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Must Read: How Our Bodies Age (And What You Can Do About It)

washingtonpost.com — Aging is the natural wear and tear of the body's component parts. It's inevitable, and endlessly intriguing. While many age-related changes cannot be prevented, a lifestyle that includes exercise and a well-balanced diet will slow or minimize many problems related to aging.

Who dugg this? Made popular Jul 13, 2008

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  • themonkman, on 07/13/2008, -0/+17The aging process is pretty obvious. The body ages when there are not potent enough adult stem cells to replace dead and damaged cells, particularly cells that have reached the capacity of their telometers which determine when programmed cell death is to occur. Over time as your body breaks down from a accumulation of dead and damaged cells, your bodies ability to create enough stems cells to replace them decreases as well. Certain cells, like those which have become cancerous, will continue to grow and divide at an unnatural pace, thus becoming malignant. The reason for programmed cell death is that if a cell grows old enough, it's DNA becomes damaged and could potentially become malignant. Many factors weigh in on this, such as the effect of excess free radicals in the body. Vitamin C is an antioxidant which mops up free radicals, but it is not the holy grail of preventing cell damage. The body still must replace cells that will inevitably become damaged over the course of time and natural oxidation.

    In short, if we could grow a culture of pluripotent or totipotent stem cells that are differentiated to become specific cell lines and successfully deliver those stem cells to affected areas of the human body, we could augment the bodies natural process of accumulating too many dead and damaged cells and potentially prolong life. The trick is creating such stem cells that once they become a specific cell line that they continue to divide and self destruct appropriately. If they don't, then your risk of cancer increases exponentially. There are several companies that are working on such technologies, such as PrimeGen Biotech (www.primegenbiotech.com).
  • notoneofus, on 07/13/2008, -1/+9"Meant to" implies some sort of divine plan or purpose to the present human lifespan.

    There is no such thing. This is just the way our bodies function at the moment, but there's no good reason to leave things the way they are.
  • Simus, on 07/13/2008, -0/+8No study to date has shown a positive effect from extremely high doses of Vitamin C, so this is very inaccurate to say the least.
  • longtext, on 07/13/2008, -2/+10I've always been of the position that scientists will have discovered the secret to immortality by the time i'm 50, so it's best not to worry about these things.
  • inactive, on 07/12/2008, -3/+8The human body is not meant to "re-grow" in the sense that you mean...it's meant to replenish, and sustain life for a limited amount of time
  • themonkman, on 07/13/2008, -0/+5Extremely high doses over a prolonged period of time can also cause chronic conjunctivitis, and also cause your bones to become soft and malformed, especially during large growth spurts during early childhood and adolescents. This can happen from doses as little as 2000mg/day. It is also hard on the kidneys and liver to filter out the excess. The body will naturally expel and pass overdoses of vitamin C through the urine, which is why if you take a bunch of Airborne or other Vitamin C supplement, your urine will have a distinct smell and reddish color.
  • sk11, on 07/13/2008, -1/+5Hmm, so how is research into bionics coming along?
  • xerexes1, on 07/13/2008, -1/+4I understand why people would want to live a long, healthy, disease free life. What I fail to grasp, is this limited science fiction version of 'immortality'. Smooth skin, cancer free, strong bones and muscles will not guarantee you live a long life. I hate to be a downer, but you will die.

    The universe will not last forever (so forget about zipping off to another galaxy), and good luck when the sun goes nova (if you managed to survive the complete irradiation and lack of atmosphere on the surviving pieces of Earth).



  • WoollyMittens, on 07/13/2008, -1/+4The source of the problem is your own chromosomes. Every time a cell divides your genetic material gets copied. If you picture your genetic material as a very long ticker tape that gets transcribed, imagine the very end getting cut off a little shorter each time.

    Your chromosomes have a tail like that called a "telomer". With each copy it is left a little shorter. When it gets too short, the cell doesn't divide anymore. When enough cells wear out like that, your body can't replace the cells that get damaged from the wear and tear of everyday life. Your body has to do with less and less cells until it can't function anymore.

    After around halfway through your 20's your body starts to lose more cells than it can replace.

