectively.  The entire group lost an average of 3.6 pounds (1.7 kg) with average reductions of 1.6 inches (4.1 cm) and 1.1 inch (2.9 cm) from waist and hip circumferences, respectively.   Weight loss and body measurement decreases were gradual, consistent and highly significant, along with reductions in body mass index (an indicator of total body mass) and metabolic rate measurements (an indicator of activity).  Overall hunger was reduced 44.5%, with reduced cravings for sweets and fats, and there was a 24% reduction in fatigue.  Along with fatigue reduction there was a 27% perceived improvement in cognition and ability to concentrate, remember and think clearly.  Blood lipid profiles at the end of the trial suggested improved cardiovascular lipid profiles, and there were no adverse events from taking Healthy Curb^TM.

The results of the clinical study indicated that Healthy Curb^TM was a safe, effective and easy way to lose some excess weight.  And this doesn’t begin to describe the other health benefits of taking NTFactor^®, including heart and other organ benefits, such as improvements in memory and cognition.  These ‘extra’ health benefits of taking NTFactor^®  make Healthy Curb^TM an excellent choice for a weight-loss product. 

Make it part of your healthy living regimen today and see how you too can take advantage of these unique benefits!

References

Nicolson GL, Ferreira de Mattos G. A brief introduction to some aspects of the Fluid—Mosaic Model of membrane structure and its importance to Membrane Lipid Replacement. Membranes 2021; 11(12): article 947.
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0375/11/12/947


Nicolson GL, Ferreira de Mattos G, Settineri R, Breeding PC. Membrane Lipid Replacement and its role in restoring mitochondrial membrane function and reducing symptoms in aging and age-related clinical conditions.  Nature Cell Science 2024; 2(4): 238-256.
https://doi.org/10.61474/ncs.2024.00038


Ellithorpe RA, Settineri R, Jacques B, Nicolson GL. Lipid Replacement Therapy functional food with NTFactor for reducing weight, girth, body mass, appetite, cravings for foods and fatigue while improving blood lipid profiles. Functional Foods in Health & Disease 2012; 2(1): 11-24.
http://www.functionalfoodscenter.net/files/49450833.pdf

The study’s author, Michael Snyder, a professor and the chair of genetics at the Stanford University School of Medicine, stated: “People are aging at different rates, but what’s equally or even more important is where you see they’re aging differently.”

According to the research cited in the article, most of us fall into one of four ageotypes based on immune, liver, metabolic, or kidney influences.

While this is a good start, I believe that it is entirely likely that there are more than four ways to age. I would add to the list cardiovascular aging, brain aging, and especially energy aging, which involves our mitochondria—the little batteries inside each cell that provide over 90% of our cellular energy needs. Mitochondria are involved in many cellular responses including cell death, when cells cease to be able to carry out the functions necessary to maintain their viability and eventually disintegrate.

The research into ageotypes is relatively new. Eventually, we may have the information to tell individuals where they stand on particular pathways of aging. This could help in motivating them to change their lifestyle habits, such as diet, supplements, and exercise. The motivation to stay young and delay aging is strong, and most people would likely be open to learning more about their specific ageotype ages—or, more importantly, what they can do to slow that aging as much as possible. Whether they would actually put that information into practice and make the lifestyle changes necessary to optimize their aging process—and stick with them in the long run—remains to be seen.

We can’t entirely stop the aging process—the Fountain of Youth has yet to be found!—but there are things that we can do to keep ourselves feeling more youthful and being more active as we get on in years. For example, establishing a regular physical fitness routine and sticking with it can go a long way toward protecting our cardiovascular function and helping us to feel more energetic.

Nutritional Therapeutics (the company behind NTFactor® and NTFactor® Lipids) is very interested in helping people understand what they can do to help reduce their rate of aging.  Taking the appropriate food supplements can help restore cellular energy in aged individuals, as has been found in clinical trials.  In one published trial of older participants (of average age approximately 70), both men and women benefited from taking NTFactor Lipids®. In fact, their mitochondrial function improved to levels found in 30-year-olds! This was accompanied by increased vitality, cognition and other characteristics, as well as reductions in fatigue.

Although there are no panaceas when it comes to aging, we can use the insights gleaned from research such as that discussed above to fine-tune the ways we work to slow or reduce the effects of the aging process, or even regain some of the functional capabilities that have declined with age. With these efforts, we can lead more vital, productive lives as we age naturally.

