Life Extension Magazine®

New Life Extension Mix

The Life Extension Mix formula is upgraded on an annual basis to provide members with the most advanced health-promoting nutrients. The new Life Extension Mix provides a novel plant extract designed to help support youthful arterial function.

Scientifically reviewed by: Dr. Gary Gonzalez, MD, in October 2024. Written by: Life Extension Editorial Staff.

You hear it almost every day. Be it government health agencies or private organizations, the unanimous directive is for Americans to eat more fruits and vegetables.

Despite constant media publicity, the majority of Americans do not ingest enough fruits and vegetables each day. Yet, scientists are increasingly telling Americans that they must consume these kinds of plants in order to avoid a myriad of age-related problems.

The public does not attribute the cocoa bean with the same health benefits as broccoli or berries, but that will soon change. An abundance of new research shows that the unique polyphenols in cocoa provide broad-spectrum benefits to the arterial system.

Based on studies showing that cocoa polyphenols support healthy insulin levels, promote healthy HDL levels and regulate LDL oxidation, as well as help maintain already normal blood pressure and arterial blood flow by restoring endothelial function, a standardized cocoa polyphenol extract has been added to the new Life Extension Mix™ formula.

Along with 26 other fruit and vegetable extracts, Life Extension Mix provides high-potency vitamins, minerals, and amino acids that form a cornerstone of a comprehensive health maintenance program.

Standardized Pomegranate Extract

The pomegranate extract contained in Life Extension Mix is standardized to provide the biologically active punicalagins that are so unique to this fruit.

Pomegranate punicalagins are 100% water soluble and have shown a remarkable 95% absorption rate.1 When tested against popular antioxidant food extracts, pomegranate demonstrated the most potent free radical-suppressing effects. This means that pomegranate punicalagins not only absorb much better than other natural antioxidants, but they also have a superior antioxidant capacity.

Like cocoa polyphenols, peer-reviewed published human studies show that pomegranate helps maintain healthy cardiovascular function.2-8* Pomegranate also has the unique property of helping to maintain healthy DNA structure in the prostate cells.

The daily dose of Life Extension Mix provides the equivalent of consuming up to 2.6 ounces of pomegranate juice—without the sugar calories.

Standardized Blueberry Extracts

Blueberry anthocyanins are potent antioxidants that have demonstrated properties that extend well beyond suppressing free radicals.

For instance, blueberries have been shown to not only improve memory, but to also help with some of the degenerative changes seen in aging neurons. One study showed that the ability of blueberries to suppress free radical and inflammatory damage in the brain was analogous to long-term calorie restriction.9,10 These findings hint that blueberries might be able to reverse certain aspects of brain aging!

Blueberry’s other active constituent (pterostilbene) helps maintain already normal lipid and glucose levels.11,12 Even more exciting is that these blueberry constituents (pterostilbene and anthocyanins) may help protect DNA structure.13

Life Extension Mix contains standardized blueberry extracts that provide the most active constituents found in this health-promoting fruit.

Standardized Green Tea Extract

Life Extension introduced green tea extract as a supplement in 1993 based on epidemiological studies showing that people who consumed green tea had lower incidences of common degenerative problems.14 Over the past 14 years, an enormous volume of positive studies has been published about the health benefits of green tea.

Scientists have looked at the active “polyphenol” constituents of green tea and have found that they possess remarkable biological activities that include helping to regulate LDL oxidation and neuronal peroxidation, while maintaining healthy DNA structure.15-21

Life Extension Mix contains 325 mg of a decaffeinated green tea extract that is standardized to provide 98% of the polyphenols that scientists attribute to green tea’s multiple health benefits.

The amount of polyphenols (including EGCG) in Life Extension Mix is equivalent to drinking about three to four cups of green tea per day.

Standardized Vegetable Extracts

Luteolin is a flavonoid found in parsley, artichoke, basil, celery, and other foods. When measured against 27 other flavonoids, luteolin provided the most DNA protection.22

One favorable mechanism of luteolin is its ability to inhibit oxidative damage to cellular DNA. Another unique benefit is luteolin’s ability to suppress excess levels of dangerous inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 and interleukin 1b.23,24

Life Extension Mix contains a standardized dose of 8 mg luteolin, a dose that emulates the benefits seen in published scientific studies.

