The desire to look and feel beautiful is an aspiration that rings true amongst most consumers, regardless of their age. To feel attractive extends far beyond make-up and haircare essentials to finding products that allow people to age healthily, gracefully and elegantly.
As a result, healthy ageing has become a priority for most consumers. This concept is much more than being healthy at a certain age but rather maintaining overall well-being throughout an entire lifetime.
A healthy body is a beautiful body, which is why healthy ageing goes hand in hand with the concept of feeling beautiful from the inside out.
Instead of delaying the ageing process, people are focusing on living well for a longer period of time at every age. Ensuring that people can live each day to the fullest is essential as life expectancies rise globally; people born in 2016 will, on average, live 7 years longer than those born 25 years ago.1
In fact, the World Health Organization has an increased focus on healthy aging, dedicating the years 2021–2030 as the Decade of Healthy Aging.2
The WHO’s recent dedication to healthy ageing stems from the fact that, by the end of 2030, the number of people aged 60 years and older will be 34% higher, increasing from 1 billion in 2019 to 1.4 billion.3
People have taken healthy ageing to new heights by making efforts to enhance their physical and mental health, incorporating exercise and physical activity into their daily routine, eating a proper diet and participating in leisure and social activities to stimulate mental sharpness and boost cognition.
Inside out
Natural supplements can help to protect inner beauty while promoting healthy ageing. This increased awareness of healthy ageing practices is echoed by the rapidly expanding antiageing market in Europe.
Worth $14.8 billion in 2020, it’s projected to grow at a compounded rate of 5.17% to reach $19.14 billion by 2025.4 The nutraceutical industry must follow the trend of what consumers are asking for and invest in healthy ageing formulas and ingredients to meet demand and remain competitive in the marketplace.
One key aspect of healthy ageing is proper mitochondrial function. Healthy mitochondria are critical when it comes to enhancing cognitive function and memory, boosting energy as well as stimulating other important functions associated with ageing.
A healthy body continually creates mitochondria in a process known as mitochondrial biogenesis. As we get older, our mitochondrial function declines, much like overall energy levels, which leads to impairment of the brain and other vital organs.
Damage to mitochondria can lead to a host of health issues, including sarcopenia, infections, diabetes, dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases.
One ingredient that has shown it can energise the mitochondria is pyrroloquinoline quinone, commonly known as PQQ. This ingredient is found in trace amount of foods, including kiwi, oranges, tofu, some meats and even breast milk.
Alternatively, consumers can better reap the benefits that PQQ has to offer in the form of supplementation. The inclusion of PQQ in a daily routine can help to fuel cellular activity in the body and power the mitochondria, which is crucial for healthy ageing.
Quality control
It’s important for consumers to be able to choose supplements that contain ingredients that have been thoroughly vetted and researched. MGCPQQ is a natural source of PQQ developed by Mitsubishi Gas Chemical (MGC) in Japan using a proprietary fermentation process.
The company has pioneered the development of the ingredients for more than four decades, a decisive difference compared with other suppliers.
Many clinical studies show how MGCPQQ can create healthy mitochondria, the powerhouse of cells that are critical to brain and heart functioning.5 Including MGCPQQ in a daily routine may provide a wide range of health benefits.
Better focus: Improves selective attention and working ability after 12 weeks of taking 20 mg of MGCPQQ, according to a study of 41 healthy elderly subjects.
Improved memory: Enhances short-term memory during a course of 6 months of taking 20 mg of MGCPQQ per day, according to a study of 67 middle-aged to elderly subjects.
Positively impacts mood: Reduces confusion, anxiety and depression, and improves vigour after taking 20 mg a day of MGCPQQ for 8 weeks, according to a study of 17 adults.
Boosts cognitive health: Increases memory recall, reverses the decline in cognitive function and improves overall higher brain functions such as spatial awareness after taking 20 mg a day of MGCPQQ for 24 weeks, according to a study of 71 healthy adults aged 45–65.
Safe and well-established, this mitochondria-enhancing ingredient is the most researched and tested compound of its kind on the market. In fact, MGCPQQ has been shown to outperform other well-known mitochondrial boosting ingredients such as resveratrol and nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) by a factor of 10–1000.6
MGCPQQ has been evaluated for its safety by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and is listed on the EU’s Approved List of Novel Foods — a designation exclusive to MGC.
For that reason, it is the only PQQ legally sold in the EU. Additionally, MGCPQQ is certified by the Informed-Ingredients quality assurance programmes, ensuring that every batch has been tested for substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). This affirmation makes it safe to use for athletic competitions.
Ageing is a cycle that can’t be broken and, as each day passes, the population grows older. Still, the desire to look beautiful remains.
Research has demonstrated that the inclusion of MGCPQQ in a daily routine can help consumers to age gracefully and beautifully through the healthy ageing benefits the ingredient holds.
MGCPQQ has demonstrated it may support cognitive health with time, helping to repair functions that become damaged with age.
References
- www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-44107940.
- www.who.int/initiatives/decade-of-healthy-ageing.
- https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/decade-of-healthy-ageing/final-decade-proposal/decade-proposal-final-apr2020-en.pdf?sfvrsn=b4b75ebc_25&download=true.
- www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/eu-anti-aging-market.
- www.mgcpqq.eu/clinical-studies.
- www.mgcpqq.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/MGCPQQ-Mitochondria-Bulletin-Final.pdf.
