What Is AMPK & Its Relationship to How We Age?

AMPK, which stands for adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, is a molecule found in the body that has many functions. When activated, AMPK can slow down biological aging. 

Together, we’ll explore what AMPK is and how it works. We’ll also discuss biological aging, its difference from chronological aging, and how supporting your body’s ability to biologically age in reverse can help you live a longer, healthier life. 

Biohacking your body doesn’t have to be difficult or involve experimental treatments or drugs. In fact, it can be as simple as taking a fatty acid supplement each day. 

Understanding Kinases

AMPK is a protein kinase. Protein kinases are enzymes that carry phosphate groups from adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to amino acids and other proteins. This is an essential part of cell signaling, or the ability of cells to communicate with one another. 

When a signal reaches a cell, a protein kinase scoops up an ATP molecule. ATP is cellular energy currency; it’s what is needed for cell function. 

ATP is made up of adenosine and phosphate. Once the kinase has the ATP, it binds to a protein or amino acid and transfers one of the phosphate groups to its target. The protein is then phosphorylated and is either activated, deactivated, or passes the signal to other proteins. This mechanism then changes how the cell behaves. 

The takeaway is that a kinase plays a role in cell signaling and function. Each kinase (and there are over 500) binds to a different type of amino acid or protein and activates a new function within the cell. 

The Role of AMPK

AMPK modulates cellular energy and keeps it balanced. When energy levels within a cell are low, AMPK is activated. When AMPK is activated, pathways that produce energy are fired up, while pathways that consume energy are placed on hold. Thus, energy balance is restored and cellular processes continue as normal. 

Now that we’ve looked at cellular biomechanics, let’s pause and cover the differences between chronological aging and biological aging so we can better understand AMPK’s role in the biological aging process.

The Aging Process

Aging happens in two ways: chronologically and biologically. Chronological aging happens due to the passage of time. Your chronological age is your current age due to your birthdate. 

On the other hand, biological aging is the age of the cells in your body based on how they are performing. Your biological age may be years younger or older than your chronological age. 

There’s no way to manipulate your chronological age, but you can modulate your biological age. Some of the easiest ways to reduce your biological age are straightforward: eat a healthy diet, maintain a healthy weight, and get plenty of exercise. All of these steps help keep the cells in your body more youthful. 

These activities work because they directly influence the biomechanisms within the cell that are causing us to age. Dubbed the 12 Hallmarks of Aging, these changes within our cells result in accelerated aging that is experienced systemwide. 

They include:

• Decreased cellular communication
• Genomic instability
• Telomere attrition
• Epigenetic alterations
• Loss of proteostasis
• Deregulated nutrient sensing
• Mitochondrial dysfunction
• Cellular senescence
• Stem cell exhaustion
• Disabled macroautophagy
• Chronic inflammation
• Dysbiosis

For a deep dive into how each of these 12 functions works, click here. AMPK plays a large role in deregulated nutrient sensing, or how cells know that they need nutrients. When AMPK is not properly activated, cells may not receive the nutrients they need, which can lead to a loss of cellular homeostasis. 

Losing cellular homeostasis may not seem like a big deal, but it is a foundational key to cell survival. Cell death that happens too soon can lead to accelerated aging. But keeping cells balanced isn’t the only way AMPK supports our longevity.

AMPK and Aging

We now know that AMPK keeps cellular energy balanced, but the activation of AMPK also has other important roles related to the biological aging process.

Autophagy

Cells might be the prototype for environmental responsibility. Cells are designed to clean up within their membranes and reuse old, worn-out cell parts. 

Old cell parts are used to create new cell parts through a process known as autophagy. Cellular autophagy is important for the creation of new cell parts and the health of the cell. Elimination of old, non-operational cell parts keeps the cell environment from becoming inflammatory.

Clearing Senescent Cells

Cells have programmed deaths, which means they work until it’s time for them to die. When cells die, they should be cleared away. 

Some cells become senescent, which means they stop working but don’t die. These “zombie cells” stick around in the body, creating an inflammatory environment. AMPK clears away senescent cells to keep the body healthy. 

Regulating Functions

AMPK is a key signaling pathway for numerous functions, like glucose uptake and immunity. When AMPK is activated, these functions are restored to baseline homeostasis. This means support for your immune system and blood sugar regulation. 

AMPK activation is essential for improving our healthspan or our ability to lead a healthy life as we age. As such, researchers who study longevity have taken an interest in how we can best activate AMPK. 

Activating AMPK

Two ways of naturally activating AMPK are through exercise and caloric restriction.

• Exercise. Exercise is one of the best ways to activate AMPK. During physical exercise, AMPK is activated in muscle tissue, but also in liver and adipose tissue. 

• Caloric restriction. When researchers studied caloric restriction, they discovered that it was directly linked to protection against cellular senescence and a reduction in oxidative stress within cells. This is at least partly due to the activation of AMPK when calories are not being consumed, say, during periods of intermittent fasting. When nutrients are no longer present in the cell, AMPK is activated. 

There is another way that we can activate AMPK: by taking a daily fatty acid supplement like C15:0.

C15:0 and AMPK

Fatty acids are found naturally in food, and some are even made in our bodies. If a fatty acid is essential, it means our bodies need it to thrive but cannot readily make it on their own. We have to get essential fatty acids from food or supplements.

