Aging is a vital part of life and is the biological, natural process of growing older. In other words, as the entire body ages, all internal biological processes are affected, as are any metabolic or other chemical processes occurring within the human body: The thinning of the body's hair and the slow but noticeable greying or silvering of the hair on the head are two of the easiest symptoms of ageing.
Our skin's state is another thing that changes as we age. The skin ages, gets less elastic, and is unable to maintain its tautness.
The most obvious symptoms of ageing are changes in the overall texture of the skin as well as the appearance of wrinkles and crow's feet around the eyes. Ageing affects internal calcium absorption, bone density, and the rate at which mineral ions are lost.
Along with sore joints, losing muscle mass and flexibility, becoming flabby and weak, the bones themselves losing strength, senility frequently setting in, and generally speaking, aside from our usual mental acuities, general memory decline are all signs of ageing. Joint pain is a side effect of bone density loss caused by a decrease in ions like calcium, and in certain situations, this discomfort is a clue that arthritis may be on the horizon.
When we reach our forties, our eyesight begins to degrade and decline in a number of ways, the most of which are rather common for older people. This is frequently the first victim of ageing. A reduction in immunity overall, which is the body's main line of defence against disease, is another characteristic impact of ageing on the human body. This defence loses effectiveness as we become older.
In a typical human body, whether that organism is going through puberty or is ageing, a given number of cells divide a specific number of times in a continuously renewing cell cycle. In a youthful body and even more so in a body of a developing person, the body's cellular turnover is incredibly quick. In a sense, the dead cells are recycled and replaced by newly formed cells.
Because cellular growth slows down as we age, this process slows down significantly and almost comes to a stop. All biological processes within the body consequently start to gradually degrade. In other words, we are simply ageing, and much of this age-related decline is natural and inevitable.
However, this decline might also include other factors, many of which, with proper management and control, might slow down or even stop the ageing process. Free radicals, which are oxygen-derived molecules and transient consequences of biological activity, are thought to be the cause of cellular ageing.
Free radicals are extremely unstable and transient oxygen molecules that have the capacity to significantly speed up cellular deterioration and, as a result, the ageing process. Since these compounds are typical by-products of metabolic processes, they are released by all cells in the body.
They can, however, significantly harm the cellular structure and obstruct many of the cell's typical production activities. As a result, they have the potential to speed up the ageing process by quickening cell death, which might lead to an unnatural situation where we appear to be ageing swiftly before the natural ageing process has a chance to drastically change us. In other words, many of these chemical structures may actually speed up the ageing process.
In truth, the onset of ageing in the human body is directly related to free radicals! Free radicals as such are inevitable, and older people's biological systems are not always more vulnerable to their negative effects. Free radicals are created naturally during cellular activity, thus the onset of cellular damage is unavoidable; nevertheless, their generation and, more importantly, their effects can be avoided and fought, for example, by maintaining and implementing a very careful and natural food regimen. However, with an aged biological system, the body is often less equipped to fend against these effects.
By avoiding circumstances that encourage the body to manufacture free radicals, giving up unhealthy habits like smoking, and choosing to live in a region with low to moderate air pollution, we may also be able to slow down the aging process. Because most metropolitan areas are often rich in compounds that create free radicals from industrial waste and car exhaust, lifestyle choices like where you live are significant.
Avoiding alcohol usage may also delay the onset of old age or at least slow it down. You might want to delay acquiring that tan because too much direct sunlight can speed the ageing process. However, the ageing process itself can be slowed down by bolstering the body's natural antioxidant defences through a diet full of ingredients that prevent the absorption of free radicals, which are generally referred to as antioxidants. It is undeniably true that sunlight's ultra violet component can contribute to the formation of free radicals.
Our major weapons in the fight against free radicals are antioxidants, which are created largely spontaneously by the body's own cells and are obtained from a typical human diet.
The first line of defence against free radicals is antioxidants. By chemically mixing with them in the body, antioxidants essentially "annihilate" free radicals there before they have a chance to interfere with vital biological processes, the majority of which may have an impact on ageing.
