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It was the evening of a day off.
With the news on TV, I was leafing through a magazine.
I wasn’t looking for anything in particular.
Turning a page, I came across an unfamiliar phrase.
“Reverse aging.”
Not resisting aging, but growing younger — that’s what it said.
At first, I took it with a grain of salt.
But as I read on, I saw it was about science.
I set the magazine down and put on a sheet mask while watching a Korean drama.
The coolness of the sheet touched my cheeks.
The lead’s skin in the drama was strikingly beautiful.
Beyond anti-aging
The world of beauty keeps changing, little by little.
Once, the mainstream was “anti-aging” — slowing the pace of aging.
Keeping wrinkles from deepening.
Holding on to things as they are.
Gradually, that gave way to “well-aging.”
A philosophy of growing older in good health, without denying one’s age.
And now, a concept that goes one step further is drawing attention.
“Reverse aging” — an idea that goes beyond slowing the clock, aiming to bring some markers of aging closer to a younger state.
Perhaps aging is not a phenomenon that only moves in one direction.
At the very least, science has begun to ask that question.
👉 To stay young at heart, and in body. — Billiards, a new anti-aging habit.
Giving instructions to the cells
In the previous article, I talked about mitochondria, the power plants of the cell.
When the power plants regain their vigor, the cells get their energy back.
On top of that, there is one more mechanism.
Compounds called “peptides.”
Peptides play a role something like messages to the cells.
They deliver information that prompts things like collagen production and tissue repair.
However good the power plant, it can’t act without instructions.
Mitochondria build up stamina; peptides give the instructions.
When both are in place, cells are thought to find it easier to do their proper work.
An approach from within
This is where it connects to the previous article.
The relationship between exercise and a natural peptide called “MOTS-c” is attracting attention.
If expensive skincare works on the cells from the outside, exercise may support their work from within, by a different route.
What’s more, exercise may influence how mitochondria work while also being involved in the production of natural peptides.
Outside and inside: two approaches in motion at once.
Against this background, exercise is attracting renewed attention in the field of reverse aging as well.
👉 Applying it wasn’t enough. — Let’s talk about cells.
One evening
The recent reunion was still somehow on my mind.
The pool at that after-party had been fun.
After work, on my way home from the station, I saw the lights of a pool hall.
I hesitated a little, then slid the door open.
I was alone, but that didn’t matter.
It was my first time going in alone.
I felt a little self-conscious.
But nobody paid any attention.
Everyone was facing their own table.
At their own pace, quietly.
Before I knew it, I had become the same.
At some point, I was thinking of nothing but the next ball.
When I glanced at the clock, an hour had already gone by.
At home, I washed my face.
I looked in the mirror.
Somehow, it seemed the color had come back to my face.
Maybe it’s just my imagination.
But I couldn’t quite believe it was.
Tending from the outside.
Nurturing from within.
This one day, today, is shaping the skin of the future, little by little.
The person in the mirror hadn’t grown younger in a single day.
Even so, perhaps the hands of the clock had turned back, just a little, today too.
Why not make billiards your next beauty habit?
👉 Before the serum, walk. — On skin and exercise.
👉 See the Yokohama Billiard Hall Guide
References
- Ocampo, A. et al. (2016). In Vivo Amelioration of Age-Associated Hallmarks by Partial Reprogramming. Cell, 167(7), 1719-1733. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2016.11.052
- Gorouhi, F. & Maibach, H. I. (2009). Role of topical peptides in preventing or treating aged skin. International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 31(5), 327-345. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2494.2009.00490.x
- Crane, J. D. et al. (2015). Exercise-stimulated interleukin-15 is controlled by AMPK and regulates skin metabolism and aging. Aging Cell, 14(4), 625-634. doi:10.1111/acel.12341
- Lee, C. et al. (2015). The mitochondrial-derived peptide MOTS-c promotes metabolic homeostasis and reduces obesity and insulin resistance. Cell Metabolism, 21(3), 443-454. doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2015.02.009
- Reynolds, J. C. et al. (2021). MOTS-c is an exercise-induced mitochondrial-encoded regulator of age-dependent physical decline and muscle homeostasis. Nature Communications, 12(1), 470. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-20790-0
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