[Angela Foster] (0:00 - 0:08)
Will exercise on its own stimulate mitophagy? So will that help clear out old mitochondria?

[Brad Currier] (0:08 - 1:34)
Super question and yes, it does. If we think about exercise, what it's doing is causing turnover, it's causing renewal in our body. And if we think of that cycle of renewal, there's a removal of the bad and the addition of the good.

And that cycle is really what exercise does. We are putting a stimulus on our body and it's going to go through that adaptation, that renewal to improve our physiology. And on the mitophagy bit, you're absolutely right.

We can think of the mitochondria in three phases. Mitochondrial biogenesis, the creation of new mitochondria. When we have a mitochondria, we can make it more efficient.

It goes through processes called fission and fusion where we actually have a network of mitochondria within our cell. They're not just a little jelly bean. They work together to become more efficient.

And then the last bit is mitophagy, which like anything in our body, when it's the selective removal of dysfunctional mitochondria. And that's really a key part in recovery and ageing, because that's where when we have an accumulation of dysfunctional mitochondria, we talked about how bad mitochondria have so many negative effects on our health and performance. That's where it originates.

So it's kind of like thinking about your house. If we have a super cluttered house, there's only so much we can do to improve it. At one point, we've got to take out the garbage.

[Angela Foster] (1:35 - 2:14)
Yeah, exactly. So we need all of those things, right? Interesting.

So then when we're looking at mitophagy and clearing out old dysfunctional mitochondria, you've done some really interesting research looking at fit, both untrained individuals, right, but also fit individuals, athletes, and then looking at what happens when you give them urolithin A. One of the studies you mentioned was a study of soccer players where you're looking at vertical jump, which is like a measure of power, right? So that's actually showing us in real time how the mitochondria are working.

What happened there?

[Brad Currier] (2:14 - 3:34)
Yeah, so and it's a really a testament to the whole R&D team at Timeline. It's been really taken 20 years to do the highest level of research on mitopure urolithin A. And this particular study in soccer was led by an independent investigator Professor Mitch Naughton down in Australia.

And these were really high level Academy soccer players that they had coming in for a preseason training camp. So six weeks of super intense training, gearing up for the season. And in this study, they had the athletes consume either one gramme of mitopure or a placebo.

It was kind of their post training shake that they added this powder to. And what they saw after the six weeks is yeah, vertical jump improved significantly in the mitopure group compared to the placebo. It was a 3.2 centimetres, if I remember, but a notable amount. For reference, that's like the difference between winning the NBA combine and finishing outside the top 50. If I remember this year's data correct, but it's a major improvement in vertical jump, which is a great measure of muscle power, right? Because we're not just generating force, we're generating force quickly.

And that was a really cool finding from Mitch's work.

[Angela Foster] (3:35 - 3:55)
Yeah, that's really interesting. There was another one that you and I were talking about offline, which was a study in weightlifters. And I do want to say actually, because most of your studies are in women, we're always hearing about how there's not enough research in women, but you include women in your research.

What happened with the weightlifters?

[Brad Currier] (3:55 - 5:39)
Yeah, it is something we're very proud of, where we actually just kicked off a new study this week, but so I'll get the recruitment numbers. But we do see about two thirds of participants in our studies overall are women. So it is definitely something that's very important, right?

We're trying to find things that are most effective for the entire population. And this weightlifter study actually, again, was a clinical trial done independent of timeline. We had no idea the study was happening.

It was just published one day. I didn't realise they basically bought the product and did the study. It was one of the top sports science institutes in China that did this study.

And what they did is take some really well-trained weightlifters. So these are people who had been weightlifting, had proven training records for over two years. They could lift, you know, squat more than two times their body weight, just really representative of a well-trained group.

And this was an eight-week study, where similarly, they randomised people to a placebo or a MitoPure group. The MitoPure group took one gramme per day. And after this training intervention, we saw that, yes, muscle strength improved in the MitoPure group, and also a test called repetitions to fatigue.

So that was one where people are lifting a sub-maximal weight, like 70% of their maximum lift, and seeing how many repetitions they can do. And in both cases, that knee extension strength and the reps to fatigue significantly improved in the MitoPure group compared to placebo. That was a really cool study to see.

And like I said, unbeknownst to any of us, that it was even happening, and then it was there.

[Angela Foster] (5:39 - 5:55)
That's so cool. I definitely noticed since taking it myself, I'm definitely stronger on my lifts, but I would say, I feel like I recover faster. Like my, I've got a lot of volume now in my week.

Is that something you've observed, that people will recover quicker?

[Brad Currier] (5:55 - 7:48)
It's funny you say that, because anecdotally, that's personally also what I've noticed since starting MitoPure. And it is actually something that was looked at, you know, kind of briefly in another performance study was done in collaboration with Dr. Louise Burke, who I know we were talking offline. Louise is Mount Rushmore, you know, of great sports, physiology, nutrition researchers based out in Australia.

She really, I would highly recommend her work to anyone looking at performance nutrition, simply one of the best. But this was a collaboration that our group had with Professor Brooke Burke. And in this case, they had really a lead runner.

So these were people who, you know, they're not just doing a marathon, these are people kind of going for the Olympics. And it was leading into the second to last Olympic cycle, they had this training camp. And what these individuals did is they came to the camp, it was a four week intervention, where they were randomised to MitoPure placebo.

And before and after the intervention, the participants did a time trial. And this was a five kilometre time trial. And what they saw is that in the after the one month of supplementation, rate of perceived exertion, and a marker called creatine kinase, which is representative of muscle damage, were significantly lower in the group taking MitoPure.