Fruits, all herbs, and green and leafy vegetables are the best sources of antioxidants because these foods already contain these molecules naturally. Therefore, because of their outstanding significance as sources of antioxidants and their substantial nutritional advantages, it is strongly encouraged that we consume fresh and as green as possible in our diets.
Supplements and herbs
Antioxidants are abundant in supplements made from herbs and other plants. People who are worried about the signs of premature ageing, such as telltale bodily symptoms, or who are dissatisfied with them can take herbal supplements in addition to other chemical or mineral-based supplements, ideally in conjunction with a strict eating plan.
The water-soluble vitamin ascorbic acid and the fat-soluble vitamin A,E,D are two examples of naturally occurring antioxidants that are effective at thwarting the body's production of free radicals.
A substantial water reserve is essential for cellular activity because cellular water content and retention are essential for a healthy body and because the human body is 70% water. Vitamin C, a water-soluble vitamin, and flavonoids function inside cells and aid in water retention and the preservation of the osmotic potential there.
As a result, a lot of water should be consumed each day; at least 7 glasses are recommended. Water is a vital component of any healthy diet.
The development and operation of fatty tissue within the cellular environment depend on the essential fat-based vitamin vitamin E. The lipoid membranes, which make up a large percentage of the cellular architecture, are also helped in their creation and maintenance.
The use of vitamin E as a food supplement can reduce some of the signs and symptoms of a weakened immune system and some other age-related illnesses, such as the ever-present risk of heart disease, which is always a clear and present danger in old age, as well as delay the onset of other types of cardiovascular illnesses. In older persons, vitamin E is essential for maintaining a healthy immune system.
Additionally, ingesting it as a supplement might aid the body's defence mechanisms against the growth of cancer and other malignancies. It is also widely regarded to be helpful in preventing early memory loss as well as Alzheimer's disease, which is always associated with senility and senior age.
One of several products with a high antioxidant content is green tea extract. It has long been a staple in East Asia, where life expectancies are regarded to be the longest in the world, and is without a doubt well known for its ability to prolong the lives.
One more antioxidant-rich herbal medicines, grape seed extract, are thought to be significantly more effective than vitamins C and E at delaying ageing and age-related diseases. A balanced diet and 100 mg of extract taken twice daily would be the perfect dosage.
The B complex vitamins, especially the folates like folic acid, a B vitamin, assist the production of red blood cells (RBCs) and their normal function, including their capacity to bind oxygen and maintain structural integrity. Additionally, these vitamins are essential for the regular and effective operation of nervous tissue as well as the healthy conduct of nerve impulses. The regular and rapid functioning of the neurological system is enhanced by these vitamins.
Homocysteine, an amino acid that contains sulfur, can complicate cardiac function and is associated with heart disease in elderly persons. The removal of this amino acid is aided by the vitamins B and E, which makes them essential for maintaining a healthy cardiac system.
Other B complex vitamins like pyridoxine B6 and B12 are also important in terms of this property. Cobalamin, often known as vitamin B12, is essential for both healthy neural tissue function and regular brain function. It is essential to take this vitamin as a supplement because ageing affects how well it is absorbed. Because the ability to absorb B12 naturally through food reduces with age and can only be maintained by taking supplements in the form of tablets, a decline in this vitamin's levels may potentially result in the onset of dementia and other types of senility.
A pure and natural starting point for effectively battling problems linked to ageing is evening primrose oil. This herbal supplement's rich oil contains around 20 additional fatty acids that the body cannot make on its own, including gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), a crucial fatty acid for many bodily functions. The body's capacity to convert dietary lipids into GLA and other fatty acid types can decline with age. Therefore, it is essential that herbal supplements like these be used in addition to the diet in order to increase the possibility of their effective absorption into the body.
Some supplements also have special importance and target very specific areas of the body. The compound glucosamine, which is present in cartilage and cartilaginous tissue, may aid in the preservation of the cartilaginous tissues around joints and diminish the intense chronic pain brought on by the onset of arthritis in and around joints.
Ginkgo biloba, an all-purpose herb, is an effective and essential supplement in the prevention and relief of age-related symptoms and illnesses such as the onset of mild to chronic dizziness, the sudden and unexplained occurrence of impotence in old people, and in reducing some of the unsettling and mysterious causes of memory loss or senility that frequently accompany old age.
