Ageing: Causes and Remidies

Ageing Process

We are all aware of what ageing is and how we see it. The wrinkles and spots in skin with dryness are a sign that we and our skin is getting old. It is all a process in which cells die and are recreated, called wear and tear.

The natural process of wear and tear 

Almost every cell and tissue in your body breaks down and is replaced on a regular basis. Bone is re-absorbed into the body and then renewed, cartilage in joints experiences wear and tear but is renewed, membranes of nerve and other cells are broken down and replaced. This natural process of wear and repair is going on all the time in your more than 60 trillion cells.

The process of growth and re-growth in bones, cartilage and other tissues is known as anabolic. The process of tissue breakdown is catabolic.

The first 20 years - growth in cells exceeds breakdown In approximately the first 20 years of life, rates of tissue-building greatly outstrip the rate of tissue breakdown, and we grow physically in size. This is known as 'anabolic dominance.

Between 20 and 50 - balanced wear and repair Then comes a period - typically the third and fourth decades of life - where the processes of breakdown and repair are more or less in balance. There is little apparent change, but under the surface tissues and organs are constantly renewing themselves.

Over 50 - wear starts to exceed repair

Finally there comes a period when wear exceeds repair - a condition known as 'catabolic dominance'. Arteries begin to fur up, bones get weaker, cartilage thins, brain and other cells start to malfunction. Symptoms of degenerative disease appear and we begin to age - sometimes rapidly.

How To Slow Down the Aging Process

There are so many little things that you can do to slow downthe aging process. With our lifestyle, we are probably doing the exact opposite. Implement some of these changes into your daily life and watch the clock slow down.

Eliminate unnecessary sugars from your diet. Empty calories lead to excess weight. And that means less energy.

Wipe out as many of the stress causing things in your life as possible. Research is already pointing to stress as a cause for wrinkles, not to mention a host of other ailments.

Use an adequate amount of sunblock. Apparently most people don't use nearly enough. And, it is just as important to use it in the winter as in the summer.

Get a good night's sleep. It is more important you can could ever imagine. The body's maintenance is taking place as you dream good dreams. (See tip 1)

Join a gym. It is the easiest way to exercise. You meet people, get to play on equipment you don't have at home, and feel good the rest of the day.

Feeling down in the dumps? Researchers have found that the scent of cinnamon buns does an amazing job of lifting the spirits. Works for me! Do something you enjoy. For me, it's stretching out in the den on a lazyboy, listening to Enya and closing my eyes for 10 minutes.

Increase your fruits and veggies to between 5 and 7 servings a day. Not only can they reduce your chances of getting some forms of cancer, they are easy on the waistline.

Learn to laugh. Every morning my family reads the comics. It's as simple as that!

Learn to do nothing or at least learn to sit quietly and do nothing but observe. It is actually quite healthy.

10 WAYS TO SLOW DOWN THE AGING PROCESS

Some Important things you can do to slow ageing are:

(1) Add more antiaging chemicals to your diet.

There is a group of substances known as "antioxidants" that helps greatly in keeping you young. They neutralize what scientists call "free radicals". Free radicals set off a chain reaction that can kill cells, tear holes in cell membranes, mutate DNA which is the mastermind of cell activity.

Two known antioxidants are Vitamin A and C. The best source of Vitamin C are citrus fruits.Rich source of Vitamin A are carrots, squash, spinach and collard greens.

(2) Take a brisk walk every other day.

Walk fast for 20 minutes three or more days a week.Walking strengthens the bones in your lower half, making you less susceptible to osteoporosis. A brisk pace usually means covering a mile about 15 minutes . Briskwalking is a good alternative for those who are reluctant to do traditional aerobic exercises.

Aerobics exercises reduce your risk of heart disease by helping prevent high blood pressure, lowering artery-hardening cholesterol in your bloodstream and possibly decreasing blood clotting.

(3) Follow a fat-buster diet

The main health goal in cutting down fat content in the diet is to prevent

your vital arteries from clogging up with cholesterol. The standard advice has

been to shift from animal-based foods like meat and butter to vegetables. The

following foods have been recommended by nutritionists as fat-busters.

Polyunsaturated fats

Best source : sunflower-seed oil.. They tend to lower blood cholesterol levels.

* Water-soluble fiber, which binds with water and cholesterol components in the gastrointestinal tract, helps remove the cholesterol from the system. Best sources are beans and oat products and fruits with pectin such as oranges and apples.

Fish, particularly salmon and mackerel. They contain a component known as EPA ( eicosapentanoic acid), which nullifies the high fat content in fish.

 Nutritionists recommend that you eat fish at least three times a week. If you are really serious to lower your blood cholesterol , eat a standard portion of fish and a hefty portion of water-soluble fiber a day.

(4) Maintain a normal Body-Mass Index.

Body mass index is a measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to both adult men and women . Normal BMI ranges from 18.5 to 24.9. Overweight ranges from 25 to 29.9. Above 30 is considered as obesity.

If you are 20 percent over your ideal weight, you must drop some extra pounds. Being an overweight is a factor in adult-onset diabetes, heart disease and breast cancer.

(5) Build bone density and functional strength.

Most adults lose one percent of bone mass annually. As you lose bone minerals your bones become lighter, more porous, weaker and greater risk of fracture. You can increase bone density and strength with weight bearing exercises such as walking, bicycling, swimming or weight training. Take also Vitamin D to reduce the aging process of bones. Take 400 IU of Vitamin D daily or one tablespoon of cod liver oil.

(6) Stop Smoking.

According to British physician Douglas Model, (Member of the Royal College of Physicians), smokers tend to have at least one of the following: pronounced wrinkling and lines, gauntness or an off-color complexion. Dr. Model believes smoking ages looks by reducing the flow of blood to the skin.

(7) Clean up your dental act.

After 40, the main cause of tooth loss is periodontal or gum disease. The culprit: "plaque", a sticky film made up of bacteria, saliva, and food debris. Bacteria produce toxins that irritate gums, making them recede and form pockets. If the immune system of the body can't fight the bacterial invasion , the bones anchoring the teeth eventually erode and teeth fall out.

Brushing every after meal, and daily flossing will reduce plaque attacks. Teeth must be cleaned by dentist at least twice a year.

(8) Drink a lot of fluids to maintain healthy skin and flush out wastes.

Maintain at least eight 8-ounze glass of water a day.

(9) Manage your stress.

Stress accelerates the aging process. Eternally youthful celebrities like Andie Macdowell and Meryl Streep realize that managing stress level is key to looking younger for longer.

When we suffer stress we lose our body’s natural balance which causes damage to hormone secretion, cell repair, and collagen production. More worrying recent research suggests that when the body is exposed over a long period of time to stress hormones can speed up brain aging.

(10) Practice relaxing

Practice relaxing to lower down stress level in your body. Listening to a good music or watching a nice, wholesome television show will help a lot.