WHY AGE REVERSAL NOT ANTI AGING?
LEARN HOW OUR BODIES ARE DESIGNED TO BE FOREVER YOUNG
The wheel of time turns and drags us along with it until we are thrown off. And that’s what we call death. Despite all the struggles of life, most people are afraid to be thrown off. We want to keep running on the wheel for as long as possible. Modern medicine is working towards that goal in some ways which allow us to drag our withered bones and old bodies along the wheel for a few more years. But it’s never enough because eventually, death comes for all.
I want to ask a simple question. Is it really worth it to prolong our lives in such a manner where our worn-out bodies can be kept from dying for a limited time? We all know that the prime of our lives is the time of our youth. We feel the potential to do whatever we want to without our own health standing in our way. That is the time of life that allows us to fulfill our goals, enjoy ourselves and be happy. Old age, in contrast, comes with a lot of problems that diminish our energy and our health. Is it really worth trying to prolong our lives in this old age?
That’s what anti-aging is. The idea is to slow down aging, to stall its advance. But all it ends up doing is to give us a sense of delaying the inevitable. Doesn’t sound all that fancy does it?
What if we could go in reverse and restore our youths? After all, it is the prime time of our lives. What if we could prolong our youth instead of merely our ages? Valid questions. And the answer lies, not in anti-aging, but in age reversal!
Age reversal is the idea of prolonging and restoring our youth. It is meant to restore our health and our energy. It is meant to keep us fit and happy. It is meant to keep us disease-free. It prolongs that phase of our lives which can be the most physically and mentally fulfilling. In doing so, it would keep old age from disturbing the peace of our youth. It is meant not to make us live longer per se, but to live younger and happier till we are eventually thrown off the wheel. Now that does sound interesting, doesn’t it?
WHAT DOES AGING REALLY MEAN?
Typically, aging is merely associated with its physical manifestations such as graying of hair, wrinkling of the skin, or generally as a decline in health and increased propensity to get diseases. The current efforts to counter aging are only directed towards reducing these symptoms of aging, just to look younger.
Aging is actually a cellular process. As the cells start to lose the ability to divide and become worn out, we say that they have aged. These cellular alterations then manifest at a macroscopic level.
How do we know that the cells are aging? It’s simple. The DNA in our cells undergoes epigenetic modifications in the form of DNA methylation, histone modification, and chromatin remodeling, collectively referred to as epigenetic markers. Steve Horvath developed an epigenetic or internal clock that measures epigenetic alterations to determine the biological age of cells which closely relates to the chronological age.¹
In addition to epigenetic modifications, other mechanisms that contribute to the process of aging include telomere shortening and cellular senescence. Telomeres are short segments of DNA that progressively shorten with each replication. Therefore, the cell loses the capability to replicate after a certain number of replications and eventually meets death.
In addition, various insults incurred upon our DNA and the inability to repair the damage results in accumulation of DNA damage. This coupled with free radical mediated inflammation within our cells and tissues results in damage to our cellular health, which gradually leads to aging. You can read about it in more detail here.
All of these changes are closely related to our lifestyle habits, environment and nutrition. Age reversal focuses on these very factors to bring about the restoration of youth which is our goal!
CAN AGE BE REVERSED?
Research indicates that it can be reversed. One particular experiment showed that the administration of growth hormones along with metformin (a diabetes drug) and other chemicals decrease aging.² There are dozens if not scores of such experiments that indicate that biological ageing can not only be halted but reversed. And this isn’t even a new discovery. And filling yourself up with various drugs isn’t the only way to age reversal. Let’s talk about some other methods that work just as well.
NUTRITION
Many experiments indicate that calories restriction modulates the activity of signaling pathways which protect the cells from harmful effects of aging. It also leads to the release of chemicals called sirtuins which play a beneficial role in promoting longevity through various mechanisms³. Fasting is a traditional and religious custom that has been a part of many cultures for more than a millennium that serves this very purpose of caloric restriction. Remember what I said about age reversal not being a new discovery?
Apart from how much we eat, what we eat matters just as much. Many food products like various fruits, onions, prunes and fish (just to name a few) have anti-oxidant properties which neutralize the free radical mediated inflammation in our cells. Research has shown that this prevents DNA damage and contributes to the health of cells⁴.
And that’s not all. Remember telomeres that keep on shortening with every cell division which leads to eventual cellular senescence? This means a cell can no longer divide and hence must eventually die. But believe it or not, in a landmark research many food products (legumes, nuts, and various fruits) have been positively linked with maintaining or increasing telomere length. That means continued cell division and continued supply of healthy cells. Crazy what watching what you eat can get you.⁵
EXERCISE
The importance of physical activity and exercising cannot be overstated. It keeps you fit and healthy and far away from disease. But that’s not even half of what it does for you. A researcher has found a positive link between adequate physical activity and lengthening of telomeres⁵. Another research shows that lifelong exercise can potentially delay the onset of at-least 40 chronic diseases and keeps your mental health in check⁶. That ensures a relatively disease free life which provides happiness and fulfillment. What more can one ask?
SLEEP
This one might come as a surprise to you. Researchers at university of Granada have demonstrated that improved sleep quality and quantity can result in increased levels of a specific anti-aging protein within our bodies. This protein, named S-Klotho, can modulate specific signaling pathways within our cells and suppress oxidative stress. This minimizes the inflammatory damage our cells have to endure and improves their health⁷.