Prof. Emeritus Garth Nicolson, PhD, MD (H) 
The Institute for Molecular Medicine, 
Huntington Beach, California 

References

Nicolson GL, Breeding PC. Settineri R, Ferreira de Mattos G.  Aging and chronic illnesses: Membrane Lipid Replacement for restoring mitochondrial function and reducing fatigue, pain, and other symptoms in aged individuals. Bioactive Compounds in Health & Disease 2020; 3(10): 194-203.
https://doi.org/10.31989/bchd.v3i10.749

Nicolson GL, Ferreira de Mattos G, Settineri R, Breeding PC. Membrane Lipid Replacement and its role in restoring mitochondrial membrane function and reducing symptoms in aging and age-related clinical conditions.  Nature Cell Science 2024; 2(4): 238-256.
https://doi.org/10.61474/ncs.2024.00038

The well-being of mitochondrial membranes, especially the inner mitochondrial membrane, is vital to our bodies. Virtually every system and function in our bodies depends on it. Cell health determines how your circulatory system works, your skeletal health, your ability to support a healthy immune system, and much more. This includes the millions upon millions of biological processes that take place at the enzyme and cell function levels. Each of these contributes to the overall support of good health.

How can we maintain our mitochondrial membranes? NTFactor Lipids^® provides glycerophospholipids to our body’s cells—and especially our mitochondria. Glycerophospholipids are the necessary undamaged building blocks that form the matrix of all biomembranes and provide matrix barriers for every membrane in our cells and tissues.  Our natural tissue structures and transport systems allow NTFactor Lipids^® to be transported to every cell in our body, where they can replace damaged lipids in our cellular membranes and return them to normal function.

How effective is Membrane Lipid Replacement in repairing cellular membranes, especially mitochondrial membranes? We have published the results of several clinical trials to prove its effectiveness in terms of maintaining mitochondrial function, lowering fatigue, increasing cognition and improving other symptoms and parameters that are affected by chronic health conditions.

Daily use of oral NTFactor Lipids^® is a simple and convenient way to maintain our cellular membranes’ health and function.  It can also be an important tool in aiding recovery from the cellular damage caused by chronic conditions, and by viral and bacterial infections. The ability to maintain cellular function, and to revere from illnesses like infections, depends on our abilities to maintain cell and immune function and the production of high-energy molecules like ATP. This is what NTFactor® and NTFactor® Lipids were designed to do!

Prof. Emeritus Garth Nicolson, PhD, MD (H) 
The Institute for Molecular Medicine, 
Huntington Beach, California 

References

Nicolson GL. Membrane Lipid Replacement—a functional approach to repairing cellular membranes, reducing symptoms,  and restoring function.  Functional Food Science 2022; 2(8): 198-204. 
https://doi.org/10.31989/ffs.v2i8.990

Nicolson GL, Ferreira de Mattos G, Settineri R, Breeding PC. Membrane Lipid Replacement and its role in restoring mitochondrial membrane function and reducing symptoms in aging and age-related clinical conditions.  Nature Cell Science 2024; 2(4): 238-256.
https://doi.org/10.61474/ncs.2024.00038

As I explained previously, mitochondria supply over 90% of brain cell energy, so it’s easy to see why these little cellular organelles are so important to brain health. Our brain needs nutrients and oxygen to perform their vital functions, including providing high-energy molecules to nerve cells, maintaining calcium balance inside our cells, and important immune functions and other maintenance operations. If nerve cell mitochondria are damaged or cannot receive the necessary nutrients and oxygen, then all of the biological functions that involve the nervous system are impaired. This is especially important in brain health and aging.

Our mitochondria sustain damage over time, and as we enter into the later stages of our lives those damaged mitochondria can no longer provide the energy necessary to maintain memory, cognition and brain health compared to mitochondria at younger stages of our lives. This degradation of mitochondria can occur at different ages in different individuals, but in general, a 90-year-old person may have lost up to one-half of the mitochondrial function that they had as a young adult! This means that the brains of older people can tire more easily and not be as able to maintain normal brain function, resulting in temporary confusion, memory loss, and other problems. Exercise can help with this, because it stimulates the movement of oxygen and nutrients to the brain and ultimately to nerve cells in the brain, but exercise alone cannot make an old brain young again.

To heal this age-related damage takes more than a brisk walk or the right food on your plate. But to understand why, you need to know a little bit more about the structure of mitochondria, and why it is important to routinely replace important parts of this structure to maintain mitochondrial function.

Mitochondria are separated from the other parts of our cells by a surrounding outer membrane. This membrane forms a barrier with the interior of the cell (or cytoplasm) to keep nutrients inside and separate the energy-generating system found in an additional membrane system called the inner mitochondrial membrane from the rest of the cell. Basic research over the last approximately 50 years has found that the inner mitochondrial membranes are the critical structures in generating the high-energy molecules necessary to maintain brain function. This system must remain undamaged to maintain the electrical/chemical gradient across the inner mitochondrial membrane, which is essential to produce the high-energy molecules that drive so many important cellular processes.

