Are you worried about anti aging and want to learn about the science behind this natural process? Concerned about your fine lines and need to know how to slow down aging?
Here is everything you want. Simply, the aging process happens on cellular as well as environmental levels.
It is possible to slow down the process through a good diet and adopting healthy habits. Also, many scientific ways can help to look and feel younger than your age. To learn more, keep reading.
Why Do We Age?
Our body is made up of cells, and they play the role of building blocks. Each cell divides into two cells and keeps our body young.
However, this division process has limitations.
For example, each cell follows this process 50 to 70 times and dies afterward. This deterioration makes us age. Simply put, the entry of cells into the senescence phase is what results in aging.
Aging At The Cellular Level
For a better understanding of the aging process, it is essential to look at the cellular level. The cell has a major part that controls all its functioning, called a nucleus.
The nucleus has chromosomes with genetic coding that play a vital role in cell division.
According to recent research, the aging of cells depends on the telomeres of chromosomes.
The telomeres protect the chromosomes from deterioration, but after every division, it reduces the power. Therefore, cell age reduces after the division of cells, which leads to aging.
What Accelerates Aging?
Although the aging process happens on the cellular level, environmental factors still contribute to it.
Every individual is born with the length of a predetermined telomere, and everything is predecided, i.e., how many times their cells can divide.
However, many environmental factors boost telomere reduction.
Here are some of the most prominent reasons:
Stress
Stress is one of the top reasons for fast aging. According to a study by the National Academy of Sciences, women suffering from high-stress levels have shorter telomeres.
They use the experience of mothers with chronically ill children because they stay tensed for years. This process ultimately reduces the size of telomeres.
Moreover, scientists found out that chronic stress leads to oxidative stress, i.e., chemical cell damage, and causes chromosome damage.
Also, if you suffer from stress, your body stays in fight-or-flight mode, which releases cortisol. The cortisol is responsible for high blood pressure for quick response but causes oxidative stress.
This hormone reacts with telomerase, i.e., telomeres lengthening enzyme, and reduces its strength.
Therefore, if you are suffering from chronic stress, you will experience fast aging. The best way to avoid this fast aging process is to learn ways that result in good mental health.
For example, adopt meditation habits and focus on the positives of life. Moreover, try to ignore irrelevant things that lead to a stressful life.
Diet
A healthy diet with low calories has a very positive effect on cells and reduces oxidative stress. However, this is not proven on a human level, but in animals limiting calories increases metabolism and ultimately slows down the aging process.
On the other hand, this is understandable that healthy food boosts life quality, resulting in slow aging. Also, limiting calories removes the toxins from cells that cause damage and increases lifespan.
Is There Any Way To Slow Down Aging?
Anti-aging market is filled with products to slow down the effects of aging. Here, I have exemplified two scientifically proven ways that you can adopt to delay aging and overcome its ill effects.
Intermittent Fasting
As diet plays a significant role in aging, so you can follow intermittent fasting to enjoy a longer life. It slows down the aging process by regulating the body’s metabolism.
Intermittent fasting has become a trend nowadays, as it is the most searched topic on Google.
The director of the National Institute on Aging reports that mice who eat only one meal a day with a more extended fasting period seem to have a longer life span than others.
However, such studies have been done only on animals to see the health and age-related positive outcomes. So, we need more trials to ensure its efficiency and safety.
Immune System Rejuvenation
The immune system plays a vital role in combating diseases. Therefore, a healthy immune system means a healthy person.
However, with increasing age, its power starts to diminish progressively, making the body more susceptible to disease. So, revitalizing the immune system in old age will help you stay resilient.
A study conducted on mice shows that mice who took mTOR inhibitors show a longer life span. These two inhibitors act as anti aging compounds, thus causing rejuvenation of the aging immune system.
A clinical trial was conducted in 2018 with the same drugs on 65 and older volunteers to see how much it helps to combat the effects of anti aging.
Results show that people who had taken the drugs were less susceptible to respiratory infections than others.
Low-Calorie Diets
Researchers at the University of Cologne in Germany found ways to slow down aging. According to their study, gene transcription plays a role in aging. Gene transcription is a process of producing RNA, copies of a part of DNA.
With increasing age, the transcription process becomes faster; however, more prone to mistakes. Resulting bad copies of RNA can cause various diseases.
To stop the production of these faulty cell copies, the process of transcriptions should be slowed down. The findings of this study show that a low-calorie diet reduces the speed of RNA transcription and improves the quality of cell copies.
Thus, it helps to slow down the aging of cells. So, people who take their diet with calorie restrictions live 10% to 20% longer than those who don’t care about their calorie intake.
Other Ways
Some other ways that you can adopt to slow down the aging process include;
● Targeting Cellular Senescence
● Bone Loss Restoration
● Tissue Engineering
● Cellular Regeneration
The Bottom Line
No one can stop aging. But now, you know that the aging process happens not only at the cellular level but also at the environmental level.
So, you can adopt a healthy diet and positive lifestyle choices to slow down the process as it directly relates to one’s physical health. Also, focus on your mental health, and find ways to reduce stress as it speeds up aging.
Stay stress-free, and enjoy a longer and healthier life!
FAQs
Can you reverse aging cells?
Yes, it is possible, yet not a common thing. Scientists find out ways to stop cells and the aging process and how to reverse aging through regenerative capacity. However, if you are interested to reduce aging, the recommended ways are reducing stress-level and having a good diet.
Can DNA change beat aging?
Yes, if scientists make it possible to reduce oxidative DNA damage, it can beat the aging process. However, this is not something common, and the general public has no access to such procedures.
What foods are anti-aging?
Addition of antioxidants, water, essential nutrients, good fats and low calories in your diet causes impressive effects on your skin. If you want to enjoy healthy and young skin, try to add food items rich in these elements.
