Urolithin A: The Human Data on ‘Anti-Aging’ (Mitophagy, Inflammation, Muscle — What Actually Changes)
The Energy Code
What Urolithin A did not change
Mike details null findings: no increase in maximal ATP, inconsistent biogenesis markers, microbiome, or short-term body metrics.
In this Energy Code Deep Dive, Dr. Mike Belkowski and moderator Don Bailey break down a 2024 systematic review, “Targeting Aging With Urolithin A in Humans," that focuses on human supplementation studies, not “eat pomegranate and hope.”
You’ll learn what Urolithin A is (and why your gut bacteria can make results wildly inconsistent), why it’s tied to “geroprotection,” and what the clinical evidence actually supports so far: dose-dependent anti-inflammatory signals, changes in mitochondrial/autophagy gene markers, and some improvements in strength/endurance — with a reality check on what didn’t move (ATP max, broad physical function, microbiome composition, body comp, cardiovascular markers in short windows).
Bottom line: promising, practical, but still early.
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Article Discussed in Episode:
Targeting aging with urolithin A in humans: A systematic review
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Key Quotes From Dr. Mike & Don:
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“It’s like giving two people the same coffee beans, but one of them doesn’t own a coffee grinder!”
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"It may be improving the ‘quality control and efficiency settings’ more than raw peak horsepower.“
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“So it’s like tuning the car so it runs smoother; not necessarily making the top speed higher.”
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"It’s not a ‘lose 20 pounds and become a triathlete’ pill.”
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Key points-
Urolithin A is a gut-derived metabolite from ellagic acid foods (pomegranate, walnuts, berries), but many people don’t convert well. So food intake ≠ reliable levels.
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Supplementation “skips the gut lottery” and produces higher, more consistent plasma levels than food sources.
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The systematic review included 5 human studies / 250 healthy participants with 10–1000 mg/day for 28 days to 4 months.
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Biggest consistent theme: dose-dependent anti-inflammatory effects (some markers improve more at 1000 mg/day over 4 months).
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Mitochondria story is nuanced: it may improve gene expression signatures related to mitochondrial activity, autophagy, and fatty-acid oxidation—more “quality control” than peak power.
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What it didn’t reliably do: increase maximal ATP production, consistently boost biogenesis/dynamics markers, change gut microbiota composition, or meaningfully affect body metrics/cardiovascular outcomes in short trials.
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Muscle outcomes: some gains in specific strength/endurance measures (e.g., torque metrics; certain fatigue tests), but not universal (e.g., handgrip and broad function didn’t consistently improve).
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Safety in these studies looked clean (no serious adverse events attributed), but the overall conclusion remains: promising—but the human aging evidence is still young and needs longer/larger trials.
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Episode timeline0:27 — Welcome + urolithin A is trending + episode topic
0:45 — Don’s moderator frame: “does it work / worth it?”
1:04 — Paper ID (2024 systematic review; human supplementation)
1:25 — What urolithin A is + “gut lottery”
2:02 — Why supplement (higher/consistent levels vs food)
2:24 — Why it matters: mitophagy / healthier aging angle
3:05 — What’s included (5 studies, 250 people; 10–1000 mg; 28d–4mo)
3:34 — What improved (inflammation signals, gene markers, some strength/endurance)
4:06 — What didn’t (max ATP, microbiome, broad health/body metrics)
7:02 — Dosing/PK basics (peak ~6h; half-life ~17–22h; plateau ~7d)
7:40 — Safety summary
8:06 — Practical take + “promising but early” conclusion
- Dr. Mike's #1 recommendations: Deuterium depleted water: Litewater (code: DRMIKE)EMF-mitigating products: Somavedic (code: BIOLIGHT)
Blue light blocking glasses: Ra Optics (code: BIOLIGHT)
Grounding products: Earthing.com -
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