Society is aging and we are all getting older. Over the years, the aging process seems to slow down. To paint a picture, 1200 BC (VC) we became an average of 26 years old, in the year 1900, an average of 46 years and in 2015 we will be 81 years old in the Netherlands. A study in 2012 showed that worldwide there are 316,600 people over the age of 100, also known as Cetenarians. And every year this group increases by 5.5% and most of them are living in the so called Blue zones World. These are areas located in Okinawa Japan, Sardinia Italy, Icaria Greece, Nicoya Peninsula Costa Rica and Loma Linda United States.
What do they do differently? They are all active every day, both physically and mentally, have social contacts, eat a lot of vegetables, fruit and nuts, do not smoke and occasionally have a glass of wine. Is it really that simple and how far is science in delaying the inevitable? In recent years, great leaps have been made and new discoveries have been made in the aging process. Both our DNA and external influences such as stress, poor diet, little sleep, smoking, ultraviolet light, air pollution can accelerate the aging process.
Aging process at the cellular level
What the scientists have found is that these influences cause your cells to exhaust earlier and lead to senescence (=aging). Senescence is now the focus of scientists and anti-aging start-up companies. In the literature, senescent (aging) cells are also referred to as ‘zombie’ cells. Zombie cells are living cells that have been completely given out and actually do nothing. These cells are everywhere and organs and still have metabolism.
It turns out that these zombie cells are emitting ‘SOS’ signals in the environment. These ‘SOS’ signals, also known as pro-inflammatory cytokines or inflammatory substances, are intended to warn your own immune system and aim to clear up the zombie cells. If the inflammatory substances go too far and also affect neighboring ‘healthy’ cells and even tissue/organs, old age complaints arise such as joint complaints, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, eye problems, osteoporosis, cancer, dementia, etc.
Scientists recently discovered that when you remove zombie cells from mice, the mice live longer and have almost no age-related ailments. It is even possible to achieve this effect in older mice. Mice are not humans, of course, but there are some nutrients that may have a beneficial effect in humans to clear zombie cells:
Fisetine – strawberries, apples, grapes
Isothiocyanate – broccoli
Resveratrol – grapes
Hydroquinone – grapes
Catechol – apples, potato, apricots, avocado
Curcuma – curcuma
Lycopene – tomato
Carotenoids (zeaxanthin and lutein) – kale, lamb’s lettuce, bell pepper
Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) – green tea
Quercetin – grapes, red raspberries
Piperlongumine: Asian Long pepper
Genistein – alfalfa, soy, fava beans, peas
These nutrients above activate your body’s own anti-oxidant mechanisms
Caution is advised with large amounts of green tea
(EGCG) extract. There are medical situations known that a high dose, more than the recommended dose per day, of EGCG extract can cause liver disorders.
And a recent discovery is NOT to use turmeric when you are taking tamoxifen (chemotherapy for breast cancer). The effect of tamoxifen is dramatically reduced by turmeric.
Advice it is better to eat a varied diet.
Slowing down the aging process is therefore important from the inside out: nutrition, sports, fasting are important, but so is skin care. Also read anti-aging skin care from a dermatological point of view. Our largest organ the skin we can take care of with the right rituals.
Anti-aging for an anti-oxidant skin boost and Spotreducer to reduce early spots and spots: more info about this – our products.
Literature
Scudellari M. To stay young, kill zombie cells. Nature. 2017 Oct 24;550:448-450.