As noted above, many antioxidants are essential nutrients. Natural antioxidants, such as vitamin C and E, act synergistically. Antioxidants can be more effective if they are obtained from a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. Nutritionists recommend eating 6 or more servings of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables a day. Everyone agrees that using antioxidant supplements to combat aging can be helpful, but there is no agreement on what the most effective supplement dosages should be.
Anti-aging medicine recognizes that stress of all kinds causes aging, but has not yet developed an individualized treatment for it. There are innumerable sources of internal and external stress, and individual stress levels vary greatly. An overlooked cause of internal stress is inadequate hydration. Water is essential for the proper functioning of many internal functions. Too little or too much water causes aging and stress. When one is older (80+), the perception of thirst decreases and dehydration can appear easily. Other sources of stress that are overlooked are the antioxidants themselves. High doses (or doses above certain amounts not yet specified) of supplemental antioxidants are a known cause of stress.
To be helpful, antioxidant supplements must prevent other types of stress than the stress they create. Knowing the correct dosages of supplements that can do this is an essential part of anti-aging treatment. A healthy young man in his twenties, who is well fed, will have less internal stress than an individual in his sixties. For a young individual, lower amounts of antioxidants may be safer than higher amounts. An older person, whose many internal homeostatic mechanisms are less able to cope with internal stress, may benefit more from higher amounts of antioxidants. In theory, a course of anti-aging treatment based on antioxidants will slow down the rate at which cell damage occurs. Cells will “get sick” more slowly. Over time, as fewer diseased cells are replaced at a slower rate, the number of cells that retain longer telomere chains will be greater. So you can reasonably expect this to result in an increase in life expectancy. For now, the recommended but imprecise approach to slowing the rate at which cell damage occurs is to increase your daily intake of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables, slightly increase your antioxidant intake, and take various vitamins and small amounts of anti-oxidants. . -Aging supplements on a daily basis. A study has shown that taking a good multivitamin supplement is associated with increased telomere length.
Ideally, anti-aging treatment is tailored to each individual. The key here would be to measure and minimize the cumulative effects of different types of stress individually. Practical and easily measurable biomarkers for various types of stress do not yet exist or are not being used. When used, it will be easy to customize individual antioxidant dosages so that everyone has “optimal” levels throughout their lives. The “optimal” levels would maintain a safe reserve of protective antioxidants in the body.
Below, I will briefly discuss the most popular nutrients associated with anti-aging. The most popular of the antioxidants, vitamins, and nutrients that are often associated with good health and anti-aging include: beta-carotene (vitamin A), vitamin C, vitamin E, various flavonoids, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. , Coenzyme Q10, Lycopene, Selenium.
There are dozens of supplements known to effectively treat the specific symptoms of aging. Some of the more popular supplements include: DMAE, Acetyl-L-Carnitine, L-Carnosine, Alpha Lipoic Acid, DHEA, L-Arginine, and Melatonin.
Good food contains some of the antioxidants mentioned above. Some other popular foods associated with anti-aging include: green tea, turmeric, and red wine.
All of the above have unique biological properties and are, in my opinion, “good” for you if taken in small or moderate amounts. Some (for example, vitamin C) can also be “good” for you in large amounts. Several studies on each of these can conflict with each other. You need to carefully research each substance on your own, but researchers have already found several nutrients associated with longer-than-average telomere lengths. These include: green tea, omega-3s, vitamins A, C, D, and E.
Vitamin E has been associated with anti-aging properties that lengthen telomeres.
Green tea contains many antioxidants, including vitamin C, E, and flavonoids. Flavenoids are a large class of antioxidants (including catechins and quercetin) that have many anti-cancer, anti-hypercholesterolemic, anti-bacterial (helps prevent tooth decay), and anti-inflammatory properties. The leaves of the tea plant are rich in polyphenols. Drinking 3 or more cups of green tea a day has been associated with longer than average telomere length.
