The Role of Nutrition on Aging 2024
1. Chronological Age vs Biological Age
Chronological age is the age that is marked by your "birthday", i.e. how old you are according to your birth certificate.
Biological age is the age your "body" is and can be measured by parameters such as lean body mass, insulin resistance, cholesterol levels and exercise capacity. We all age but unfortunately, for many people their bodies wear out prematurely decades too soon.
2. Markers of Biological Age
- Muscle Mass
- Muscle Strength
- Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
- Body Fat Percentage
- Aerobic Capacity
- Blood Sugar Tolerance
- Cholesterol HDL/LDL Ratio
- Blood Pressure
- Bone Density
- Body's Ability to Regulate Temperature
3. Causes of Premature Aging
There are many culprits but below are just some to mention..
- Chronic Stress
- Poor dietary habits
- Excessive alcohol and smoking
- Inactivity
- Obesity
- Chronic illness
4. How to Prevent Aging
To preserve our youthfulness for eternity, our body's anti-aging system need to function at the optimum levels. The system consists of three interdependent mechanisms, namely protection, repair, renewal/regeneration.
a. Protection
Referring to the body's ability to protect its "healthy cells" from destruction by harmful free radicals. The better the ability of the body protecting its healthy cells the longer and healthier our lives are.
The nutrients needed for protection are fat soluble antioxidants like Vitamin E, EPO and Borage Oil.
b. Repair
Referring to the body's ability to repair the cells that have been damaged by free radicals and other environmental hazards.
The higher the capacity of repairing the worn out cells, the lesser appearance of the signs of aging. especially the tell-tales signs of premature aging, such as chronic fatigue, wrinkles, pigmentation, dry and rough skin etc.
The nutrients needed for repair include..
- Water soluble antioxidants like Vitamin C
- Intracellular antioxidants like Vitamin A
- Extracellular antioxidants
- Enzymes, phospholipids and amino acids like aloe vera and spirulina
c. Renewal/Regeneration
Referring to the body's ability to replace the "irreparable or dead cells" with fresh new young cells.
The more efficient the body is in replacing this dead cells the lesser chances of the body developing those chronic degenerative diseases, such as arthritis, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes etc.
It also means that our appearance will looks so much "younger" due to the lower build-up of waste materials and the body's ability to rejuvenate itself.
The nutrients needed for regeneration include DNA substrate materials, stem cells and placenta products.
5. Telomeres
Telomeres are part of our DNA and has been shown that their length is directly related to aging. Telomeres are found at the ends of each arm of the DNA. They are like endcaps, keeping the DNA together during replication.
The telomeres are made up of around 15,000 bases at the conception of a new human being. Each time the cells replicate, the telomeres shorten a bit. The process of replication shortens the telomeres.
If there were no telomeres, the DNA would be shortened and the vital information would be lost and life would not be possible at all. So telomeres play a very important role in providing protection to the DNA. When they reach the length of around 5,000 bases, the cells begin to die and eventually we die as well.
Telomere shortening is a direct sign of aging. It is important to note that this is not the only reason why we age. There are several processes going on at the same time but telomere length is a direct indication of the age of a person.
a. Telomerase
The enzyme telomerase has the ability to lengthen the telomere by synthesizing DNA from an RNA primer. Some anti-aging researchers and scientist believe that by using nutrition to lengthen the telomeres, humans can live longer.
6. Nutrition and Telomere Length
To understand how nutrition helps to improve telomere health and length we must understand what is "methylation". This is the process of donating a methyl group (a CH3 molecule) to the genetic material of the telomere. This process marks the telomeres for proper and health and functioning of the telomeres.
In order to achieve this methylation, the body needs methyl donors. One methyl donor is Adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe). SAMe is available as a supplement but it is better to let your body build it naturally using the building-block nutrients such as methionine, MSM sulfur, choline and trimethylglycine.
7. Best Supplements for Telomeres / Anti Aging
You can get all these nutrients from a good multivitamin, along with some sulfur-rich protein such 25 whey protein, eggs, cottage cheese, dairy, red meat, chicken, legumes, duck, nuts, and seeds. Eggs contain more choline than any other food source.
a. Antioxidants
Antioxidants reduce the amount of free radicals, which can damage the telomeres.
b. Magnesium
Magnesium is important for enzymes that help in DNA replication. A study found that magnesium deprivation causes rapid loss of telomere length. The adequate amount of magnesium is from 400-800mg per day but sadly there is a lot of magnesium deficiency in our diet.
c. Zinc
Zinc is another mineral that helps DNA repair. Lack of Zinc leads to excessive breakage of DNA strands. The minimum amount of Zinc you need is 15mg per day with the maximum being 50mg to 75mg for women and men respectively.
d. Carnosine
Carnosine is an antioxidant that contains zinc and has been shown to reduce the rate of telomere depletion in human fibroblast cells and extend their longevity. It is also a good brain antioxidant.
e. Vitamins
Certain vitamins have also been known to help in maintaining telomere length. Vitamin C has been found to slow the loss of telomere length in human endothelial cells. Vitamin D fights inflammation and supports telomere length. Vitamin E especially tocotrienols, has been shown to actually restore telomere length in human fibroblast cells. They also help in restoring damaged DNA.
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