You’re probably familiar with some fatty acids, like omega-3 and omega-6. These fatty acids were discovered more than 90 years ago. Until now, no other essential fatty acids have been known. 

Researchers studying longevity in bottlenose dolphins discovered that some dolphins with higher levels of pentadecanoic acid (also known as C15:0) had fewer age-related illnesses than dolphins with lower levels of C15:0. This led them to bring their research further, and they discovered that C15:0’s longevity benefits were also available to humans. 

What Is C15:0?

C15:0 is an odd-chain, saturated fatty acid that is essential. More than 100 peer-reviewed studies have confirmed its essentiality and its efficacy in strengthening our cells and improving our long-term health. 

C15:0 works by:

• Keeping cell membranes strong. With age, cell membranes wear out. C15:0 integrates into cell membranes to strengthen them by up to 80%.
  
  
• Activating AMPK. C15:0 activates AMPK, which helps clear damaged cells, encourages cell signaling, and restores total body homeostasis.
  
  
• Regulating inflammatory response. C15:0 significantly calms and lowers proinflammatory cytokines, a key driver of aging.
  
  
• Restores mitochondrial function. C15:0 increases ATP production in cells by up to 350% while simultaneously reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS).
  
  
• Activating PPARɑ and PPARẟ receptors. By activating these receptors, C15:0 has been shown in peer-reviewed studies to support metabolic, immune, heart, and liver health in relevant models. 

C15:0 is also associated with lower “bad” LDL cholesterol and improved liver enzymes. Because of its ability to activate AMPK, researchers have dubbed it “The Longevity Nutrient.” 

But there’s another reason that C15:0 has earned this title. C15:0 is so essential for our health that if we do not have enough of it, we can develop a deficiency syndrome known as Cellular Fragility Syndrome.

Cellular Fragility Syndrome

It’s rare to discover a new deficiency syndrome. Cellular Fragility Syndrome is the first nutrient deficiency to be discovered in 75 years. Think vitamin C and scurvy or vitamin D and rickets. Too low levels of C15:0 causes cells to become weak, fragile, and susceptible to malfunction and cell death. 

It is directly linked to ferroptosis, a type of cell death discovered in 2012. Until now, no one could explain why ferroptosis happened. 

Ferroptosis results in metabolic diseases like NAFLD, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. It is a known cause of accelerated cellular aging. Thankfully, fixing Cellular Fragility Syndrome is not difficult because once a deficiency syndrome is identified, it is relatively easy to increase our levels. One simple way to increase our levels of C15:0 is by supplementing our diet with a pure form of the nutrient. 

Fatty15: The C15:0 Supplement

Fatty15 is the first and only supplement that contains the pure, vegan-friendly version of C15:0 known as FA15™. This once-per-day supplement restores circulating levels of C15:0. 

Optimum C15:0 levels fall between 0.2% and 0.4% of a person’s total fatty acid count. If you don’t know your levels, there’s an easy way to find out. Talk to your doctor about testing your C15:0 levels or click here to order an at-home test. With the results, you will be able to determine if you are deficient and can also track your future C15:0 levels as you increase your intake of this essential nutrient. 

Why a Supplement?

If it’s a fatty acid found in food, why not just increase your intake of the foods that contain C15:0? That’s a good question. There are a few reasons why it may be better to take a supplement to get your daily C15:0.

C15:0 is only found in trace amounts in full-fat dairy products like whole milk and full-fat butter. It wouldn’t make sense to increase your intake of whole milk or butter for a few reasons:

1. It’s high in calories. Both whole milk and butter have a massive number of calories (150 calories per cup of whole milk). If you’re attempting to maintain a healthy weight or lose weight, adding a giant cup of whole milk isn’t supportive. In addition, it contains sugars from lactose.
   
   
2. It contains bad fat. While C15:0 is found in trace amounts in whole milk and butter, bad, even-chain saturated fat is more abundant in these foods. This type of fat is consistently associated with negative health outcomes.
   
   
3. It’s not readily absorbable. In whole milk and butter, C15:0 is attached to branches of triglycerides that must be broken down before the C15:0 is usable, making the process less efficient.
   
   
4. It involves cows. If you’re vegan or don’t consume animal products, whole milk and butter are off the table. 

Fatty15 offers a way to get the C15:0 you need in a science-backed, vegan-friendly, sustainably produced, patented, and award-winning fashion. This C15:0 is in its most bioavailable free fatty acid form and contains only one non-cow-involved calorie. 

Activate Your AMPK Today

There’s no better time to start investing in your long-term health and longevity. Make the decision today to invest in the future you and slow down your biological aging. Fatty15 is the longevity supplement that helps activate AMPK and reverse cellular aging. 

Sources:

AMPK: mechanisms of cellular energy sensing and restoration of metabolic balance | PMC

Hallmarks of aging: An expanding universe | PubMed

Efficacy of dietary odd-chain saturated fatty acid pentadecanoic acid parallels broad associated health benefits in humans: could it be essential? | Scientific Reports

A review of odd-chain fatty acid metabolism and the role of pentadecanoic Acid (c15:0) and heptadecanoic Acid (c17:0) in health and disease

Effect of an Asian-adapted Mediterranean diet and pentadecanoic acid on fatty liver disease: the TANGO randomized controlled trial | ScienceDirect

Pentadecanoic Acid (C15:0), an Essential Fatty Acid, Shares Clinically Relevant Cell-Based Activities with Leading Longevity-Enhancing Compounds