Omega-3s are essential long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids that are anti-inflammatory and help prevent heart disease, stroke, memory loss, depression, arthritis, cataracts, and cancer. Omega-3s slow down telomere shortening; that is, they can protect against aging at the cellular level.
Vitamin C is an abundant water-soluble internal antioxidant that protects cellular components against free radical formation caused by pollution and cigarette smoke. Many studies have associated a high intake of vitamin C with lower rates of cancer of the mouth, larynx, and esophagus. Vitamin C has shown promise for treating premature aging and possibly aging itself.
Due to limitations on the number of links that I can incorporate into this article, I was unable to provide more reference links to support the above paragraphs. If you are interested, please email me at the email address shown at the end of this article and I will forward them to you.
The sooner you start some type of anti-aging treatment, the better, but it’s never too late to start. All real treatments will help you maintain a longer than average telomere chain.
The goal of the programmed death theory of aging is to address the root causes of aging. This goal includes attempts to slow or reverse the telomere shortening process. Two of these treatments are: TA 65 and human genetic engineering.
TA 65 is a telomerase activator product produced and marketed by Sierra Sciences. The key ingredient in TA 65 is Astragalus, a plant extract known to have telomerase-activating properties. The product may work but I don’t recommend it for a number of reasons. TA 65 is too expensive for the average person. Several expensive health spas incorporate TA 65 into their programs. Again, these are financially out of reach for the average person. Sierra Sciences’ marketing tactics have been questioned by many and lawsuits are pending against TA 65.
The big problem I have with TA 65 is one of scientific honesty. The company engineered genetically engineered mice that allowed telomerase to turn off and on at a young age. TA 65 was able to reactivate telomerase in these mice and allowed them to lead normal lives. http://www.nature.com/news/2010/101128/full/news.2010.635.html
Using this to show how effective TA65 treatment is is dishonest. This is not how telomerase normally works and there was no actual extension of life span beyond what it would have been without the genetic modification. In normal mice, the effects of TA65 were temporary and little or no life span was observed. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/04/11/anti-aging-pill-new-study-on-ta-65-sparks-controversy.html
Human genetic engineering is the true answer to combat and defeat aging. You can directly address the root causes of aging. Advances in this area (for example, CRISPR) make it possible to insert or delete DNA base pairs at a specific place in our DNA. This means that the human genome can now be precisely edited as needed. The life expectancy of old mice has been modestly increased with telomerase gene therapy. In humans, gene modification therapy has been used frequently for various medical problems. On September 15, 2015, Elizabeth Parrish was the first human to undergo anti-aging gene therapy. Anti-aging treatments will advance rapidly as our knowledge of the specifics of the human genome grows.
The current general sociopolitical attitudes seem to be favoring the further development of anti-aging research. There are no internationally recognized political programs to stop aging or prolong life, but since 2012 some pro-immortality political parties have emerged. Its goal is to support anti-aging and life extension research, and to help provide access to all advances in these areas. Among the many organizations that support anti-aging research, SENS (Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence) has developed an anti-aging research plan. They want to develop anti-aging therapies to repair most forms of cell damage. SENS, is a charity organization. Any anti-aging advance resulting from the funding you provide will become readily available public knowledge. In addition to normal scientific research, there is the $ 1,000.00 Palo Alto Longevity Prize that is offered to anyone who can come up with an effective anti-aging treatment.
As of 2015, all known anti-aging treatments are only partially effective. Depending on when a comprehensive anti-aging program is started, life can probably be extended from 10 to 25 years. Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health estimated that an anti-aging lifestyle can add 24.6 more productive years to lifespan. Anti-aging awareness increases at a rate of approximately 10 times every 10 years. This likely means that for many of us there is more than enough time to reap the anticipated benefits in anti-aging research. Soon one day aging, like many other diseases, will be cured. While we wait for those anti-aging tech oddities to happen, the name of the game is making sure we stay healthy long enough to repeat its benefits.