The recipe for healthy aging: Anti-Aging...
For thousands of years, humankind has been searching for ways to prevent aging and asking whether eternal life is possible.
Aging is the sum of all changes that occur naturally over time, beginning with fertilization. It is a process of deterioration. What is being measured is the reduction in lifespan and the increasing risk of damage to the organism. Aging is drawing closer to death with an ever-increasing probability as chronological age advances.
Anti-Aging* is not a fad. It is a guide that will keep us vigorous, energetic, alert, and healthy at every moment of our lives. Aging is the gradual decline of a person’s normal physical and mental functions. Although the aging process, which is influenced by many different factors, cannot be prevented, it can be delayed. In addition, the concept of “quality aging” has already found its place in the medical literature.
The branch of medicine devoted to delaying, slowing, and sometimes even reversing the aging process is known as “anti-aging” medicine.
OLD AGE IS NOT A DISEASE
Aging is a general physiological process about which much is known, and through it, a person’s normal physical and mental functions gradually decline.
Excess energy, insufficient physical activity, excessive tension, and a high number of risk factors cause an increase in free radicals in “the body.” Aging, which must be approached as a whole, should be viewed as a natural and unavoidable event. At this point, the goal is not to attempt the impossible task of stopping aging, but rather to slow the aging process and ensure the body ages proportionately and healthily.
WHY DO WE AGE?
There are five major theories that partially explain aging. These are:
- The telomerase theory / programmed theory
- The hormonal theory
- The free radical theory
- The wear-and-tear theory
- The immune system theory
CHANGES THAT OCCUR WITH AGING
The physiological changes that occur in organ systems with aging generally are not significant enough to noticeably affect body functions under normal conditions. Aging mainly reduces the reserve capacities of the systems. Under various stress conditions, the aging body may not be able to increase its function due to this reduction in reserve capacity. The aging process changes our efficiency and our body, causing changes throughout it. However, it is possible to slow down these changes occurring in the organs.
OLD AGE AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Although older adults may maintain their normal functions while at rest, their ability to adapt to environmental stresses declines significantly. Older adults have reduced resistance to infections, find it harder to tolerate excessive heat and cold stress and climate changes, and become more vulnerable to toxicity and the risk of side effects after medication is administered. Older adults are also at greater risk of being affected by environmental chemicals compared to younger people.
THE BURDEN OF AGE: WEIGHT
The World Health Organization states that obesity, which it defines as a chronic disease, is spreading worldwide, affecting the abdomen, legs, and hips. It is known that approximately 41 million Germans are overweight. These individuals fall into the obese category. Smoking, physical inactivity, and excess weight are three major factors that accelerate the aging process.