As we age, we suffer damage from highly reactive molecules called free radicals that are derived from mitochondria themselves and from other sources, and especially the mitochondrial inner membranes (MIM). The MIM, as well as other intracellular membranes and even our genetic code (DNA), can become damaged with age due to free radical action. Among the most damage-sensitive molecules in our cells are the phospholipids in all of our membranes that naturally form a bilayer structure that is the matrix of the MIM and all other membranes of cells in our bodies. The damaged membrane phospholipids, especially those in our MIMs, must be replaced continually to maintain the fluidity, structural integrity and activities of the membrane proteins as well as maintaining the trans-membrane electrical/chemical gradient across the MIM. This is why proper nutrition for our mitochondria is so important during aging and in order to maintain our health.

What is the solution? Provide undamaged, essential nutritional membrane phospholipids in our diets or as nutritional supplements so that as we age our mitochondrial membranes, especially the MIM, can be repaired and can maintain their proper functions. It sounds simple enough, but unfortunately those membrane phospholipids are themselves very sensitive to environmental damage, so many of the membrane phospholipids that we would obtain in our normal diets are already damaged by the time that they arrive in our brain. Since most diets and nutritional supplements cannot provide some of the essential membrane phospholipids as undamaged molecules, so the process of replacing damaged membrane molecules by diet alone can’t occur at rates necessary to maintain brain mitochondrial function at peak performance levels.

At NTI, we have developed a proprietary nutritional or food supplement that provides just the correct mixture of protected, essential mitochondrial membrane phospholipids to help repair the damage to mitochondria that occurs during aging and with health problems. This all-natural supplement is called NTFactor® Lipids, and it forms the basis of almost all of the NTI products. Best of all, it has been matched to the MIM composition, and it is protected from the damage during storage and ingestion that occurs because of the harmful effects of oxidation.

I take this product daily myself, because I believe in its effectiveness in helping older folks like me to improve their brain health as well as their general health. I don’t think that there is anything better that you can do for your brain health than eating properly, getting enough exercise, stimulating your brain, staying social, and taking daily vitamins and a mitochondrial nutritional supplement like NTFactor® Lipids. In my next update, I will discuss some other important reasons to take daily a Membrane Lipid Replacement supplement like NTFactor® Lipids.

Prof. Emeritus Garth Nicolson, PhD, MD (H)
The Institute for Molecular Medicine
Huntington Beach, California

References

Nicolson GL. Membrane Lipid Replacement—a functional approach to repairing cellular membranes, reducing symptoms,  and restoring function.  Functional Food Science 2022; 2(8): 198-204.
https://doi.org/10.31989/ffs.v2i8.990

Nicolson GL, Ferreira de Mattos G, Settineri R, Breeding PC. Membrane Lipid Replacement and its role in restoring mitochondrial membrane function and reducing symptoms in aging and age-related clinical conditions.  Nature Cell Science 2024; 2(4): 238-256.
https://doi.org/10.61474/ncs.2024.00038

If you’re daunted by the idea of being an octogenarian marathon runner, let me reassure you that while it’s important to stay active as we age, we don’t necessarily need to maintain the same level we did as young adults.  Even a brisk nightly walk around the neighborhood can do a lot of good in our later years. The important thing to remember is that if we don’t maintain some level of physical activity, we can accelerate the aging process. Physical activity stimulates and increases blood flow into the brain, which is important in maintaining cognition and memory.

Of course, if we maintain physical activity as we age, we also need time to rest and recover.  In fact, we actually need that rest more than when we were younger. While we may not necessarily need more rest time, we need to make sure that we are getting enough rest to completely recover from various activities. No more skipping our recovery time and hoping we can just muscle through it—leave that invincible attitude for the young!

A recent article in the Cleveland Jewish News, “Keeping brain healthy important as seniors age”, shared opinions from numerous professionals in age-related fields on additional actions we can take to improve brain health and prevent some of the decline in brain function as we get older. One important factor? Socializing!

Maintaining social contacts and interactions stimulate our brain networks, and keeping active inter-personal interactions and exercising our brains keeps our nervous system functioning at a high level.  This can be as simple as playing cards with friends or even reading a book for the first time.  

In the above mentioned article, Silvia Orsulic-Jeras, a senior research associate and SHARE program manager at the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging in Cleveland, urges, “It is so important for families to remember to keep their older loved one socialized through interactions. A lot of what happens is people stop asking their older loved ones what they like to do. Learn more about their interests and their life story, spend time with them doing what they love and value.”

Of course, nutrition is also important in aging and especially for brain health.   Nerve cells are the basic building blocks in our nervous systems, and have a much higher rate of metabolism than other cells in our body. They are also much more sensitive to toxic molecules that find their way into the brain. This means that brain nerve cells need much more energy than cells in other tissues in order to function, and they need more protection than other cells and organs from toxins.  They get this energy primarily from the little ‘batteries’ inside each cell called mitochondria, and mitochondria are also important in the removal of toxic molecules in the brain.

