We are all aging. That’s a given in this reality. But what if you were unwittingly speeding up the process? Would you do something about it if you knew? Why do we age in the first place?

Well to answer the last question first we appear to age due to two primary factors; our genes and damage to our cells and DNA over the course of our lives. Some theories suggest that our genes are programmed to follow a certain timeline and that this is the primary determinant of how long we get. The second contributory factor appears to be the rate at which our cells and even our DNA /RNA structures decline due to the environment they are subjected to.

Today I am going to address the 6 pathways that accelerate the aging process via damage that can be avoided or at the very least reduced.

1: Inflammation.

When you stub your toe it gets all red and swollen. If you have acne you see red swollen bumps on your face. These are external examples of inflammation. The body tries to repair a sight that has been attacked. This happens under the radar in your body all the time.

Your body is under attack by an array of mechanisms and it mounts a counterattack to try to repair the damage. Let’s say you eat a food that your body is sensitive to. Your body thinks it’s an invader and produces inflammatory cytokines (and other chemicals) to deal with the assault. Inflammation is part of the body’s healing response to trauma, toxicity, pathogens or allergens.

It’s a real problem in the modern world and is seen as the cause of the major disease processes of our modern era; Cancer, Heart Disease, Diabetes, Obesity and Alzheimer’s. Inflammation is like a forest fire gone wild. If your diet does not contain enough anti-inflammatory nutrients like essential fatty acids, and phytochemicals found in plant based foods then the aging process for you is accelerated.

2. Glycation.

Glycation is a process of gumming up the works with sugar molecules. The body does not like wild swings in blood sugar. This is why after you eat a meal the body secretes insulin to stabilise and normalise the blood sugar. Left hanging around this sugar creates a lot of damage.

One of the things it creates is a species of molecule known appropriately as Advanced Glycation End products; AGES. These molecules literally age the body. All sugar molecules are capable of this but some more than others. Fructose, which I have mentioned before in previous blogs, is the most deleterious as it hangs around the longest creating the most damage.

High fructose corn syrup, Agave syrup and too much processed sugar in the diet should be avoided.

3. Oxidation.

In chemical terms oxidation is a chemical reaction where the transfer of electrons occurs. A species that causes the oxidation of another causes that other species to lose electrons. Oxygen is one such species that causes oxidation. Other species known as free radicals also cause oxidation and do a lot of damage in the process.

A certain amount of these types of reactions are a normal part of cellular function but too much causes a wear and tear on the body and leads to cellular and systemic aging.

The solution is to have a diet rich in antioxidants. These will be supplied to your diet by fruits and vegetables and certain vitamins like Vitamin C and E which have potent anti-oxidant capacities. Also ease up on the aerobic exercise. A little can be good but too much like mega distance runs can increase this oxidative stress. Anaerobic exercise like weight training is less aging to the body.

4. Toxicity.

We are living in a world that is rabidly toxic. When I completed my Chemistry degree 23 years ago I did my graduate dissertation on global toxic emissions contributing to global warming. The statistics back then were scary. What do you think it’s like now? Polar bears in the Antarctic have been tested to contain heavy metals, phthalates and other ubiquitous poisons and the last time I checked those guys were not exactly living a reckless lifestyle!

Toxins create endocrine or hormonal disruption, they disrupt brain function, they displace good nutrients from your body and thereby accelerate the aging process.

Here is a classic example. We are living in a country (Ireland) that actively fluoridates the water. Now fluoride is a class of compound from the periodic table of the elements called a halogen. Fluorine is very reactive. It creates unfavourable changes in thyroid function in a number of ways one of which is interfering with the uptake of iodine. Thyroid function is compromised by this one toxin alone. Here is the link to a recent study on the dangers of water fluoridation: http://www.springerplus.com/content/3/1/7

The solution here is to cut down on all of your unwitting exposure to toxins and to have a strategy in place for regular support of your body’s detoxification pathways.

5. Stress.

I have just written a blog recently on stress explaining what it is and how to start reducing it: http://www.clarerooney.com/2014/02/18/what-is-stress/

Stress ages the body in many ways. One of the most obvious ways is endocrine dysfunction. Chronically high cortisol creates a number of very unfavourable derangements in the body the starting point of which is usually blood sugar dysregulation.

Chronically elevated cortisol creates changes in the Brain. Regions of the brain like Hippocampus start to shrink and you suffer memory loss. The amygdala can become enlarged making one prone to even more anxiety and stress hormone production.

When stress hormones remain high the neurotransmitter balance of the brain is also skewed. You can’t focus, you can’t relax, and you lose your motivation.

Stress shunts the body in the direction of catabolism (breakdown) and inhibits the process of anabolism (growth and repair). When we can’t keep up with growth and repair in the body we age.

The solution is to build in stress reduction techniques daily. Exercise, meditation, getting out in nature, journaling are all examples of ways you can get a handle on stress.

6. Nutrient Deficiency

How is it possible in a world overflowing with food (especially in the Western World) that people are still malnourished? Well just look at the list of the causes of aging above and you will realise that your nutrient requirements go up Dramatically due to Stress, Toxicity, Oxidation, Inflammation and Glycation!

Our soils are nowhere near as fertile as they once were. You can get pretty decent looking crops by putting N, P, K on the land that’s: Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. You can grow massive tomatoes that taste like nothing! The fact that they don’t taste great tells us key nutrients are missing.

If you think you can get all of the nutrients you require just from “a healthy diet” then you must be the only person in the world that does not suffer from the 5 factors addressed above. Yes by all means eat a nutrient dense organic diet that is suitable for your unique genetic requirements but it would also be judicious to get regular testing done to see which nutrients you may be running low on.

Aging may be inevitable but with some careful intervention you can age more gracefully and hopefully function optimally well into the golden years.