Ageing: The impact of genes and environmental factors

Textual data provided by Dr. Jose Luis Diaz Casal (MP: 17 758 / 6), responsible for programs of Antiaging Medicine "LifeXtension" and "Revita Shock” from Diquecito Sanitarium.

• "Throughout history, humans have constantly searched for the key to eternal youth. In many ways, man has always expressed its discontent with the physical and mental deterioration, and has inquired about options that guarantee a long and healthy life. "

• "But the road that leads to longevity is complex, especially in the postmodern. Numerous environmental factors to which our predecessors were not exposed, endangering the welfare of the human body and accelerating weathering processes, among them extreme stress and damage caused by the overuse of certain technological tools. "

• "However, there are theories that link aging to a purely genetic factor, regardless of the environment. This, again according to these theories, allows people to know how quickly they will get old. "

Aging and genetics

• "Among the theories of aging are two major components: deterministic or pure genetic theories and epigenetic theories."

• "The first consider the genes as the only responsible for aging. While the last one, taking into account the role of genes, provides an important role to environmental factors. We can therefore say that aging would have a genetic basis but at the same time, there are factors strongly influencing the process of wear of the body. "

• "Some theories, such as “Hayflick mitotic limit”, say that cells would have a biological clock that marked the number of divisions or mitosis that are able to take over their lives, a number that would be directly related to individual's age. This means that if we could read perfectly the genes, we could know how long we could expect to live. However, one thing is what a researcher detected in a laboratory and another thing is when the body comes under review in relation to the environment. "

• "We understand that there are a number of extrinsic factors that can accelerate or not the mitosis. In addition, there may be other mutations that cause cells to alter their rate of division, thus changing the times of aging. "

Free radicals

• "Another theory that has proven useful for understanding the complex processes of aging is referred to the production of free radicals called Theory of oxidation."

• "Free radicals are chemical derived from oxygen, produced continuously in cell metabolism as a result of using oxygen for energy production. In other words, they are wastes of cell metabolism that produce undesirable effects on the body including aging and death. "

• "The proper functioning of our body relies on a delicate balance between the amount of oxidants and antioxidant defense that we have to neutralize them. Therefore, the more antioxidants, the more capacity we will have to protect against the negative actions of these free radicals. "

The three pillars of anti-aging medicine

• "The Anti-aging medicine program that we have been applying in Diquecito Sanatorium, is based on three pillars. These are nutrition, physical activity and mental and emotional stress management.”

• "When we talk about nutrition, we are talking about a diet based on the integration of important macro and micronutrients for the body. In referring to the physical and mental activity, meanwhile, we understand that it must be progressive, regulated and supervised. When we talk about stress management, on the other hand, we refer to promote a proper attitude before the various situations of life, not letting them alter our health and deteriorate the state of our body. "

• "Focusing on nutrition, there is close relationship with the aging process. In that sense, the ideal diet should be high in antioxidants, which can be found mainly in vegetables, fruits, grains and seeds. "

• "This power must be accompanied by a healthy environment as possible (free of smog, ionizing radiation, noise nuisance). People who live in families, eat with family, eat light, and incorporate foods of many colors (they mark the presence of large amounts of antioxidants), have an enormous advantage over those with other eating habits. "

Foods that contribute to accelerated aging

• "There are a number of commonly consumed foods, according to studies, that contribute to the acceleration of the aging process. Among them are red meat, high in fat, saturated fat foods, fried foods, sugar and other refined carbohydrates and all packaged products containing trans fats. They should be consumed in small quantities. "

The 10 essential nutrients to live longer and better

There are a number of essential nutrients to help counteract the wear process of the body cell. These are:

1 – Alpha lipoic acid. It is a potent antioxidant. Helps to increase blood insulin levels, among others. It is found in spinach, broccoli and peas.

2 – Amino acids. In general, stimulate the bactericidal activity of macrophages, and in the particular case of arginine, it stimulates the release of growth hormone, insulin and glucagon. These amino acids are:

• Arginine. It is found in fish, nuts, hard-shelled fruits and eggplant.
• Tyrosine. It is found in milk and dairy products, eggs, brown rice and black beans.
• Lysine. It is found in cheese, eggs, fish and chicken.
• Carnitine. It is found in eggs, fish, meat and milk.

3 – Antioxidants. Work by neutralizing free radicals. Found in fish, soy, oats, garlic, colored fruits and vegetables (grapes, apples, plums and carrots), dark chocolate and red wine.

4 – Chromium Picolinate. Potentiates the action of insulin at the cellular level. It is found in broccoli, potato, apple, banana, grape juice and orange juice.

5 – Coenzyme Q10. Strengthens the immune system and protects the cardiovascular system. It is found in salmon, sardines, spinach, peanuts and beef.

6 – Omega 3. Decreases the incidence of cardiovascular disease and has beneficial effects on the brain. It is found in salmon, tofu, squash, olive oil, spinach.

7 – Glucosamine. Encourages the development of cartilage tissue. It is used to treat osteoarthritis. It is found in the exoskeleton of crustaceans and other arthropods, and some fungi.

8 – Green tea. Contains powerful polyphenols antioxidant and is antibacterial. It is obtained from the Camellia Sinensis.

9 – Pomegranate. It is rich in antioxidants, trace elements and vitamin C. It has, among others, diuretic and antihypertensive properties.

10 – Vitamin D. Involved in the regulation of calcium and phosphorus levels in blood. It is found in dairy, eggs, sardines, tuna and fruits like banana.

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