Study Reveals Anti-Aging Benefits of Exercise

Wouldn't it be great if we could turn back the hands of time and reverse aging? While there's no Fountain of Youth (that we know of), researchers have identified a type of exercise as being most effective for anti-aging. So, what is this exercise?

The exercise is high-intensity interval training, or what's more commonly known as "HIIT." Researchers from the Mayo Clinic recently conducted a study in which 36 men and 36 women were placed into two groups based on their age: an older group and a younger group. Next, participants were asked to perform either HIIT, strength training or a combination of both over the course of the three-month study.

So, what did researchers discover at the end of the study? Researchers collected tissue samples from participants' thigh muscles to compare with sedentary individuals who didn't engage in exercise. Researchers describe the differences as being "earth shattering." Participants in the strength training group experienced the greatest improvements in terms of muscle mass, but participants in the HIIT group experienced superior anti-aging qualities.

Researchers say that participants in the HIIT group experienced a roughly 69% increase in mitochondrial function for the older group and a 49% increase in the younger group. Both groups also experienced improved insulin levels, heart health, lung health and more.

When speaking about these findings, the study's lead researcher explained that mitochondria are the powerhouses of cellular development. They are responsible for creating some 90% of the energy we need to sustain life and organ function. However, their function declines with age. Assuming these findings are correct, perhaps HIIT exercises could slow down the aging process by improving and prolonging the function of mitochondria within the body.

"Based on everything we know, there's no substitute for these exercise programs when it comes to delaying the ageing process," said the study's lead author and researcher. "These things we are seeing cannot be done by any medicine. There are substantial basic science data to support the idea that exercise is critically important to prevent or delay ageing."

This study was published in the journal Cell.