CaAKG - the healthspan extender you need to know about?

Alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG) is a small compound, but plays a big role in our cells. Notably, AKG is a key component in the metabolic pathway, the Krebs Cycle. However, levels of AKG have been shown to decline with age. Delivered as a calcium salt (CaAKG), this recent publication (ref below) shows that AKG can extend healthspan in both male and female mice, and extends lifespan in middle-aged female mice. In this video, I will discuss in more detail what AKG is, the results of this paper and my thoughts.

TIMESTAMPS;
00:00 - Intro
00:56 - What is AKG? Aging connection
04:27 - Study results
08:35 - How/Why AKG has this effect?
10:00 - AKG in humans?
11:00 - Thoughts/Outlook

REFERENCES;
Paper -- Asadi Shahmirzadi et al., 2020, Cell Metabolism 32, 447–456
September 1, 2020 ª 2020 Published by Elsevier Inc.
Gut Microbiome - The effects of dietary supplementation with α-ketoglutarate on the intestinal microbiota, metabolic profiles, and ammonia levels in growing pigs

[houndofzoltan]

What a gem of a channel: anti-aging is probably my favorite obsession.

[beAzarful]

Thanks Eleanor! This video is so well made! nice and simple! By the way I am the first author of the paper!

[SilverFank]

@sheeky I appreciate you making this video. I know you cover other science subjects and hope you aren't tired of Aging videos. As a member of the HealthSpan movement I appreciate it!

[raymondspagnuolo]

Excellent presentation! I find your videos to be easy to follow and, also, very informative. You succeed in making complicated subjects understandable. A great teacher!

[neilchristensen]

Thanks for another high-quality video! This AKG research is really interesting and I look forward to the results of the double-blind placebo trials. But, this is certainly something to watch for the near term. :)

[peterz]

As a follow on I wonder how exercise, time restricted eating, and other natural interventions modulate endogenous AKG. Reminds me of the NAD+ issue where the objective in older people is to help shift the NAD+/NADH ratio back to higher values. In the case of NAD it can be done by supplementing with NR or NMN or by fasting, exercise, or shrinking the eating window, or all of the above. We just don't know how much each of these helps and whether people doing time restricted eating, eating well, and exercising gain anything by supplementing. Same question for AKG. Looking at several papers it appears that increasing ketone levels might increase AKG, which if true might be a reason to eat in a way that elevates ketones for at least part of the day.

[peterz]

PS: Thank you also for paper references and time stamps. Makes a huge difference.

[BK-dyjk]

That’s a huge difference with the mice models, so something seriously is happening internally. I would take the CAAKG and take a break on the weekends.

[GrindThisGame]

Great concise overview of study and the ways AKG operates. New to the channel but will check out some of your other videos. You need more subs! Can't wait for the human studies. Thanks for making this video.

[Sadrul-Amin]

Thanks for your all the wonderful video. Can you please tell me what the difference between Calcium alpha cataglutarate and Arginine AKG. I am always using Arginine AKG for No boosting effects before exercise.

[jefflittle]

The CEO of Ponce De Leon (that sells CA-AKG) said that he expects a much larger benefit to a time release version and CA AKG releases much slower than Arginine AKG. I would love a second opinion from someone not selling CA-AKG...

[briankennedy]

Thanks for making the video. It is very well done.

[MarkTaylorrr]

Wow, really great video explaining the study. Thanks for making it!

[bernhardwalther]

Thanks for your efforts to this comprehensive. I did learn something.

[Dr_Oleg_Kulikov]

Actually, the same health improvement can be achieved for peanuts by taking more than 2 g of citric acid or any citrate per day. AKG can be produced in our body from citrates.
And indeed, if to use citric acid with meat, the advantage will be better protein digestion. Or with water - it also will help but in lesser extent.

[brookstorm]

Thank you Dr. Sheekey.
I heard that AKG increases NO2 and that methylene blue surpresses NO2.
If one has both on hand, from a biochemical standpoint, do they antagonist each other?
Can one take both in a day and still get the benefit of each? Thank you.

[widgetty]

My new go to anti-aging videos! Gold nuggets of information and scientific papers explained in laymen format! Well done! Btw, are you using Doodley to create your videos? 👍👏

[zeropain]

Nice informative video thank you. What happens to the Calcium in the body? Does the body use it? Discard it? Is the calcium a supplement like the one they add in milk? Can we have too much calcium because of this supplement?

[oibal]

Hmmmm. Thanks for this. Might add this to my repertoire (Resveratrol, ALA, Vitamin D3, ...)

[bigbirdwpg]

Could one just incorporate a calcium tablet in addition to aakg and get the same effect?