Looking to protect astronauts in space from the harmful effects of the sun's radiation, NASA formulated a beverage—known simply as "space drink" or AS10—blending together a rich cocktail of vitamins and antioxidants, exotic fruits and other plant derivatives, including Brazil's cupuacu fruit, acai, prickly pear, yumberry, acerola, grape, green tea, and pomegranate.
The juice blend contains a high level of phytochemicals—which help shield cells from the sun's radiation. It also, as it turns out, is being heralded as the ever-elusive Fountain of Youth. Imagine that.
Research conducted at the University of Utah saw, after four-months of drinking two-ounces of AS10 daily, a 30% reduction in UV spots (brown sun spots) and a 17% reduction in the amount of wrinkles in the study's 200 female participants.
Dr. Aaron Barson, who lead the study, explains that AS10's antioxidants help to combat oxidative stress—the process through which toxic molecules in the body, or free radicals, damage skin cells—allowing skin the freedom to heal more quickly and naturally.
For about $50, a 25-ounce bottle of this miracle brew (which will last you around 12 days) can be bought online via various outlets. Which means—with substantive results showing after the 4-month (120-day) mark—renewed youth can be yours for just $500. The results may not be as pronounced, but it's way cheaper than plastic surgery. [TheWeek - Image via DenisNata/Shutterstock]
Update: While I didn't explicitly state that NASA was actively researching wrinkle cures, I did imply that they and inadvertently contributed to research out of the University of Utah on the subject. As it turns out, neither bears much truth. Derp.
An article published yesterday by SpaceRef.com explains that the Dr. Barson credited by The Week is actually not a research affiliated with the University:
A comment made on NASA Watch by Christopher Nelson, Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs, University of Utah Health Care seeks to distance the university from all of this: "Aaron V. Barson, Jr. was a volunteer/adjunct clinical assistant professor at the University of Utah from 1988 through 2002. He currently has no affiliation with the University of Utah."
Further:
According to information provided by NASA PAO, the "AS10" food substance mentioned in this news story is not a NASA food product. This food substance may have been developed by someone else using a product developed originally by AmeriSciences but NASA itself has not used any material or food substance described in these various news stories related to wrinkles nor is it conducting any research related to the claims made in these news stories.
In summary: the University of Utah says that they have nothing to do with the researcher who is quoted and NASA has nothing to do with this research.
The search for the Fountain of Youth continues!