The Research: how we can stop aging
Each of us wants to stay young and healthy for as long as possible. For centuries, people have come up with a variety of ways to preserve youth and even looked for ways to achieve immortality. Why we age and how we can slow down this process is one of the most pressing issues that have been studied for quite a long time and not without success. But it's only recently that scientists have really advanced the research and are claiming that the process can even be reversed, according to one of the world's leading scientific authorities on the science of aging, Chris Verburg, MD, in his book The Longevity Code.
It turns out that there is a lot in common between Alzheimer's disease, intestinal infarction and people who have lived for more than 110 years, as well as some rare neurological diseases, and these are proteins. Proteins are one of the main causes of aging in the human body. You can slow down the aging process if you understand the role of proteins in this process.
There are more than 20,000 different types of proteins in the human body, and proteins are nothing more than a cluster of atoms. We know from the school course that atoms are the smallest particles. Proteins are also small. The average protein diameter is 10 nanometers.
Proteins perform several important functions in the body. They are the building material for the cell and at the same time perform all the tasks inside and around the cells: they break down substances; participate in the formation of, for example, fats and hormones; pass substances into cells and back; serve as storage and packaging for substances such as iron, vitamin B12.
There is practically no process in the human body in which proteins would not take part. In turn, proteins are made up of strands of amino acids strung like pearls on threads, and it is they that form the protein.
In simple terms, the relationship between atoms, amino acids of a protein can be described as follows: imagine multi-colored Lego cubes of different sizes. In their role are various atoms such as hydrogen, oxygen, carbon and others. From Lego you can build a wall, windows, roof. Similarly, twenty different amino acids can be built from atoms. And just as a whole house is built from a designer, proteins are created from amino acids. A protein can be made up of tens or even thousands of amino acids.
Proteins, and in turn amino acids, are found in the meat of mammals, fish, poultry, whose muscle cells are rich in protein. Eggs, cheeses, and various dairy products also contain a lot of protein, in addition, there are also proteins of plant origin. They contain legumes, tofu nuts, broccoli.
The role of proteins in aging
Proteins play a key role in the aging process. Millions of proteins in the cells of the body are constantly produced and broken down inside the cells. Often the recycling process does not go very smoothly. It happens that the protein manages to avoid processing and stay in the cell. At first, there are few such proteins, but after decades more and more of them accumulate, they join each other, and over time, the cell is filled with these undestroyed protein lumps.
A similar thing happens in the human brain and around it. Over time, brain cells will be practically crushed by this agglomeration of proteins and simply die, and the death of cells leads to the most terrible age-related disease - Alzheimer's.
In the case of the death of a quarter of the approximately 86 billion brain cells, the first symptoms of Alzheimer's appear: forgetfulness, difficulty finding words, problems with orientation in space. This disease from the first symptoms to death lasts eight to ten years. The cognitive abilities of patients gradually degrade and as a result, the person is bedridden and incapable of independent activity.
It seems that protein agglomeration is a typical manifestation of old age, but the same problem, unfortunately, also happens in healthy younger people, but proceeds much more slowly. Statistics show that starting from the age of 65, the risk of Alzheimer's disease doubles every five years, and as a result, the disease develops in one in three at the age of 85-90 years.
Protein agglomeration also leads to frontotemporal dementia. This is a form of dementia, which already at the initial stage affects the personality of the patient, removing inhibition. The frontal lobe of the brain slows down impulsive thoughts and plans, it prevents us from throwing a chair across the room in anger, shouting in line, or angrily lashing out at passengers on public transport. Patients with frontotemporal dementia often lack any social brakes.
As already mentioned, with age, proteins accumulate in various internal organs of a person. They can also accumulate in the brain, causing vascular dementia, if this happens in the heart or lungs, then the work of these organs is disrupted. The agglomeration of proteins in nerve cells in the spinal cord impairs the ability of the nerve cells to send electrical signals, resulting in weakened reflexes. These are also typical signs of old age. That is why at twenty a person can calmly stand on one leg for a whole minute, at fifty it is already difficult to do this, and at seventy it is better not to do it at all. The weakening of reflexes also leads to poor regulation of body temperature, so older people often feel cold.
