AGING

AGING
AGING. Most people are afraid of it. In reality it is a natural, physiological process. With technology today some people are lucky enough to either slow down this unfortunate process or just fake their appearances with surgeries and procedures. When you age, not only your appearances change, but the insides of your bodies, and even the choices you make are different from the ones you would have made when you were once a kid. AGING IS CAUSED BY GENETICS AND LIFESTYLES


When it comes to genetics...cells are dividing which results in our telomeres becoming shorter with each division. The length of the telomeres at the ends of the chromosomes protect these genes from the tears that occur daily within our body. When we are born, the telomeres are of certain length. As stated before...as we age the telomeres get shorter due to the division of our cells. Eventually, cells lose their ability to divide and repair themselves. This is known as senescence. Unfortunately while the telomeres become shorter and shorter from this division process, sometimes the critical parts of DNA can be damaged following the new divisions.



Lifestyle choice plays a big role in aging too. In one study, The New England Centenarian included 850 people entering the ages of their 100s. They identified several behavioral and personality traits that are critical to longevity, and literally living life as long as possible. These included not smoking, being extroverted versus introverted, and easygoing and staying lean or in shape. It is very important to take care of your body over your life time. It can help maintain your youth. It has been known that becoming involved in risky lifestyle choices could speed up the aging process. Doctors everywhere always say how critical it is to exercise throughout the week. A lack of exercise can even increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Smoking is another big thing to stay away from. Smoking damanges your lungs and makes it harder to breathe but it also speeds up the rate at which telomeres decay. Because of this, your body will age at a faster rate than anyone would want.

The next VERY IMPORTANT factor of aging has to do with good cholesterol also known as  high-density lipoprotein (HDL).  FACT: People with higher levels of HDL tend to live longer. This is because the HDL removes the bad cholesterol and the LDL from the body. This is important because it helps decrease the risk of heart disease.