In my past posts,
I discussed two predominant theories of aging—oxidative damage caused by free
radicals and age-related natural hormonal decline. This post will cover a few remaining theories
on aging.
The
genetic theory of aging: Anecdotally, we’ve all noticed that some people age better than others. A few weeks ago, I was at a woman-attorneys
gathering. The talk inevitably turned
into the topic of aging (it’s a group of women!). One commented how great Christie Brinkley
looked at the age of 60 (well, ok, she looks like 30) and how unfair if people
start assuming she would be the new look of 60.
Yeah, life is not fair and blames it on your gene.
According to
the genetic theory of aging, aging process and life span is determined by the
genes that humans inherited, which are often called longevity assurance
genes. The understanding of the role
that genes play in aging has expanded significantly in recent years, which many
candidates, including SIR2, daf-2, daf-12 and PNC1, found to influence
longevity in different organisms. Other studies
looked at the association between longevity and genes involved in the
metabolism of cholesterol (CETP) and the ApoE2 variant of the gene for
alpolipoprotein E.
The
immunological theory of aging: Research has shown that as human age, the immune system
declines. The most prominent targets of
aging are the white blood cells called T-cells, and to a lesser degree,
B-cells, which decline in number and function.
The changes are closely associated with the involution and atrophy of
the thymus, a structure active in the production of T-cells, which beings to
involute, or shrink, in adolescence. The
increase in the incidence of disease with age is also considered the result of
the decline of the immune system.
So how to
counter age related immune system decline?
Research has shown that short of sleep, lack of exercise and bad dietary
habit can all cause immune system depression.
So, make sure that you have plenty beauty sleep, get moving and start chomping
down immune system boosting food such as fruits and
vegetables, fresh garlic, and mushrooms.
The
somatic mutation theory of aging: Somatic mutations are mutations that occur in the
body. These mutations are different from
the mutations that occur in egg or sperm cells and will be passed to offspring. Somatic mutations affect only the individual and
cannot be passed to future generations. According
to the theory, somatic mutations that are not corrected or eliminated in the
course of life, accumulate, eventually causing the cells to malfunction and die. The accumulation of somatic damage is
considered the main cause of the aging process by the proponents of the theory.
This theory
is closely related to the oxidative damage theory I posted before. Oxidative damage and stress are two key
factors for somatic mutations. To counter the effect, load up with antioxidants
and learn techniques to de-stress. Recently,
a friend of mine told me “Connie, the stress is really all in your mind.” I agree—no matter how busy I am, I can deal
with tasks and solve problems. However,
the anxiety associated with dealing with problems is really just in my
mind. Stress is psychological—it is just
in your mind. Learn to control it, you
will feel better and look better too.
The wear
and tear theory of aging: the wear and tear theory of aging suggests that the deterioration associated
with old age is caused by failures in multiple physiological systems, resulting
from a variety of physical stresses.
Human bodies have the capacity to repaired DNA damage, but not all of
these repairs are accurate or complete; thus, the damage accumulates
progressively. Accordion to the theory,
aging results from an accumulation of unrepaired wear-and-ear. What is the take home message from this
theory? Stuff gets worn, so does human body.
Aging is inevitable—however, I firmly believe that a good skincare
routine and life style choice could help to slow it down.
Thanks for
reading!
Connie
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