BY NICHOLAS PERRICONE, MD

As I nursed a cup of green tea and read the news on the internet, a 24-point headline from the United Kingdom’s Financial Times caught my eye: “Scientists Discover the Secret of Aging.”

The article explained how one of the biggest puzzles in biology—how and why living cells age—had been solved by an international team based at the UK’s Newcastle University.

The research showed that when an aging cell detects serious DNA damage, which may be the result of general wear and tear from daily living, it sends out internal signals. These distress signals trigger the cell’s mitochondria, the energy-producing part of the cell, to make free-radical molecules that instruct the cell either to destroy itself or to stop dividing.

Having identified what I call the Beauty Molecule, acetylcholine (ACh) plays an important role in repairing damaged mitochondria and ridding the body of malfunctioning, senescent cells. The Beauty Molecule is also the primary neurotransmitter of the parasympathetic nervous system, which turns off the inflammatory response.

First Brush with Acetylcholine

I witnessed acetylcholine in action firsthand in the office of Dr. Frank Rosenbaum during my ophthalmology rotation, when he asked me to see a patient whose chief complaint was a droopy eyelid.

One condition that can present this way is myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disease that attacks motor nerve receptors and causes muscular weakness. In those cases, a simple test dose of a drug that briefly boosts acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction can cause the weak eyelid to lift within minutes, a dramatic demonstration of how powerful this molecule is in controlling muscle tone.

When it comes to the face, it is not wrinkles that are the greatest culprit in giving an aged appearance. It is the loss of anatomical position that results in the sagging and drooping of the underlying muscles. The Beauty Molecule causes muscles to contract and tighten under the skin, enabling us to maintain a youthful appearance by preserving our natural facial structure.

For many years I have advocated the use of topical dimethylaminoethanol (DMAE), an organic compound that is a powerful anti-inflammatory. It is a precursor of choline, which increases production of acetylcholine and helps maintain a lifted, firmed, and toned appearance in both the face and body.

Eating to Boost Acetylcholine Production

Certain foods and supplements like DMAE significantly influence the production of the Beauty Molecule. Foods that contain choline, an essential nutrient, boost the synthesis of acetylcholine. The main dietary sources of choline are animal-based products—grass-fed beef, free-range poultry, fish, dairy products, and eggs—as well as cruciferous vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. Consuming these foods will boost your body’s production of the Beauty Molecule.

Another way you can indirectly increase acetylcholine levels is with supplements that function by inhibiting the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, which normally breaks down acetylcholine and limits its signaling. Gentle acetylcholinesterase inhibitors such as huperzine A or certain polyphenol-rich plant extracts can help keep more of the Beauty Molecule available at nerve and muscle junctions.

Eating to fight inflammation has been the foundation of my program for more than twenty years. Skin radiance and tone reflect what is going on inside us, and one of the most noticeable results of an anti-inflammatory diet is more radiant, contoured skin.

Most people think skin aging is driven mainly by chronological age, but lifestyle factors—especially chronic inflammation—often play a much larger role and can make us look years older than our actual age.

Understanding Aging

Lifestyle factors that fuel chronic inflammation, age your skin, and promote disease include a diet high in sugar and simple carbohydrates, environmental stressors, excess exposure to ultraviolet light, hormonal changes, stress, and smoking.

Inflammation exists on a spectrum. Low-level, chronic inflammation occurs at the cellular level and can be highly damaging, contributing to skin problems from acne and enlarged pores to wrinkles, sagging, and loss of radiance, while also compromising the function of other organ systems. At the other end of the spectrum, inflammation is visibly evident, as in the redness and swelling of a wound or sunburn.

External Signs of Chronic Inflammation

Skin problems are telltale signs of internal inflammation because, unlike the internal organs, the deterioration of skin cells is highly visible. My life’s work has been to prevent and correct the universal signs of aging that result from the passage of time, environmental exposure, genetics, epigenetics, and lifestyle.

Chronic inflammation can affect your skin in many ways, manifesting as loss of elasticity, thinner and more translucent skin, wrinkles, dry or leathery texture, broken capillaries, pigment spots, puffiness, sagging, loss of firmness, and enlarged pores.