Protein agglomeration eventually affects even the most resilient, such as centenarians who have lived beyond 110 years. Studies have shown that supercentenarians die from a disease called amyloidosis - this is such a systemic pathology. It is characterized by a violation in the body of metabolic processes and suppression of the immune system. Scientists believe that 70 percent of all supercentenarians die from amyloidosis. Amyloidosis is a generalized agglomeration of proteins throughout the body. When such old people pass away, they say that they “died of old age”, but this is not so, there is always a specific cause of death.
We are afraid of our old age and the old age of our relatives - this is natural, you can dream about what it will be like and make it a happy time of life. Just as our appearance changes over the years, so do we change inside, internal organs age and wear out, but Alzheimer's disease, like other dementias, is not the norm. And, often, these serious diseases can be prevented.
Diseases are consequences of aging
Dealing with age-related diseases, scientists came to the conclusion that a person is killed by the general process of aging, and specific diseases are already particular manifestations of this large process. Most diseases occur already against the background of the aging process, as a consequence of it.
How to prevent aging
However, there are a number of actions that can help you slow down the aging process and make your life healthier and more active:
-Maintain a healthy lifestyle: Eat healthy foods, exercise regularly, don't smoke, and limit your alcohol intake.
-Stay fit: Exercise can help you maintain flexibility, strength, and endurance, as well as reduce your risk of various diseases.
-Eat right: Make sure you get enough of all essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
-Avoid Stress: Stress can lead to a number of health problems, including sleep problems, fatigue, and blurred vision.
-Manage your weight: Maintain a healthy weight to reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other diseases.
-Get enough sleep: Not getting enough sleep can lead to poor physical and mental health.
-Check your health regularly: Regular health checkups and testing can help identify health problems while they are still easily treated.
How to increase the body's resistance to stress
There are many factors that influence aging, including radiation exposure, stress, unfavorable environment and unhealthy diet. Such factors do not affect a young organism so much, but over time, stress resistance decreases. Our goal is to develop a therapy that can slow down the decline in stress tolerance and counteract the aging process.
Although the body's capabilities are limited, we can control the aging process and minimize the risk of developing cancer and other diseases.
It is known that at the age of 30-40 a person is still quite resistant to external and internal stressors, but in the future his ability to resist is significantly reduced. This process is programmed in the genetic code, and we must learn to control it in order to extend the working capacity and viability of a person for the maximum possible period.
Treating a specific disease solves only one problem, but increasing stress resistance and overall body capabilities allows it to better cope with many problems. This is similar to symptomatic treatment: without addressing the cause that causes a decrease in stress resistance, the solution of individual problems will not give a complete result.
For example, there are many successful experiments to increase the life of mice. The leading cause of death in mice, like many other rodents, is breast cancer. If scientists, through anti-aging interventions (calorie restriction, taking rapamycin, etc.), extended the life of a mouse, this means that breast cancer appeared later and killed her later. In addition, all other possible causes of death were also pushed to a later date. All this confirms that the control of the aging process is of great importance for health and longevity.
Successful experiments to extend the lifespan of mice have shown that calorie restriction, rapamycin, and other methods can slow aging and increase lifespan by delaying the onset of breast cancer and other causes of death.
Why is it possible to stop aging?
Then there are mammals that age so slowly that it just doesn't look like aging: more scientifically, it's called "negligible aging." Some animals, such as bowhead whales, naked African mole rats, and Brandt's bats, exhibit this phenomenon. While most animals, including humans, experience an increased risk of death as they age, the opposite is true for these mammals.
Scientists have noticed that we often assume that all animals grow old and die just like us, but in reality this is not the case. Most people do not pay attention to death and aging until it affects them personally. For example, many people are more interested in cancer because they see how it affects their loved ones, but they don't think about how animals age in nature.
This attitude towards death and aging was explored by Freud, who argued that the thought of death visits people in early childhood and can cause trauma, which then heals. But this does not mean that we should ignore and avoid these topics. The study of slow aging in mammals could lead to new discoveries and understanding of aging processes in general, which could lead to the development of new treatments and longer lifespans.
And while you can't stop the aging process right now, you can influence how it affects your health and your life. By following healthy lifestyle tips, you can slow down the aging process and maintain good health for many years to come.