What Affects How Fast We Age?

Posted in

There are factors that are affecting your rate of aging now and how some simple adjustments can help set the stage for a healthier, more vital, more vibrant future. The choices we make on a daily basis about our food, exercise, sleep, and stress — all make a huge difference in how well we age at a biochemical, structural, and neurological level.

Inflammation

We think of inflammation as an acute response to an injury which is critical process for the body to heal. Here I am referring to chronic inflammation caused by things like poor nutrition, excessive stress, poor sleep and many more things.

Inflammation creates atoms called free radicals. These carry at least one unpaired electron that damages cells in its reckless pursuit of another electron with which to pair. Free radicals traumatize tissues throughout the body and can even harm DNA, leaving cells to malfunction or die.

We might feel the effects of systemwide inflammation when it causes ongoing pain in a knee, for instance, but are less likely to notice when that same inflammatory process wreaks silent havoc in other areas, such as the brain. We may detect some fogginess and forgetfulness, but we don’t connect it to inflammation.

Your doctor can assess your inflammation level with a blood test for high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), a substance the body produces when inflammation is present.

A high reading could indicate that your lifestyle is contributing to body wide inflammation, or that a more localized problem — such as gum disease or leaky gut — is triggering an inflammatory cascade.

A diet high in trans-fatty acids, carbohydrates and sugar drives the body to create inflammatory chemicals. On the flip side, a diet heavy on vegetables, lean meats (fish, chicken), whole grains and omega-3 fatty acids puts the brakes on the inflammatory process.

Balance Your Microbiome

The majority of genes in the body belong to the microbiota in our guts — and they have a big influence on how we age.

Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other aging-related diseases are influenced to some degree by negative changes to the bacterial population in our guts.

According to the Human Microbiome Project, these microbes “produce some vitamins that we do not have the genes to make, break down our food to extract nutrients we need to survive, teach our immune systems how to recognize dangerous invaders, and even produce helpful anti-inflammatory compounds that fight off other disease-causing microbes.”

Among other roles, our friendly gut bacteria maintain the lining of the gut — only a single cell thick — and keep dangerous compounds from circulating throughout the body. Factors like poor diet, stress, toxins, and infections can damage the gut lining. And when the intestinal wall is breached, inflammatory compounds seep into the rest of the body, promoting a variety of premature-aging and chronic-disease factors.

To support the microbiome over time, a diet rich in probiotic foods like yogurt, kefir, kimchi, kombucha, and sauerkraut, all of which are full of microbial life.

In addition, consuming plenty of prebiotic foods that contain the fibers our microbes love to eat. These include onions, jicama, raw dandelion greens, bananas, and Jerusalem artichokes.

Embrace Movement

No interventions that we talk about will work unless you exercise. We inherit all our mitochondria and can’t make new ones from scratch, but those that we possess can split and make copies of themselves. This intracellular revitalization is called mitochondrial biogenesis, and recent research indicates that one way to stimulate it is through vigorous exercise.

Exercise also helps mitigate the aging effects of stress. On the other hand, a sedentary lifestyle can promote the production of inflammatory cytokines, which accelerate aging and endanger bone health.

While regular exercise is essential, exercising too often or aggressively without adequate recovery can actually cause you to age faster.

the best exercise for mitochondrial biogenesis is high-intensity interval training (HIIT), in which you push really hard for a short while, recover, then push hard again. Still, any exercise you do -regularly, whether that’s yoga, strength training, or cycling, will help you metabolize stress -hormones, maintain better energy, and offset chronic inflammation.

Hormones

Women, see decreases in estrogen and fluctuations in thyroid hormones during and after menopause. They may be 10 times as likely as men to have thyroid problems, with a resulting impact on their energy, mood, and weight. And everyone’s cortisol patterns tend to shift over time, which can be linked to disrupted sleep, shorter telomeres, and accelerated aging.

Adjust eating, exercise, stress management, and sleep cycles in ways that help optimize your hormone levels. Focusing on protein, fat, and non-starchy vegetables for breakfast and lunch, and enjoying some quality carbohydrates at dinner. “Cycling” carbohydrates this way helps rein in cortisol at night, when it’s most likely to disrupt sleep.

Don’t underestimate the role stress might be playing in your hormonal fluctuations. “Things like yoga, meditation, mindfulness, and exercise can really help us adjust our mindset.”

Sleep helps, too, but many people find it more elusive as they age because of disrupted cortisol patterns. Moderating circadian rhythms by dimming lights in the evening and timing carbohydrate consumption can help.

Social Connections

In 2014, University of Chicago researchers reported that feelings of loneliness represent a major health risk for older adults and can increase their risk of premature death by 14 percent. They also referenced a 2010 meta-analysis that found that loneliness has twice the impact on early death as obesity does. But you don’t have to be old to have your health negatively affected by a lack of social support and connection.

Numerous studies have shown that feeling a strong sense of social and emotional connection helps reduce the biochemical markers of stress, lowers inflammation, improves immunity, supports healthy hormonal balance, and can even affect gene expression.

Make some space for real, live human interaction and significant relationships. Start by looking at your calendar. Do you have plans for social activities that feel rich, rewarding, and fun? Are you visiting with friends and family, volunteering on projects, participating in group activities, going on dates?

All of these things make a big difference in how connected you feel, and that feeling of connection keeps you vital at all levels.

Discover more from Rx Health and Wellness

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

Verified by MonsterInsights