Beautiful, glowing skin is one of the most visible signs of good health, and chronic inflammation can make you look older than you are. If you do not like what you see in the mirror, the good news is that you can do something about it.

Inflammation does much of its damage by triggering free radicals, unstable molecules that create oxidative stress and damage collagen and elastin, the proteins that keep skin firm and supple. Over time, this damage leads to microscarring, wrinkles, and a dry, leathery appearance, while also injuring mitochondria—the cell’s energy engines—and slowing the cellular metabolism that underlies youthful skin.

Because inflammation and oxidative stress are so central to both internal and visible aging, what we put on our plates becomes a powerful daily intervention.

The Benefits of an Anti-Inflammatory Diet

Controlling inflammation is the key to health, longevity, mental clarity, well-being, and radiant, youthful skin, and eating an anti-inflammatory diet is one of the most powerful ways to do this. When you follow such a diet, you can lose excess weight, maintain muscle mass, improve your skin, elevate mood and mental clarity, increase energy, and reduce the risk of age-related diseases such as heart disease, arthritis, and cognitive decline.

An anti-inflammatory way of eating is designed to prevent rapid spikes in blood sugar. To fight inflammation, you must avoid foods that provoke a strong glycemic response and the resulting surge in insulin, which in turn drives inflammatory processes in the body.

Foods that Fuel Inflammation

Foods are converted to sugar at varying rates, and those that are rapidly converted—highly sugary and starchy foods, sweetened beverages, and many processed snacks—are strongly pro-inflammatory. Examples include candy and refined baked goods, snack foods such as chips and pretzels, sugary sodas and fruit drinks, and excess alcohol.

The inflammatory response triggered by these foods accelerates aging throughout the body, increasing the risk of degenerative disease and contributing to wrinkled, sagging skin. As a dermatologist, I am naturally most excited by the visible changes in the skin, but the same anti-inflammatory way of eating also supports cognitive function, restores energy, protects the cardiovascular system, regulates body fat, and reduces the risk of metabolic diseases such as diabetes.

The Beauty Molecule Triggers the Master Metabolic Regulators

Scientific advances in the past ten years have identified molecular pathways and cell signals that can rejuvenate the body, and we now know how to activate the metabolic switches that give us access to these pathways. My anti-inflammatory diet includes the nutrients that influence these triggers, and foods rich in omega-3s and polyphenols indirectly help boost levels of the metabolic-regulator enzyme AMPK.

Our first and most vital step in harnessing the power of the Beauty Molecule is learning how to activate the master metabolic switch AMPK, which regulates the intake and output of energy. As production of the Beauty Molecule acetylcholine increases, AMPK activity also rises, because this neurotransmitter helps upregulate the enzyme.

Acting as an energy sensor within the cell, AMPK coordinates metabolic pathways and balances energy supply with energy demand, stimulating metabolism, improving insulin sensitivity, decreasing inflammation, and heightening muscle performance. Activation of AMPK may be directly linked to longevity.

The Beauty Molecule

My work has concentrated on strategies to enable cell repair and rejuvenation by reducing inflammatory damage, and AMPK has been a central focus of my study for the past decade. Acting as a molecular on/off switch, AMPK can induce cell growth or death, regulate energy breakdown and storage, and turn specific genes on or off as cells adapt to their environment, nutrient intake, and energy needs.

As an energy sensor, AMPK monitors levels of ATP, the body’s essential energy and storage molecule, and when energy is low it reprograms cellular metabolism to conserve resources. It influences glucose and fat metabolism and promotes the removal of older cells and damaged mitochondria through autophagy and mitophagy.

Scientists at the Salk Institute describe AMPK as a potential “magic bullet” for health, and animal studies show that activating this enzyme can help reverse diabetes, improve cardiovascular health, treat mitochondrial disease, and extend lifespan.

The encouraging news is that everyday foods can nudge this enzyme in the right direction.

Polyphenols Activate ACh and AMPK

My background in nutrition motivates me to find foods that contribute to your beauty and longevity by supporting optimum health on a cellular level. Thanks to their effects on acetylcholine and AMPK, polyphenol-rich foods positively influence mitochondrial biogenesis, metabolic processes, insulin sensitivity, and glucose uptake by muscle tissue.

