What is Qualia Senolytic? How Does It Work?

Qualia Senolytic contains a combination of nine vegan ingredients and was formulated to be taken on two consecutive days once a month. It was created to support healthy aging in an area called “cellular senescence.”* But what is that?

Aspects of cellular structure and function gradually shift in certain predictable ways as a normal part of the aging process. Scientists refer to nine of these gradual shifts as the Hallmarks of Aging—think of a hallmark in this case as meaning a distinguishing characteristic. Cellular senescence is one of the nine characteristics; it has to do with a special type of stressed or worn out cell called a senescent cell.

Senescent cells are created and removed from tissues constantly throughout life. They are formed as a routine part of normal healthy function. Muscle tissues, as an example, create senescent cells after intense exercise as part of recovery.

Senescent cells are also formed when a cell becomes so stressed or worn out that it’s not worth putting in cellular work to maintain or repair it (replacing it would be a better use of cellular resources).

As we get older, healthy creation and removal functions tend to shift in ways that result in gradual increases in the proportion of senescent cells in some, often many different tissues—removal functions fall behind. This occurs for two main reasons.

Senescent cells should proceed through a series of molecular steps in a biological process that got its name from the Greek word for “falling off,” in the sense of ripe fruit falling from trees, leaves falling from a plant, or petals falling from flowers.

Some senescent cells can get sidetracked on the journey to “falling off” (in this case from our tissues). These cells become experts at surviving, exploiting normal cellular prosurvival functions to linger, loitering and taking up space in tissues. This would be somewhat analogous to yellowing leaves that haven’t fallen off a plant yet.

Because it’s normal to have some senescent cells start, but not complete the “falling off” journey, tissues need a back up plan. The backup plan is the immune system, which should act a bit like a gardener who prunes away the yellowing leaves on a plant. 

One of the jobs of the immune system is to find loitering senescent cells and remove them. When the immune system is adept at finding and removing these cells, the pace of removal maintains a healthy balance with creation. This is where aging enters the story.

When we are young, the immune system will typically be great at finding, and figuratively speaking, pruning away senescent cells. As we get older, the immune system tends to gradually become less proficient in lots of different ways; one of these is finding and pruning senescent cells—some senescent cells may get missed. Over time, this can result in gradual accumulation of senescent cells.

Senescent cells are often described as being “zombie cells.” This is because, not unlike the undead zombies in movies, a senescent cell can get stuck in a kind of limbo. It has one more thing in common with movie zombies: senescent cells can convince otherwise healthy cells to become senescent cells, which may add to the accumulation burden.

But why is the accumulation of senescent cells important? It comes down to a fundamental principle—the health of tissues depends on the health of the cells in those tissues. What do you think might happen if space that should be filled with healthy cells is being taken up by loitering senescent cells instead? The answer is very similar to what occurs if a plant has a growing number of yellowing leaves taking up space on its branches. 

There are a few main reasons gardeners prune leaves: (1) pruning allows resources and nutrients to be used in healthy, vibrant leaves rather than being poorly invested in less healthy ones; (2) pruning encourages new growth; and (3) pruning promotes the overall health and appearance of a plant. This is where senolytics come in; they can be thought of as a way to prune away the equivalent of yellowing leaves in our tissues.* 

The word “senolytic” is derived from the Latin words senex (=old) and lytic (=destroying). They are aptly named. Senolytics have an affinity for finding cells that are using senescent cell prosurvival mechanisms, and then convincing them to finish the journey to “falling off” instead.*

Now let’s answer the original question—What is Qualia Senolytic? It is a dietary supplement formulated to help bring the creation and removal of senescent cells back into a healthy balance. It does this by, figuratively speaking, pruning away senescent cells. Its goals are similar to those of pruning a plant: support efficient use of cellular resources, encourage growth of more youthful cells by making “room” in tissues for them, and ultimately to support tissue health and appearance—promoting whole-body rejuvenation.*

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This product is not intended to diagnose, cure, or prevent any disease.

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