So this is I would, you know, just transparently say, this is, you know, scratching the surface, but it's certainly given the indication that, you know, there might be a benefit to recovery here. And something that we would love to explore more in in future studies, but we see less markers of muscle damage, and that the athletes taking MitoPure actually felt they didn't have to work as hard to accomplish the same performance. So that was a really intriguing finding.

[Angela Foster] (7:49 - 9:17)
I think it's really intriguing and just really relevant, actually, for women like myself, who are listening to this, who, you know, are in that perimenopause bracket, where recovery often starts like it's taking to feel like it's taking longer, inflammation is higher, you know, you get more aches and pains. And actually, it can be a really frustrating time, because you can feel more injury prone, for example. And I think that, like, I'm super grateful that I can train as often as I do, and just really enjoy it and then have all of the benefits from energy.

I, I always like to test stuff. So I then took a break deliberately, because I think it's really interesting, isn't it? If you're taking something, I'm a big believer as well about being intuitive with it and going, okay, well, actually, do I feel good on this?

I remember speaking with Dr. Worldby, we were talking about probiotics. And I was like, how do you know, Dr. B? How do we know if we've got a good probiotic?

And he was like, do you know, it's almost as simple as like, are you feeling better on the probiotic? Because if you're not, it's probably not the right one for you. And you might as well not spend money after 30 days.

And so I did this sort of experiment where I stopped taking a timeline for a little bit to see. And I noticed, after a few weeks, a dip in my energy. And then since I've gone back on it, and I just feel like the energy again, it just takes me to that higher level that I want to operate at, because it's the level that life is just more.

Do you know what I mean? I feel like I can do everything and have fun with my kids.

[Brad Currier] (9:18 - 10:56)
Yeah, no, absolutely. I mean, that's the reason we're doing all this, right? It's our life.

We want to live it healthfully, fully, that quality of life is what we're after. And it's funny, you mentioned that, because I'm really lucky, I get to go to a lot of conferences through the year and speak and meet people who are using the products. And that is probably the most common piece of feedback I get for people is that we say, you know, I stopped it for a little bit.

And that's when I noticed the difference. Because when we're talking MitoPure, it's the only clinically validated supplement that hits that mitophagy. It's the only thing we know outside of exercise and fasting that hit that mitochondria specific autophagy.

So with that, when you don't feel it, and immediately when you are really targeting things at the cellular level, right, Rome wasn't built in a day. And this isn't a stimulant like caffeine. So what we see in the clinical studies is that it's after one month that we see the improved mitochondrial health in the muscle biopsy samples.

And these performance benefits are after two and four months of taking the product. So it takes time to actually renew and improve this cellular health to ultimately have these functional benefits. And that's funny enough, when people do say is like, I wasn't really feeling it the first, you know, three months in, but I stopped it and I felt it and I got back on immediately.

So it's interesting to hear that you mentioned it. I agree, you know, take one out, it's a way to find what's working or what's causing problems in our diet.

[Angela Foster] (10:57 - 11:50)
100%. I think, you know, because you want to know, right, that what you're taking is, is working for you. And obviously you have all the clinical research to back that up.

So I think the science is super important. But the end, yeah, just seeing how you feel. What was interesting to me, though, is that when I took a break from it, so as you say, the first time you take it, and this is going back at least 18 months, I think for me, maybe longer, you don't immediately notice it, right, kind of like, gradually, you might see that energy improve.

And you're saying it takes at least a month up to four months. But then when I took a break from it, and I noticed the difference in energy when I got back on it, I'm curious to see if this holds. We always have to discount any kind of placebo, is for me, the energy benefits came back quicker, almost like I'd, I don't know, I'd built some level, I didn't have to wait.

Yeah, once four months again, they came back after a few.

[Brad Currier] (11:50 - 11:54)
Okay, fascinating. I'm curious. So like, how long was the break that you took?

[Angela Foster] (11:55 - 12:02)
It was around six weeks. Yeah. And it took a bit of time to notice it.

Because I think I was probably it's a bit like riding the wave.

[Brad Currier] (12:02 - 12:02)
Yeah.

[Angela Foster] (12:03 - 12:23)
No, some results from it that I was like, maintaining, and then my energy dropped. And then yeah, within a few weeks, I was back. And I just I really like it.

I also know. I know when I've got good stuff, because my husband starts. And he's always nicking the mitopia.

[Brad Currier] (12:23 - 12:40)
Yes. You're right. It's not immediate.

And you know what, you've given an idea for a great study. So I'll, I'll see what we can do. And maybe we'll actually put some clinical data behind this, because I share your your hypothesis and your experience of what it'd be good to know, right?

It'd be great. It'd be fascinating.

You're training consistently, eating well, sleeping as best you can and yet the energy isn't there, recovery is taking longer, and something just feels off.

Brad Currier, one of the leading researchers in mitochondrial science, gets into why mitochondrial decline is the hidden driver behind low energy, slower recovery, and reduced muscle performance in women over 40 and what the latest clinical research shows you can actually do about it. If you want to train hard, recover well, and feel genuinely energetic into your 40s and beyond, this one is worth your full attention.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
• Why mitochondria decline with age and what it means for energy and recovery after 40
• What mitophagy is and why most active women in their 40s should know this
• How urolithin A triggers mitophagy and what the clinical data actually shows
• What rep range builds strength and longevity for women in their 40s
• How exercise improves skin health and collagen from the inside out