What is aging?
Aging is the process of the body turning from a constructive (anabolic) state to a destructive (catabolic) state. Anabolism is the body’s system of replenishing itself by building new, stronger tissue. Catabolism is a natural process of the body breaking down over time.
Physiological timeline of the body:
- Peaks in the 20s
- Plateaus in the 30s
- Begins a sharp descent in the 40s
What happens when you age?
Each person ages at a different rate depending on genetic and environmental factors such as nutrition, exercise, stress, smoking, alcohol and various diseases: obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes mellitus.
Signs of decreased physiological function:
- The brain shrinks which results in a loss of cognitive ability, focus, and memory.
- Visual impairments, hearing loss, skin begins to wrinkle and bruise more easily.
- Smell and taste decrease, hair thins, and fat increases as lean muscle mass and bone mass decrease, resulting in decreased strength, osteoporosis, and fatigue.
- Kidneys decrease in size and functionality, risk of heart attack increases, breathing capacity is reduced by over 20%, and the pancreas produces less insulin resulting increased incidence of diabetes mellitus.
- Men start losing testosterone at the age of 30, women have reductions in progesterone and estrogen after menopause in their 40s and 50s.
How old are you biologically vs. chronologically?
Before you can figure out how to slow down the aging process you need to determine your chronological VS. biological age. Chronological age refers to how old you are based on your date of birth. Biological age is the age of your cells. Ideally, your chronological age and biological age should match. However, poor lifestyle habits can cause your cells to be older than your chronological age. For example, based on your birth certificate you may be 45 years old but your body may be 55. The most accurate way of determining someone’s biological age is with a Telomere Test. You can view a sample test here.
The Patient Telomere Score is calculated based on the patient’s average telomere length in peripheral whole blood cells. This average is then compared to telomere lengths from a population sample in the same age range as the patient to determine the patient’s percentile score.
What are Telomeres?
Telomeres are found at the end of each chromosome and serve as a cap to your genetic material. Every time a cell divides its telomere gets shorter, which indicates the cells lifespan. Every cell, healthy or not, eventually dies. Shorter telomeres imply a shorter lifespan for a cell, essentially giving it a finite lifespan. Unfavorable lifestyle habits such as an unhealthy diet or smoking can shorten telomeres faster. Hence why some individuals have a biological age that is older than their chronological age.
Prolonging life of the cell
Cells can maintain the length of their telomeres with an enzyme called telomerase, which adds genetic material at the end of the DNA strand, thus lengthening the number of times it can replicate, which ultimately prolongs the life of the cell. It is not active in most cells, but is active in stem cells, germ cells, hair follicles and most cancer cells.
Increasing levels of telomerase
Certain lifestyle changes can increase the levels of the enzyme telomerase which repairs and lengthens telomeres thus prolonging the life of the cell. Reducing oxidative stress can also play a role in improving the integrity of the cell. Shorter telomeres have been associated with metabolic abnormalities, obesity and several degenerative diseases including cancer, dementia and cardiovascular disease. Therefore, minimizing associated risk factors that are linked to shortened telomere activity is recommended:
- Reduce oxidative stress
- Correct micronutrient deficiencies, in particular, vitamin C, D and E
- Change sedentary lifestyle by increasing physical activity
- Avoid weight gain or obesity
- Correct insulin resistance
- Adopt an anti-inflammatory diet
How Heal n Cure can help
Heal n Cure’s Inspire Core Wellness Program effectively serves as a health and wellness program personalized for each patient through a physical examination and a study of the patient’s medical history, biochemistry analysis include telomere testing, and bio-impedance-analysis. Our personalized plans have helped thousands of patients reach a healthy weight and reverse conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension.
The Inspire Core Wellness philosophy is to improve health through preventive medicine. We believe lifestyle changes, including healthy eating and exercise, are the best medicine to reverse disease, prevent future medical complications, and to look and feel your best.
Contact us at info@healncure.com to find out more information