Northern Nutritionals

Category: Research

  • Supporting Mitochondrial Health: Urolithin A and Light Therapy

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    Karline Jensen
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    Two very different interventions — a gut-microbiome-derived postbiotic and a light-based therapy — offer an interesting look at how mitochondrial function can be supported through different mechanisms: clearing out damaged mitochondria on one hand, and directly powering the electron transport chain on the other. Urolithin A  Singh et al. (2022) ran a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled…

  • Assessing for Mitochondrial Dysfunction: A Lab-Based Approach

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    Karline Jensen
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    When a client’s symptoms point toward possible mitochondrial dysfunction, I like to start with labs they’re likely to already have on hand — a CBC and CMP — before moving on to more specialized testing. Here’s how I approach that process. Starting With the CMP From the comprehensive metabolic panel, I look at bicarbonate, albumin,…

  • Two Manifestations of Oxidative Stress: Cataracts and Steatotic Liver Disease

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    Karline Jensen
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    The following two examples — one on age-related cataracts, and one on Steatotic Liver Disease (SLD)  — both illustrate how cells try to compensate for oxidative stress, and what happens when those compensatory systems eventually fail. Oxidative Stress and Cataract Formation Huang et al. (2022) investigated how biliverdin reductase A protects lens epithelial cells from…

  • Mitochondrial Dysfunction

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    Karline Jensen
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    A Role in Schizophrenia Schizophrenia research has pointed toward mitochondrial dysfunction as a mechanism that could help explain some of the disorder’s underlying biology.   Bartal et al. (2023) ran a systematic meta-analysis looking at genes responsible for building mitochondrial ribosomes — the Mitochondrial Ribosomal Proteins Large and Small (MRPL/MRPS) gene families — in people with…

  • Antioxidants Aren’t Simply “More Is Better”

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    Karline Jensen
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    Supplements like quercetin, vitamin C, and vitamin E get a lot of attention as antioxidants, but the research makes a cautionary point: reactive oxygen species aren’t purely villains, and neutralizing them too well can have tradeoffs worth understanding before recommending a dose. Quercetin as a Protective Antioxidant Remigante et al. (2022) studied how quercetin can…

  • What Happens in the Body When Alcohol Dehydrogenase Goes to Work

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    Karline Jensen
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    I’ve been digging into a few studies on alcohol dehydrogenase — the enzyme responsible for the first step of ethanol metabolism, oxidizing ethanol to acetaldehyde while reducing NAD+ to NADH. I found some genuinely strange toxicology, and some insight into hangovers. When It’s Not Ethanol: A Forensic Toxicology Case Ethanol is not the only substrate…

  • Everyday Exposures Stacking Up: Oxidative Stress and Mitochondrial Dysfunction

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    Karline Jensen
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    Many conversations about oxidative stress focus on a single cause — perhaps too much sugar, not enough antioxidants, or too much sun. But in real life, oxidative stress accumulates from many sources. A person might be exposed to vehicle exhaust on their commute, spend hours around chemical fumes at work, and enjoy a drink or…

  • How Resistance Training Can Increase the Effectiveness of Your CoQ10 Supplement

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    Karline Jensen
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    Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) supplements have become increasingly popular — and for good reason. While the human body produces CoQ10 on its own, this capacity tends to diminish with age. Without adequate CoQ10, the body cannot efficiently access the energy stored in carbohydrates and fats, because CoQ10 plays a critical role in the electron transport chain…

  • Preventing Depression

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    Karline Jensen
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    A systematic review by O’Neill et al. (2022) examined 7 randomized controlled trials on the effect of different dietary interventions on depression in adults, and found fresh produce, wholegrains, low-fat dairy and lean protein to be beneficial, and processed and high-fat foods to be detrimental.  In their discussion they highlight a study by Lindseth et…

  • Motivational Interviewing

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    Karline Jensen
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    Motivational Interviewing has been shown to be more effective than standard care in eliciting change towards more healthy diets.  Hollis et al. (2015) used the technique with 28 premenopausal women ages 44-50, with the goal of influencing their diets to be less likely to result in weight gain as they entered their menopausal years.  The…