    So the harder you live, the shorter you live.
  • WoollyMittens, on 07/13/2008, -0/+3When the secret to biological immortality is discovered, you are very likely to die from being shot, hit by cars or disease before you hit 200 anyway.
  • bipolarruledout, on 07/13/2008, -0/+31980 called and they want their article back. Not one mention of antioxidants anywhere.
  • themonkman, on 07/13/2008, -0/+3Nope. Actually I work in bioinformatics for a non-profit cancer center. I just happen to know about this company from several conferences I've been to.
  • SilentSpyder, on 07/13/2008, -0/+3This is depressing.
  • chaos7, on 07/13/2008, -0/+2getting old sucks
  • MortalynFlux, on 07/13/2008, -0/+2Age is viewed by some as disease. It's actually a mechanism that nature kicks in. Nature has always favored the group over the individual.
  • VitriolAndAngst, on 07/13/2008, -0/+2Other than the graphics, this is a re-hash of the obvious nutrition/exercise concepts. Doesn't really make any revelations, nor really do anything to improve the length of your life.

    I would have thought they'd actually get into some cutting edge ideas. Or even something like; "Does having a routine or breaking one help make you live longer?"

    And come on, the same old nutrionist crap about vitamins? Omega fatty acids are some of the most important compounds--absent here. The source and quality of your food is way more important than just simple vitamin load. "Eat more fiber." Should I get that in an apple or cardboard?

    Seems like a filler article that staff writers make to pay the bills. Why did this make the front page?
  • catkillcurious, on 07/14/2008, -0/+2How do you know when you're getting older? When you start digging aging-related articles.
  • crazyjake, on 07/13/2008, -3/+4man, i really hope we make progress with robotics. that way i can put my brain (or the contents of my brain) into the robot and be a crazy ninja robot!!!
  • beauley, on 07/14/2008, -0/+1For a few decades now, the U.S. has been advocating and implementing irradiation of some of our foods, mainly ground beef, chicken and as of late, many of our fruits and vegetables. During much of this time period, public reaction has been predominantly against it and many consumer advocates hope to eventually topple our governments efforts.
    http://www.gomestic.com/Consumer-Information/Shoul ...
    Should We Irradiate Our Foods?
  • inactive, on 07/13/2008, -1/+2But with all the advances in nanotechnologies, bioengineering and medical technology, it's inevitable in at least 100 years that humans will come close to reversing or at least halting degradation to certain parts of our body.
  • liuite, on 07/13/2008, -1/+2many of the so called "signs of aging" are not part of the natural process. we are consuming way more sugar than a few decades ago, and the browning of foods is causing sugar-protein cross-linking which is unhealthy...look up Maillard effect or read "Ageless face, Ageless mind.
  • Requeim, on 07/14/2008, -0/+1Health is wealth, so get rich information on health and medical treatments for all health problems under one roof. Get insurance tips to protect your health rights.
    Healthpoints.info provides information and in-depth information about hundreds of medical conditions. The site helps you take control and lead an active life. Free health tips, medical basics, fitness related advice and health recipes are the other segments of the site which are unique. The content and articles are written by experts in the field of medicine. Specialist resource, support groups and drug store make this site stand apart from the rest of its kind.
    Visit http://www.healthpoints.info for more health related information. Whether you are seeking information or would like to know about the places where you can get treatments for your problems, this is the place to get reliable information about symptoms and treatments.
  • nobody98, on 07/13/2008, -0/+1Eat healthy, exercise more.
  • Craigistired, on 07/14/2008, -0/+1Doesn't talk about sleep habits.
  • inactive, on 07/13/2008, -1/+2Not if you never leave the house.
  • aukxsona, on 07/13/2008, -0/+1If your taking THAT much vitamin C it's too much. I have always taken 500 mg a day and when ill 1000mg MAY BE 2000mg. Only for short periods. I have never had this issue.
  • soinie, on 07/13/2008, -1/+1People who do yoga and the inverted asanas age a lot slower than those who don't. And all of the lengthening and stretching exercises tend to defy the height loss and turkey neck you see on older people, especially women.
  • netmedi1, on 01/30/2009, -0/+0ones lifestyle can contribute to how fast or slow you are aging. besides it's a natural evolution that people age and it depends on you on how you slow it down. that said, not only your body, face or even the function of your brain/memory. there are good articles about these on the health section of http://www.lifestylegalore.net
  • atliberty2say, on 07/13/2008, -2/+2'a lifestyle that includes exercise and a well-balanced diet will slow or minimize many problems related to aging' - WOW!
  • Gazzali, on 07/13/2008, -0/+0stop worrying will one of the reason
  • jwolcott, on 07/13/2008, -2/+2P.S. And you're their PR Director.
  • superclucky, on 07/14/2008, -0/+0There's no powerful antioxidants :(
    Also being the anorexic bitch I am, I'm probably making myself age faster by reducing meal intake.
    I need to change this haaaabit.
  • PilotHead, on 07/13/2008, -1/+0how to improve yourself while aging? put down the damn twinkies.
  • inactive, on 07/13/2008, -1/+0Take some Asian DNA supplements:-)

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