There is a certain fascination with the aging process.
So many people try to fight it.
They fear its symptoms and its inevitable meaning, that death is closer that is was when they were young.
But every day death is closer than it was yesterday and age is just a part of life.
As we age our bodies begin to react.
Certain functions, such as the digestion process and intestinal function slow.
Eyesight may weaken, hair may fall out, the skin may develop skin tags or age spots, the memory may not be what it once was and the body may protest a bit more when subjected to activity.
As the body ages, it becomes more prone to physical ailments such as arthritis, fibromialgia, cataracts and other maladies that are associated with the aging, but can occur in any age group.
Other disorders, such as Alzheimer's are usually associated with advanced age.
But aging does not have to be scary or unwanted.
With age often comes wisdom and a certain sense of being settled.
You have years of experience that cumulate in a perspective that is fresh and wise.
An aging woman going through menopause may think that the hot flashes and night sweats will do her in, but once it is over, she can relax and enjoy the next phase of her life.
Aging, as we are talking here, is generally considered to begin around age 40 or later.
So, let's talk about the biological functions that are occurring in your aging body.
How do we Age To answer the question how do we age?We need to look at several scientific opinions because, to be honest, no one really knows for sure just why we age, why some people age faster than others and why some seem to be ageless.
One discipline of study suggests that the free radicals or oxygen radicals injure the body's cells.
A by product of our breathing, these free radicals seem to promote aging.
It is uncertain just how much the free radicals contribute to our aging and subsequent death.
The next discipline of study suggests that there is a chemical reaction that is the basis for the body's aging process.
This is known as the browning reaction.
In this reaction, at the cellular level, the browning reaction occurs between glucose and proteins.
This reaction is responsible for changes and even damage to protein function as well as to the genetic expression.
The third discipline of study suggests that as we age our cells lose their ability to divide.
As a result, our immune system becomes weaker.
This discipline suggests that the aging process is actually pre-programmed into us, into our genome.
However, there is still not clear reason as to how this is done.
How Long can we Live Of mammals, humans live the longest.
The longest recorded human life span is 120 years but the actual length of our lives varies depending on a variety of factors, including geographical region and health.
There are statistics that show how long a baby is projected to live, but life is so uncertain, there is no hard and fast rule that the child will survive.
Accidents happen, disease, a self destructive lifestyle, even outside influences such as people wishing to cause the child harm can all twist the original statistic as the child's life is "cut short.
"However, the overall life expectancy has increased dramatically as the 20th century marched on and introduced the industrialized world and with it medical and technological advances.
Over the course of the 20th century, the average life expectancy skyrocketed from 50 years of age to almost 80 years of age.
While we know that some of the contributing factors to this increase in life expectancy includes an improved food supply, improved hygiene and better medicine it is still not completely clear why people are now living longer.
Is it Possible to Slow the Aging Process? Scientists are making strides in slowing the aging process and have been successful in doing so with rodents.
They have also been successful in identifying specific genes that are related to aging.
By modifying these genes, scientists can extend the length of yeast, mice, worms and fruit flies.
But the questions are raised of how animals or humans that were longer living and slower aging would function in the real world outside of a lab.
This type of mutation has rendered its subjects infertile, so as evolution weeds out what is not conducive to the natural world it does not allow these beings to reproduce.
So many people try to fight it.
They fear its symptoms and its inevitable meaning, that death is closer that is was when they were young.
But every day death is closer than it was yesterday and age is just a part of life.
As we age our bodies begin to react.
Certain functions, such as the digestion process and intestinal function slow.
Eyesight may weaken, hair may fall out, the skin may develop skin tags or age spots, the memory may not be what it once was and the body may protest a bit more when subjected to activity.
As the body ages, it becomes more prone to physical ailments such as arthritis, fibromialgia, cataracts and other maladies that are associated with the aging, but can occur in any age group.
Other disorders, such as Alzheimer's are usually associated with advanced age.
But aging does not have to be scary or unwanted.
With age often comes wisdom and a certain sense of being settled.
You have years of experience that cumulate in a perspective that is fresh and wise.
An aging woman going through menopause may think that the hot flashes and night sweats will do her in, but once it is over, she can relax and enjoy the next phase of her life.
Aging, as we are talking here, is generally considered to begin around age 40 or later.
So, let's talk about the biological functions that are occurring in your aging body.
How do we Age To answer the question how do we age?We need to look at several scientific opinions because, to be honest, no one really knows for sure just why we age, why some people age faster than others and why some seem to be ageless.
One discipline of study suggests that the free radicals or oxygen radicals injure the body's cells.
A by product of our breathing, these free radicals seem to promote aging.
It is uncertain just how much the free radicals contribute to our aging and subsequent death.
The next discipline of study suggests that there is a chemical reaction that is the basis for the body's aging process.
This is known as the browning reaction.
In this reaction, at the cellular level, the browning reaction occurs between glucose and proteins.
This reaction is responsible for changes and even damage to protein function as well as to the genetic expression.
The third discipline of study suggests that as we age our cells lose their ability to divide.
As a result, our immune system becomes weaker.
This discipline suggests that the aging process is actually pre-programmed into us, into our genome.
However, there is still not clear reason as to how this is done.
How Long can we Live Of mammals, humans live the longest.
The longest recorded human life span is 120 years but the actual length of our lives varies depending on a variety of factors, including geographical region and health.
There are statistics that show how long a baby is projected to live, but life is so uncertain, there is no hard and fast rule that the child will survive.
Accidents happen, disease, a self destructive lifestyle, even outside influences such as people wishing to cause the child harm can all twist the original statistic as the child's life is "cut short.
"However, the overall life expectancy has increased dramatically as the 20th century marched on and introduced the industrialized world and with it medical and technological advances.
Over the course of the 20th century, the average life expectancy skyrocketed from 50 years of age to almost 80 years of age.
While we know that some of the contributing factors to this increase in life expectancy includes an improved food supply, improved hygiene and better medicine it is still not completely clear why people are now living longer.
Is it Possible to Slow the Aging Process? Scientists are making strides in slowing the aging process and have been successful in doing so with rodents.
They have also been successful in identifying specific genes that are related to aging.
By modifying these genes, scientists can extend the length of yeast, mice, worms and fruit flies.
But the questions are raised of how animals or humans that were longer living and slower aging would function in the real world outside of a lab.
This type of mutation has rendered its subjects infertile, so as evolution weeds out what is not conducive to the natural world it does not allow these beings to reproduce.