The evidence is starting to become overwhelming. What I have been saying for decades is true. You can slow down the aging process and prevent disease.

The latest proof of this is shown in a study on patients with a very rare genetic disease called Werner Syndrome. Werner Syndrome, also called progeria, is a condition that speeds up the aging process. In patients with Werner Syndrome, the typical signs of aging like wrinkles, gray hair, and hair loss often appear as early as the 20s. By the time they’re 30, patients develop all of the signs of aging. This includes cataracts, type-2 diabetes, skin ulcers, a beaked nose, cancers, cardiovascular disease, and osteoporosis. On average, they die at the age of 45 from age-related conditions.

In studying Werner Syndrome, researchers recently looked at mitophagy. Mitophagy is the process in which our cells break down damaged mitochondria and recycle the proteins that they’re made up of. As you probably know, mitochondria are the energy producing parts of the cells. And, just like any other part of our body, with passing time our mitochondria become damaged. When that happens mitophagy allows the cells to repair the damage and bingo, everything is new again. But what happens if something goes wrong with mitophagy?

It turns out that that is exactly what happens in Werner Syndrome. When the researchers looked at patients with Werner Syndrome, they found two things. One, their mitophagy was suppressed. This causes their mitochondrial function to deteriorate much faster than usual. But what is at the bottom of this decline? That’s the other thing they discovered. It’s a deficiency of the essential energy molecule I have talked about before called NAD. NAD is made by the mitochondria, and is critical for mitophagy. It’s a decline in NAD production that restricts mitophagy and starts the whole process of aging. And, it’s a vicious cycle.

Not enough NAD, and mitophagy is suppressed. When mitophagy is suppressed, the number of mitochondria decreases, and the ones remaining are much less effective. And, as that happens, the NAD levels are further decreased. The result is a spiraling effect and a much more rapid onset of aging.

But the researchers did not stop there. They then looked at two animal models that were genetically programmed to have Werner Syndrome. Not surprisingly, the animals had very low levels of NAD. But, here’s the thing. When they gave the animals NAD, they found that it “remarkably extends lifespan and delays accelerated aging, including stem cell dysfunction.” They concluded, “Our findings suggest that accelerated aging in Werner Syndrome is mediated by impaired mitochondrial function and mitophagy, and that bolstering cellular NAD levels counteracts Werner Syndrome phenotypes.”

Here’s why this study is so important.

It demonstrates just how critical having youthful levels of NAD is for living long, staying strong, and preventing disease. And, while Big Pharma is busy trying to find a drug that increases NAD levels without killing us, we already have the answer. I wrote about it in my book “Bursting With Energy.” And, it works. I have reported many times in “Second Opinion” about patients of mine who are well into their 80s, who still have youthful mitochondrial function.

I want you to be fully viable as long as you are on this planet. My goal in life is to give you the information that you need to live long and productive lives, free of disease, drugs, and frailty. Several studies have already shown that defective mitophagy is a major factor in aging and age-related disorders, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and neurological disease. But here’s what you need to know.

There is no way to measure your NAD levels directly. And, there might never will be. That’s because your body so quickly uses up the molecule. The only way to know how well your mitochondria are producing NAD is to measure their overall efficiency. The more efficient your mitochondria are, the more NAD they’re making. They’re directly related. And fortunately, it’s easy to accurately measure mitochondrial function using Bio-Energy Testing.

Bio-Energy Testing is a process that I developed 10 years ago that measures how well the body uses oxygen. Since 99.9% of all the oxygen that goes into the body is metabolized in the mitochondria, measuring oxygen utilization with this testing process is a perfect way to determine how well your mitochondria function — and how fast you’re aging.

One more thing. Don’t make the mistake of assuming that your mitochondria are healthy and mitophagy is optimal simply because you feel good and your lab tests are normal. Just because you feel good now, does not mean that you are going to feel good five years from now. Remember that every patient with Werner Syndrome feels great at some point early in their lives.

So how can you increase your NAD levels? One way is with intravenous infusions. For years now doctors have been using intravenous infusions of NAD as an effective treatment for drug and alcohol addictions. So you could have an IV of NAD. NAD is also available as a supplement. You can buy NAD pills online. So, why not just take NAD pills and forget about the fact that your mitochondria aren’t making it? Here’s the problem with that.

Our mitochondria are vital for many other critical functions besides making NAD. Just taking NAD will do nothing for those other functions. Also, our cells need NAD on an as-needed basis. It would be impossible for anyone to anticipate how much NAD they would need to take at a given time.

All of this means that while taking NAD infusions or pills may be helpful to get things going in a person who already has poorly functioning mitochondria, they are not going to be the answer in the long run. You are still going to need to measure and optimize your mitochondrial function. So, please get your mitochondrial function tested using Bio-Energy Testing.

You can find doctors trained in measuring mitochondrial function at Bio-Energy Testing^®. If it’s optimal, then great. Your cells are making plenty of NAD, and your future looks good. If it’s not optimal, that’s good too. Because it gives you a heads-up on what’s in your future, and allows you to start making the changes you need in order to optimize it. Either way, you win.

One thing we can all be sure of. Our mitochondria are going to go downhill eventually. That’s inevitable. How fast that happens is what we’re talking about. The studies like this one clearly show that the longer you can put that decline off, the better your health will be as you get older.