Causes of aging   Leave a comment

What Causes Aging?

Anti-aging research has discovered that cellular aging does not always correspond to the actual chronological aging of people. This is because other factors may influence the rate of telomere degradation in addition to its normal wear and tear. Unhealthy diet and infection for example, significantly wear down telomeres. This makes telomeres a good indicator of a person‚ of health and wellness.

A standard telomere test, for example, compares people‚ of chronological ages with the length of telomeres in their cells. Ordinarily, the test does not only measure cell aging but also offers insights into people’s health in terms of risks to certain diseases and the body’s capability of responding to certain drugs. Because telomeres are affected by a person’s lifestyle choices, they may experience different aging rates: normal, accelerated, delayed. Unnaturally short telomeres have been linked to sedentary lifestyles and minimal intakes of beneficial nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. In addition, stress, trauma exposure, depression, and psychiatric disorders have been found to also unnaturally shorten the length of telomeres.

Telomeres are extremely important in any scientific discussion of aging, and their effective management may be a key to extending human lifespan. Telomeres are the compound structures‚ often described as bookends or caps‚ that are found at the end of a chromosome (chromosomes are a strand of DNA). Telomeres aid in cell division, help protect chromosomes, and restrict them from fusing into rings or combining with other DNA. However, as cells age, telomeres become shorter and gradually loses their ability to aid in cell reproduction. In time, telomeres become too short to allow cells to replicate.

When cells lose the ability to divide and replicate themselves, they die. In multi-cellular organisms, this process constitutes aging. In humans, cells replicate around 50 times before they lose the ability to help cells replicate. When cells cease to reproduce, they enter into a state called cell senescence‚ a condition similar to human aging. Upon discovering this telomere property, researchers today are able to determine a cell’s age based on the length of the telomere. Hence, the close study of telomeres has become an important field in anti-aging research.

Some of the causes of premature telomere length reduction are preventable and/or manageable. In addition, research indicates that telomeres are the only component of the genome that can be directly changed by lifestyle choices. Apparently, the main cause is stress and your response to stress determines the health consequences. If you want to prevent the premature degradation of your telomeres, then you might want to adopt effective stress management techniques. These include upgrading your coping strategies, exercising, and a way to prevent negative responses to stress.

About the Author
James is a writer for the website ChronicFatigueTreatments.com. The site centers around certain topics like fatigue, adrenal issues, and thyroid disorders.

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