Foods that upregulate AMPK improve metabolic pathways that reduce insulin and inflammation, and the omega-3- and polyphenol-rich foods I recommend are shown to decrease inflammation and help boost AMPK levels. You may notice more stable energy as these foods support production of the Beauty Molecule and AMPK, normalizing energy production in the cell and helping to control appetite, support muscle mass, and decrease body fat.

A Close-Up of Cell Rejuvenation

A young cell is defined by optimal energy production, and when that production diminishes, the aging process begins. The goal is to support cellular metabolism, which takes place largely in the mitochondria as they convert nutrients into ATP, the energy currency every cell needs to repair and maintain itself.

Without sufficient mitochondrial energy, cells break down and organ function declines, so healthy mitochondria are critical to slowing aging and keeping the body functioning at its best.

Free radicals can damage key cell structures, including mitochondrial membranes, leading to cellular dysfunction and harm to the immune system and other organs.

Senescence—Cellular Power Failure

Senescence is aging on a cellular level; senescent cells no longer divide and, as they accumulate, they can weaken the immune system and accelerate age-related disease. Unlike cells that quietly die and are cleared, many senescent cells remain active and secrete pro-inflammatory chemicals that damage nearby tissues and increase the body’s overall inflammatory burden.

Strategies for Removal of Senescent Cells

One strategy for reducing senescent cells is to emphasize natural compounds found in polyphenol-rich foods that are abundant in an anti-inflammatory diet, while also supporting the body’s own elimination systems through autophagy and mitophagy, which clear damaged cells and mitochondria.

Intracellular stress, mitochondrial deterioration, and oxidative damage all increase the burden of senescent cells, so a diet rich in quality protein, healthy fats, antioxidants, and polyphenols helps slow their accumulation.

Researchers are also exploring senolytics—agents that selectively eliminate senescent cells—including certain plant flavonoids such as fisetin and quercetin, which show promise in early cell studies.

Autophagy to the Rescue

Autophagy is the body’s built-in recycling system, breaking down old or damaged cellular components so they can be cleared, while mitophagy specifically removes worn-out mitochondria to restore balance inside the cell.

In contrast, mTOR is a growth-promoting pathway that drives cell and protein building, and the balance between these “breakdown” and “building” processes is essential for robust health and a youthful appearance.

AMPK helps maintain this balance by stimulating autophagy and mitophagy and restraining excessive mTOR activity, protecting cells during metabolic stress, supporting mitochondrial health, and contributing to slower, healthier aging.

AMPK and Exercise

One of the best ways to activate AMPK is to move your body. Exercise and muscle contraction stimulate the energy-generating process, and when the Beauty Molecule, acetylcholine, is released during movement, AMPK activation occurs at the neuromuscular junction.

Regular activity also improves circulation, supports insulin sensitivity, and helps deliver nutrients and oxygen to the skin and other organs that depend on healthy mitochondria.

When I recommend exercise, I do not mean hours in the gym. Though high-intensity exercise is effective, regular exercise, simply taking a daily walk, for example, is an AMPK activator.

Aging may be inevitable, but the way we age is powerfully influenced by how we eat, move, and care for our cells from the inside out. By nourishing the Beauty Molecule and activating AMPK through anti-inflammatory foods, targeted nutrients, and regular movement, you help your body clear damaged cells, protect mitochondria, and calm inflammation—the very processes that shape how you look, feel, and function at every decade of life.

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Nicholas Perricone, MD is a physician, author, educator, and an award-winning inventor. He has been issued 237 patents worldwide in areas of medicine, pharmacology and aerospace, and received the Eli Whitney Intellectual Property Award. He is the author of several New York Times bestsellers including The Wrinkle Cure, The Perricone Prescription, The Perricone Promise and Forever Young. He is a Fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Well Being Journal adapted the above excerpt from The Beauty Molecule by Nicholas Perricone, MD. Copyright © 2025 by Nicholas Perricone. Reprinted with permission from St. Martin’s Press, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.