Birthdays are significant when you’re a kid. But as you grow older, you begin to dread your birthdays. They are a reminder that another year has gone by, and you have become a year older. As the years sneak up on you the thought of can you defy aging plagues you each time you look in the mirror.
With this growth, comes several biological mechanisms that lead to your deterioration of health. Slow reaction times, body aches, hair loss or balding, wrinkles, and numerous other disorders kick in. All signs of aging make you wish that you could reverse time and go back to your youthful, lively days.
Unfortunately, aging is inevitable, and we are all bound to get older. However, this does not mean all is lost. Although there is no way to live on our youthfulness forever, several studies have taken place to find techniques that will combat the process of aging. Although we would inevitably be growing older chronologically, it is possible to stop our biological deterioration in several ways.
The Theory of Genetics and Aging
Our genes dictate our lives in many ways and not only through appearance. Just like our eye color, height, and the ability to twist our tongue comes from our parents, so does our lifespan and the degradation of our physical body.
Research has shown that people who live longer also generally tend to have parents and ancestors that live longer. Further research in the Karolinska Institute in Sweden suggested that our aging and lifespan is dependent on mitochondrial DNA from our mothers.
There are three primary theories regarding the influence of genetics on aging. One theory claim that the aging of our body is dependent on the accumulation of genetic mutations that our body repairs.
A second theory refers that aging is only dependent upon specific genes and their effects that occur much later than usual.
A third theory suggests that aging is dependent on our environment, one that does not interfere with our life expectancy. Our environment can cause more members to have mutations that will stunt the aging process.
Therefore, it is clear that the evidence for the relation between genetics and aging is a strong one. However, it is also essential to keep in mind that aging is not dependent on genetics alone. Our environment, nutrition, and lifestyle can also have a substantial effect on our lifespan and our quality of health.
Can You Defy Aging?
There have been several studies carried out in the recent that delve into the topic of anti-aging and slowing down our biological clock. You can’t change the cells in your body but with your enviroment you can prevent the aging if you know what parts to prevent.
You can also know what parts of your body will age more quickly and make changes to prevent the cell damage and mutation.
In this article we will dive into some studies and enlighten you on ways that you can defy aging.
Manipulation of Telomere Length
Cells make up our body, and in the nucleus of our cells lies our DNA. Our DNA carries our genes which contain chromosomes, which determine the processes that will take place in our cells and therefore, our body.
However, the DNA in our nuclei is not invincible. They can often acquire damage – through age and environmental exposure. These damages occur as a result of oxidative stress, which means that the body does not have enough antioxidants to repair the damage in our DNA caused by free radicals.
Increasing our antioxidant intake and altering our enviroment can help to slow the aging process. But first we must have a better undestanding of what mutation takes place and what our DNA tells us uniquely about our bodies.
The shortening of telomeres damages our DNA. You can say that Telomeres are like tiny caps at the end of DNA strands that are responsible for the protection of our chromosomes. As we age, our cell divides, and our telomeres shorten. When telomeres become too short due to cell division, they cannot protect chromosomes anymore and leave them vulnerable to exposure and damage, causing an acceleration of the aging process.
However, recent studies carried out by researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine in California have discovered a technique that can increase the length of human telomeres, and thus protect our chromosomes for longer.
The method involved applying strands of modified RNA (which like, DNA, play a crucial role in carrying our biological and genetic information) to human cells. The results showed that these applications of RNA could increase the length of telomeres by 10% within a few days.
Telomere lengths can also be dependent upon nutrition. Studies have shown that a Mediterranean diet that is rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts, and olive oils and lowers on fats and meat can help increase the length of telomeres, and take you one step further in defying aging. So, once again changing your antioxitant intake and altering your enviroment is proven to make a difference.
Intake of Drug Cocktails
A study carried out by the biomedical firm Intervene Immune in Los Angeles uncovered some astonishing results when it came to aging.
As a part of a drug trial, nine healthy volunteers of age between 51 and 65 years, were given a mixture of a growth hormone, diabetes medication, and a hormone supplement. This study took place over a year. Each person took a “cocktail” drug a few times each week. Chemical tags formed on the DNA, which allowed them to calculate the results. The result suggested that men were 2.5 years younger than their actual age.
However, the study was carried out on a small scale of only 9 volunteers and lacked a control group. While these factors do add some doubt in the credibility of this study, there is still strong evidence to suggest that you can have control over your biological aging process and can affect how genes influence your body’s deterioration.
Gene Deletion
Research has also found particular genes and cells which, when removed, can improve your lifespan and produce a healthier body. A study carried out by the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and the University of Washington for ten years uncovered 238 cells, which, when removed, can boost your lifespan by 60%. WOW! No kidding, an increase of 60%!
By tracking how many ‘daughter’ cells a ‘mother’ cell produces in its lifetime, the research provided a clear view of how DNA and genes affect aging processes and opened new doors in the fields of anti-aging and healthier bodies.
We are not talking about the cells of your mother but rather a cell within you body that produces other cells known as daughter cells.
Although medical research does seem to make promising breakthroughs and the concept of reversing the process of aging is on the horizon, it will take a good many years before we can implement these findings on humans. In the meantime there is a solution to help prevent the signs of aging.
It is noteworthy that the aging and lifespan of humans do not depend upon genes alone. It is also influenced by environmental factors. Exercise, balanced nutrition, and knowing which parts of your body tend to age faster.
How To Prevent Aging Today
There is a way to combat aging and prevent the aging process. While the studies above will take years to develop, there is a way to help you today.
You can have a DNA swab test called GxRenew that will tell you where your body tends to age. Areas such as wrinkles, stretch marks, hearing, and memory, to name a few.
With the results of your unique DNA swab test, you will receive suggestions to prevent the signs of aging. These are tips for you to follow like ways to avoid wrinkles and food choices high in specific vitamins that will help to keep you mentally sharp.
While we are waiting for science to develop the above studies and make them available to the public, you can look younger over the years to come. You can prevent the signs of aging when you know what your body needs.
Here at DNA is the Way we provide the tools for you to know how your body will age. DNA testing is now readily available to you, the consumer, through a simple cheek DNA swab test of the saliva from inside your mouth. When the results of your DNA testing come back a trained DNA staff member will go over the results with you. You will have specific bio markers that say how you will age along with suggestions on how to slow the aging process.
Why wait years for the results of the studies above to become available to the public when you can begin today?
You may have questions about DNA and the testing we do. I am here for you and will answer any questions. Please leave all questions and comments in the comment section below.