Mitochondria supply over 90% of brain cell energy, so it’s easy to see why these little cellular organelles are so important to brain health.  Nerve cells in our brain need nutrients and oxygen to perform their vital functions, including providing high-energy molecules to nerve cells, maintaining calcium balance inside our cells, and important immune functions and other maintenance operations.  If nerve cell mitochondria are damaged or cannot receive the necessary nutrients and oxygen, then all of the biological functions that involve the nervous system are impaired.  

In my next update, I’ll tell you more about the impact this damage can have, and what you can do to help mitigate it by adding to your diet important natural membrane molecules that are already inside your cells, and especially inside your mitochondria!  What are these natural membrane molecules?  One class of the essential membrane molecules inside mitochondria are the membrane phospholipids that compose the matrix of all biological membranes, and this essential class of membrane molecules forms the basis of important natural supplements for your brain like NTFactor^® Lipids. The membrane lipids in NTFactor^® Lipids are essential to maintaining mitochondrial function, and these lipids must be routinely replaced. My next update will go into more detail how NTFactor® Lipids can help maintain your brain and especially your brain mitochondria.

Prof. Emeritus Garth Nicolson, PhD, MD (H)
The Institute for Molecular Medicine
Huntington Beach, California

References

Nicolson GL. Membrane Lipid Replacement—a functional approach to repairing cellular membranes, reducing symptoms, and restoring function.  Functional Food Science 2022; 2(8): 198-204. 
https://doi.org/10.31989/ffs.v2i8.990

Nicolson GL, Ferreira de Mattos G, Settineri R, Breeding PC. Membrane Lipid Replacement and its role in restoring mitochondrial membrane function and reducing symptoms in aging and age-related clinical conditions.  Nature Cell Science 2024; 2(4): 238-256.
https://doi.org/10.61474/ncs.2024.00038

Mitochondria are the little batteries inside each of our cells that provide almost all of our energy needs. When mitochondria become damaged due to natural aging, chronic illness, infection, chemical contamination, and other events, they no longer provide enough energy to our cells to maintain various functions. This can result in increases in fatigue, pain, and many other symptoms that are linked to cellular energy. During disease and as we age, there is an increase in damage to our cells—especially our mitochondria—from highly reactive molecules called free radicals that are derived from mitochondria themselves and from other sources. These free radicals cause ‘oxidative stress’ and react with and damage our mitochondrial membranes as well as other cellular membranes, and can even modify our genetic code (DNA).  

The phospholipids in our cell membranes are among the most sensitive molecules in our cells to free radicals. These phospholipids naturally form a bilayer structure that is the matrix of all the membranes in each cell and every cell in our bodies. The damaged membrane phospholipids, especially those in our mitochondrial inner membranes, must be replaced continually to maintain the fluidity, structural integrity and activities of cellular membranes as well as maintaining their trans-membrane electrical/chemical gradients necessary for production of high-energy molecules like ATP. 

At Nutritional Therapeutics, we have been working on repairing mitochondria and returning their function back to normal using all-natural food supplements. What we have found is that one of the most common causes for mitochondrial dysfunction and resulting fatigue is damage to their membrane lipids and resultant leaky membranes that cannot maintain proper electrical/chemical gradients inside mitochondria. We have also found that natural membrane lipid supplements like NTFactor Lipids® can replace the damaged mitochondrial lipids and restore mitochondrial membranes and mitochondrial function. This results in increased production of the powerhouse molecule ATP, which drives almost all cellular activities and has many benefits, the most obvious of which is increased energy.

So, if you’re suffering from fatigue, you might want to try Membrane Lipid Replacement with NTFactor Lipids®. This all-natural supplement repairs damage to the energy-producing structures or mitochondria inside all of our cells and can significantly reduce fatigue and increase vitality and stamina. 

Prof. Emeritus Garth Nicolson, PhD, MD (H) 
The Institute for Molecular Medicine
Huntington Beach, California

References

Nicolson GL. Membrane Lipid Replacement—a functional approach to repairing cellular membranes, reducing symptoms,  and restoring function.  Functional Food Science 2022; 2(8): 198-204. 
https://doi.org/10.31989/ffs.v2i8.990

Nicolson GL, Ferreira de Mattos G, Settineri R, Breeding PC. Membrane Lipid Replacement and its role in restoring mitochondrial membrane function and reducing symptoms in aging and age-related clinical conditions.  Nature Cell Science 2024; 2(4): 238-256.
https://doi.org/10.61474/ncs.2024.00038