We, at LiveYounger, emphasize our body’s own natural healing to renew itself as it has done since beginning of humanity. In upcoming article, I will explain all about “restorative sleep”, and what cutting edge research in world’s top medical authorities revealed about how instrumental restorative sleep is in reversing age on the cellular level.
“AS FOR MENTAL DETOXIFICATION, THIS MIGHT BE EVEN MORE IMPORTANT THAN ITS PHYSICAL COUNTERPART. WHY? BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED THAT OUR MENTAL HEALTH CONTROLS MANY ASPECTS OF OUR PHYSICAL WELL-BEING. ”
DETOXIFICATION
Detoxification is a broad term. I understand it as ridding ourselves of physical and emotional entities that harm our physical and mental health.
Our bodies have natural mechanisms of detoxification preinstalled. Some of these mechanisms keep the oxygen free radicals in check while others get rid of aging cells and organelles, as their accumulation can be harmful. One such mechanism is autophagy or self-eating. Our bodies release certain proteins that have the sole task of eating up and digesting worn out and old cells so that newer ones can take their place⁸.
There is a way of enhancing this mechanism and you may or may not be surprised to know that this too involves fasting. The Muslim diurnal fast has, in particular, been found to have effects on enhancing autophagy, repairing DNA and maintaining mitochondrial health. This, as a whole, furthers our goal of age reversal⁹.
As for mental detoxification, this might be even more important than its physical counterpart. Why? Because it has been demonstrated that our mental health controls many aspects of our physical well-being. You can read my earlier post for more information.
Keeping ourselves mentally healthy is about building a proper perspective towards life and finding meaning in it. Fulfilling that meaning or struggling to do so provides us mental peace that no amount of partying can give us. You can also try out various breathing exercises and meditation techniques to keep your cool. They have been proven to be useful in this regard¹⁰. In my book, Lead A Horse To Water,¹¹ I talk in detail about various techniques and their effectiveness.
SUMMING IT ALL UP
Anti-aging is equivalent to an uphill battle. It merely aims at prolonging our disease-ridden lives. Age reversal on the other hand restores our youth. It doesn’t even aim at prolonging life yet it does the job better than anti-aging ever can. And this is a dream that can very easily be turned into a reality. Just watch what you eat, be mindful of your sleep, don’t get lazy and try to stay mentally calm. That is all it requires.
Our goal at LiveYounger is to promote these lifestyle changes and not just to bring about age reversal but to ensure for you a happy, healthy and fulfilling life!
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- S. Horvath, “DNA methylation age of human tissues and cell types,” Genome Biol., vol. 14, no. 10, Oct. 2013, doi: 10.1186/GB-2013-14-10-R115.
- G. M. Fahy et al., “Reversal of epigenetic aging and immunosenescent trends in humans,” Aging Cell, vol. 18, no. 6, Dec. 2019, doi: 10.1111/ACEL.13028.
- W. Grabowska, E. Sikora, and A. Bielak-Zmijewska, “Sirtuins, a promising target in slowing down the ageing process,” Biogerontology, vol. 18, no. 4, p. 447, Aug. 2017, doi: 10.1007/S10522-017-9685-9.
- D. Fusco, G. Colloca, M. R. Lo Monaco, and M. Cesari, “Effects of antioxidant supplementation on the aging process,” Clin. Interv. Aging, vol. 2, no. 3, p. 377, 2007, Accessed: Jan. 23, 2022. [Online]. Available: /pmc/articles/PMC2685276/.
- E. Balan, A. Decottignies, and L. Deldicque, “Physical Activity and Nutrition: Two Promising Strategies for Telomere Maintenance?,” Nutrients, vol. 10, no. 12, Dec. 2018, doi: 10.3390/NU10121942.
- G. N. Ruegsegger and F. W. Booth, “Health Benefits of Exercise,” Cold Spring Harb. Perspect. Med., vol. 8, no. 7, Jul. 2018, doi: 10.1101/CSHPERSPECT.A029694.
- S. Mochón-Benguigui, A. Carneiro-Barrera, M. J. Castillo, and F. J. Amaro-Gahete, “Is Sleep Associated with the S-Klotho Anti-Aging Protein in Sedentary Middle-Aged Adults? The FIT-AGEING Study,” Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland), vol. 9, no. 8, pp. 1–13, Aug. 2020, doi: 10.3390/ANTIOX9080738.
- C. Rubinsztein, G. Mariño, and G. Kroemer, “Autophagy and Aging,” Cell, vol. 146, no. 5, pp. 682–695, Sep. 2011, doi: 10.1016/J.CELL.2011.07.030.
- M. A. I. E. Faris, H. A. Jahrami, A. A. Obaideen, and M. I. Madkour, “Impact of diurnal intermittent fasting during Ramadan on inflammatory and oxidative stress markers in healthy people: Systematic review and meta-analysis,” J. Nutr. Intermed. Metab., vol. 15, pp. 18–26, Mar. 2019, doi: 10.1016/J.JNIM.2018.11.005.
- Zaccaro et al., “How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing,” Front. Hum. Neurosci., vol. 12, p. 353, Sep. 2018, doi: 10.3389/FNHUM.2018.00353/FULL
- N.Sakr, “Lead A Horse To Water”, pp.29-30, 2021.