The Most Common Health Hiccups in Your 30s, 40s, and 50s and How to Tackle Them

You have big plans for when you turn 30, 40, 50, and so on (hello, solo hike across Spain). After accumulating wisdom points with each passing decade, you're more ready than ever to smash those big life goals—you just need a foundation of health in place.

We all know the importance of loading up on nutrient-dense foods, de-stressing, and maintaining our close relationships to help us stay happy and balanced each passing decade. But what if we told you that you're missing a crucial step for preserving overall well-being? Newsflash: It all starts in your cells.

To help you step up preventative measures right now, we teamed up with MitoQ—a supplement brand that supports your cellular health for optimal energy—and enlisted John Salerno, DO, a board-certified family physician and specialist in complementary medicine, to explain how getting well on a cellular level can help you tackle the common health challenges of your 30s, 40s, and 50s.

If you missed the barrage of What Everyone Should Know About Turning 30 essays, here's the TLDR version: Most 30-somethings will begin to struggle with lower energy and some sort of weight gain due to the continual loss of peak-level muscle from your 20s.

As for your afternoon slumps, there are a number of factors to blame: "Our diets are not nutritious enough, hormone productions decline, and telomeres shorten, which are our DNA's time clock," Dr. Salerno says.

Instead of relying on double lattes, you can help hit the reset button on your energy by focusing on one place: the mitochondria of your cells. While that might sound like a far-out episode of Star Trek meets Grey's Anatomy, hear us out.

"Our mitochondria are the energy generator or the powerplants of our cells," Dr. Salerno says. "It is where all combustion (or so to speak) occurs. If the mitochondria are not nourished properly or if they are not supplied with essential nutrients, energy will fluctuate."

To wake up the mitochondria, you'll want adequate Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)—a naturally occurring antioxidant in the body that decreases with age. For the mitochondria of your cells, CoQ10 is like your midday latte. To easily up your CoQ10 stores, MitoQ 5mg 60 Capsules include a single-ingredient dose of the antioxidant, designed to rejuvenate the mitochondria. Other MitoQ supplement formulations target a range of concerns (with high-quality ingredients like curcumin) to support heart function, brain health, and more.

Every MitoQ blend uses a proprietary (read: one-of-a-kind) form of CoQ10 called mitoquinol that can pass through the mitochondria's inner membrane. Here, the antioxidant is released to combat free radicals directly. "MitoQ releases the active form of CoQ10 directly in the mitochondria at concentrations several hundred-fold higher than CoQ10 supplements that get absorbed in the blood," Dr. Salerno says. Cellular health, refueled.

Once your 40s arrive—along with all of the amazing life wisdom you've amassed, of course—you might notice that it takes way longer to see results after spending weeks at the gym.

What gives? Loss of muscle mass can happen for a multitude of reasons, including fluctuating hormone levels, lack of protein, and, perhaps most surprisingly, deteriorating mitochondrial function.

So in addition to integrating resistance training and high-quality sources of protein into your gym regimen ASAP, you can add mitochondria-rejuvenating supplements to give your muscle-mass situation a lift.

Taking mitochondria-boosting supplements can help target free radicals, or oxidants, that accelerate aging and damage cells. "Free radicals are the byproducts of combustion in the mitochondria," Dr. Salerno says. "This activity can be compared to the emissions given off by our [cars]." Inviting more free-radical-busting antioxidants into your system can clean up the grime—and help you reap the benefits of your workouts.

You've arrived in your 50s (congrats!), and have a ton to celebrate. The not-so-celebratory stuff? You might notice a loss of elasticity, increased dryness, and new lines because of natural reductions of collagen and elastin.

Slathering on serums will only do half the job. At this age, it's beneficial to take an inside-out approach—and actually get down to the cellular level in terms of skin health and focus on the cellular health of skin cells.

Good news: There's a supplement for that. MitoQ's Skin Support Complex is designed to replenish all three layers of skin. "MitoQ skin-care supplements combine the power of mitoquinol with Collactive Collagen Complex, which mimics the ratio of collagen and elastin in our cells," Dr. Salerno says. Plus, the supplement enlists youth-boosting ingredients like Oryza Ceramide, derived from rice bran or rice germ, and moisture-magnet hyaluronic acid to help naturally lubricate skin from within.

Additionally, look for skin care with free-radical-busting antioxidants. "Antioxidants keep our skin radiant and healthy as they protect against damage from oxidation, [which] causes fine lines and wrinkles," Dr. Salerno explains.

So next time you think about how to boost your longevity—and your glow—think a bit deeper. Like, cellular-health-level deeper.