Most people just shrug and accept aging as something that can’t be avoided – like death and taxes. Perhaps we haven’t figured out how to cheat death yet, but recent scientific discoveries have shown that common conceptions of aging are largely mistaken.
For most species on the planet (as well as humans until quite recently) it was unlikely to survive long enough to die of simple “old age.” Events such as starvation, accident, being eaten by a predator, disease, and other causes were much more common reasons for death. So, it’s relatively recently, with increasing numbers of people living longer lives, that the role of phenomena such as free radicals has become important enough to study.
Free radicals are a special type of molecule with an extra electron that steals electrons from other molecules as it passes through your bloodstream, causing damage to your body’s cells. The exact role of free radicals is still uncertain, and much research is still being done, but studies have established that the presence of free radicals plays a key role in the progress of diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, hypertension, and other age-related issues.
Free radicals cause progressive damage to the body’s tissue and functioning, thereby increase the rate of aging. However, a good stress response is known to be effective in fighting off the free radicals, which in turn slows down the aging process and increases your lifespan.
In addition, there are a number of substances that function as anti-oxidants that work to bind the unstable free radicals and render them harmless. Many of these substances will be discussed further on in this book, but they include vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, grape seed extract, and melatonin.
Some researchers have focused on DNA which is, effectively, the blueprint for our individual body, and is inherited from our parents. One theory is that our individual code causes us to age at a predetermined rate, possibly to keep humans from overpopulating the planet. But it is thought that this apparently pre-coded genetic clock can be slowed down, causing us to age much more slowly. This can be accomplished mainly by improving our diet and general lifestyle, and avoiding pollution and other environmental toxins as much as possible.
Scientists have also found a direct link that links the presence of excessive fat in your body with the process of aging. Studies found a direct correlation between excess fat and cellular aging i.e. that the more that someone weighs, the faster their cells age. The exact mechanism by which this process happens is uncertain, but possibly the fat cells weaken and possibly destroy important genetic structures.
It was found that being overweight might effectively make a person up to nine years older in biological terms! So many of the most common health problems we encounter later in life, such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and other greater and lesser maladies, may occur as a result of fat cells hurrying up the process of aging.