Broccoli is touted as one of the most important vegetables to maintain healthy DNA gene structure. Broccoli contains several active constituents, with sulforaphane being the most significant because of its unique detoxification and DNA-protecting effects. Life Extension Mix provides a concentrated broccoli mixture that contains standardized extracts of sulforaphane and glucosinolates, two compounds attributed to broccoli’s multiple protective benefits. Broccoli is also a natural source of gene-protecting chlorophyll.25-32

D-glucarate is a botanical extract found in grapefruit, apples, oranges, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. D-glucarate effectively supports a detoxification process that helps to remove DNA toxins from the body. The daily dose of Life Extension Mix provides 200 mg of D-glucarate.33-35

Lutein, an extract found in spinach and collard greens, has been shown to help maintain critical pigments in the eye macula36, whereas lycopene from tomatoes has shown potent effects in helping to maintain DNA structure and protecting against LDL oxidation.37-39 Life Extension Mix contains 60 times more lutein and 10 times more lycopene compared to Centrum®. Most multivitamin supplements provide no vegetable extracts whatsoever.

Standardized Fruit Extracts

In addition to standardized pomegranate and blueberry extracts, Life Extension Mix is also fortified with fruit extracts such as bilberry, grape seed, grape skin, and citrus bioflavonoids to provide healthy circulation throughout the body and maintain healthy DNA.

Scientists have long touted the multiple benefits of fruits such as blueberry, blackberry, cranberry, plums, elderberry, persimmon, and cherry. Life Extension Mix provides a customized blend of these and other fruits that studies indicate provide multiple favorable effects in the body.

Olive oil consumption is one of the important factors behind the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet.40,41 Researchers have discovered that there are up to 300 times more polyphenol compounds in olive water compared to olive oil.42 Olive polyphenols have been the subject of numerous in vitro, in vivo, and human studies pointing toward their benefits in many different areas, including protecting against LDL oxidation, suppressing free radicals, and stabilizing cell membranes.43-45 Life Extension Mix contains a potent olive extract standardized to provide the best-documented polyphenol, hydro-xytyrosol.47

Sesame Lignans Enhance the Effects of Vitamin E

Sesame and its lignans have a broad range of applications in human health. This includes increasing human tissue levels of vitamin E by facilitating carrier proteins in the liver to deliver nutrients to cells throughout the body.48,49

Sesame lignans increase the beneficial effects of fish oils, maintain normal LDL oxidation, and help maintain already normal cholesterol/LDL levels in humans.50-53

Life Extension Mix provides 10 mg of a sesame lignan extract to supply the direct benefits of the lignans, and augment the effects of vitamin E and other nutrients in the body such as gamma tocopherol and gamma linolenic acid (GLA).

Maintaining Already Healthy Blood Glucose Levels

Chromium, along with magnesium and biotin, are nutrients required to maintain already normal blood sugar levels. Life Extension Mix provides 500 mcg of chromium, a highly absorbable form of magnesium, and a super high- potency biotin. A review of studies showing benefits of chromium supplementation reveals that these higher doses are required for optimal effects.54-58

High Potency Vitamin D3

Doctors used to be concerned that too much vitamin D could be toxic. Over the past few years, however, an increasing body of evidence indicates that it takes much higher doses of vitamin D (perhaps over 10,000 IU/day) to inflict toxicity on a healthy person.

The concern expressed by researchers today is that fear of vitamin D toxicity is keeping many people from supplementing with enough vitamin D, which is critical for maintaining bone density and maintaining healthy cell division.59-63

In response to studies showing that even those who take standard vitamin D supplements are not obtaining adequate amounts, Life Extension Mix provides 800 IU of vitamin D3 per daily dose.

The Most Complete Multi-Nutrient Formula

Life Extension Mix saves time and money by combining the most popular nutrient supplements into one product, eliminating the need to take separate bottles of B-complex, vitamins C and E, mineral supplements, and much more that would be required to achieve the same effects.

Life Extension Mix supplies the most powerful antioxidants, including water- and fat-soluble vitamin C, the ideal form of alpha vitamin E, and plant extracts that help protect against cellular DNA damage. Additional ingredients in Life Extension Mix enhance beneficial DNA methylation patterns, help maintain already normal glycemic control, and help regulate the oxidation of LDL that contributes to the buildup of deposits in the endothelial lining.

Life Extension Mix is the keystone of a comprehensive supplement program because it provides so many well-studied nutrients. If you are on a budget, the Life Extension Mix provides the best “cost-per-milligram” value.

With the addition of standardized cocoa polyphenols, Life Extension Mix is now an even greater value.

References

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2. Aviram M, Dornfeld L, Kaplan M, et al. Pomegranate juice flavonoids inhibit low-density lipoprotein oxidation and cardiovascular diseases: studies in atherosclerotic mice and in humans. Drugs Exp Clin Res. 2002 28(2-3):49-62.

3. Kaplan M, Hayek T, Raz A, et al. Pomegranate juice supplementation to atherosclerotic mice reduces macrophage lipid peroxidation, cellular cholesterol accumulation and development of atherosclerosis. J Nutr. 2001 Aug;131(8):2082-9.

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