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Causes why we age and 8 guidelines to do it in the best way


Staying active is essential Credit: Ignacio Sánchez

Aging is not a disease in itself, although little by little it begins to be seen as such. The fact is that nobody likes to grow old. What happens is that it has to be clear: it is something that we all have to go through, we are programmed for it, it is a physiological process.

Why does this happen?

In an interview with Infosalus, Dr. Ángel Durántez, pioneer of Age Management Medicine in Spain, explains that until now this theory has always been raised, that we are programmed for aging, which is known among other points as

“programmed senescence”

, and for which the human being, like animals, has a biological clock by which he must be born, grow, reproduce and die.

On the other hand, he affirms that there is another group of theories that say that we are not programmed to grow old, but rather that aging occurs due to the accumulation of damage in our cells after what we are experiencing. In his opinion, probably both things happen, and this was recognized in 2013 by a study published in the journal Cell, in which a group of researchers led by the Spanish Carlos López Otín established guidelines on the causes of aging, entitled The Hallmarks of Aging.

“For the first time in this scientific work, the

9 molecular indicators of aging in mammals

such as genomic instability, depletion of stem cells, cellular senescence, or epigenetic alterations, among others, “stresses the proactive preventive medicine expert.

On the occasion of the publication of

Young at 100

(The Sphere of the Books), Durántez maintains that until 30-40 years the human being usually remains free of diseases, although from then on it is when the first “ailments” begin to appear. For this reason, he sees it vital to always take care of himself, always maintain a healthy lifestyle, but fundamentally from that age on, because, he shares,

“what you do from 30 to 40 will determine your old age”

.

To this day, the specialist says that scientists maintain that the aging process is closely linked with what the WHO has classified as

“chronic noncommunicable diseases”

, those that usually arise from the 30-40s: cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, neurodegenerative diseases, sarcopenia, osteopenia, loss of strength or frailty, among others; “and that we will all suffer sooner or later.”

These are related to the aging process, he says, and we will have some before and others after depending on two factors:

our genetics

, what is written in our genes; and then our ambioma, epigenetics, or how those genes are expressed, which depends on our interrelation with the environment, with how we treat our life, what are our life habits (toxic, nutrition, sleep, rest, exercise) and how it treats us (more linked to fear, stress, anxiety), as well as the attitude we have towards life, or the contamination we suffer from, “says the also member of the Spanish Society of Anti-Aging and Longevity Medicine.


Having a positive attitude, another key
Having a positive attitude, another key Source: Reuters – Credit: Nacho Doce

Thus, it specifies that as time passes, the ambioma outweighs the genome and for this reason, for example

in a 3-year-old boy the genome has a lot of weight

, but one of 65 has had a long time for the ambioma to impact his health, because he has been a drinker or smoker or sedentary for a long time.

On the symptoms of the aging process, Dr. Durántez points among others to

decreased neurocognitive ability

, from physical capacity, sleep disturbance, decreased libido and sexual function, wrinkles, brittle hair, decreased immune system function, anthropometric disturbances, or by example to the decrease in muscle mass.

Here the also doctor of Medicine from the Autonomous University of Madrid remarks that “the human being can act on the ambioma adopting the best lifestyles as far as we can, so that

we can postpone aging

That is why he remembers that in 2009 Dr. Elisabeth Blackburn won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for her studies of telomeres, in which she demonstrated, among other theories, that if stress was managed, aging could be delayed, along of course with good nutrition. , exercise, or meditation, for example.

WHAT CAN WE DO TO BETTER AGE AND LIVE LONGER

With all this, the Spanish pioneer of Age Management Medicine lists the main points on which we can act in our lives today to live longer and better, and ultimately, age in the best and healthiest way possible, and that fundamentally enacted in his book

1. Always keep a positive attitude

before life, that emotional balance is the most important.

2. Movement, physical activity, walking

Climbing stairs, not taking the elevator, walking to places. Also exercise, physical exertion by yourself, and going for a run, or to the gym to lift weights, or to a group gym class; and then there would be sport, which already has rules.

“It is very important because with the minimum we could erase the lack of action in other subsequent pillars. According to the WHO, in adults, they are

walk five days a week at a fast pace about 30 minutes

, and more than two days a week do a muscle toning exercise chart. The famous 10,000 steps a day that we do not even reach today, “laments the expert.

In fact, he expresses his concern for all the time that we remain seated, a very high risk factor for many diseases, and closely linked to not meeting those minimums established by the WHO. ”

The more you always move, the better ”

, affirms the expert and also a member of the Spanish Society of Sports Medicine.

3. Nutrition.

The Mediterranean diet is the most recommended and it is vital to avoid processed and ultra-processed foods, in addition to lowering the glycemic index of the diet, reducing sugars, not only white sugar, but also refined flours.

4. Sleep and rest are vital

.

5. Avoid toxics like tobacco, alcohol and drugs.

6. Food supplementation when necessary.

7. Bioidentical Hormone Optimization Therapy

, whenever an expert considers it.

8. Measurement.

It is not necessary to wait for the symptoms of the diseases to arrive, but rather to prevent them from controlling biomarkers (sugar, blood pressure, among others), such as their evolutionary follow-up throughout life, and always looking for the values of excellence.

“For example, in BMI, being between 18 and 25 is considered normal, although

it will always be better for your health to be between 20-22

, that in the 24-25; with cholesterol it is better to have 150 of cholesterol than 200 although both are normal values, since from 220 it is considered that there is a problem with cholesterol, “he says.

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