Pine pollen, mitochondria and midi-chlorians

Today I asked myself: “Does regularly taking Pine Pollen tincture extend my life?” –

I happened to find a study that points to something like that. Let’s take a closer look: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22994004#

In June 2012, Chinese researchers Zhonguo Zhong and Yao Zha Hi concluded that “Pine Pollen apparently prevents mutations in mitochondrial DNA in the kidneys of senescent mice and may therefore have an anti-aging effect at the molecular level.”

Important: This was a study on mice using pollen extract—quite simply, no one knows what this means for humans. But as a Star Wars fan, one may dream.

Mitochondria are those tiny—presumably one day immigrant—organisms in our cells responsible for making energy and vitality available to us in the form of ATP.

All the energy our muscles consume is obtained by splitting a phosphate group off ATP. This produces ADP. The mitochondria then ensure that the spent ADP is converted back into ATP.

In other words: The more mitochondria we have—and the better they are doing—the fitter we feel. Incidentally, most mitochondria are found in the cells of the heart.

So it doesn’t surprise me that mitochondria served as the model for Star Wars’ midichlorians. The more of them you have in your cells, the more FORCE you have! (:

So: May the Force be with you!

You can find more about Pine Pollen’s active compounds in our Pine Pollen overview. If you’re interested in the more tangible side of things, check out Does Pine Pollen Really Contain Testosterone?.