Free radicals
We’re a complex system of cells with many components, and we’re fragile.
Our bodies can’t fully repair themselves, and that’s considered ageing.
Free radicals are thought to play a part in our ageing process and a natural byproduct of breathing and metabolism.
Free radicals are unstable atoms (atoms are the basic units of matter that define a structure) which in turn can damage cells, causing illness and ageing.
To stave off free radicles avoid foods rich in refined carbohydrates and sugars, processed meats, don’t overuse cooking fats and limit red meat and alcohol.
Evolution in action
The disposable soma theory predicts that ageing is caused by the body having increasingly fewer resources to allocate towards repairing wear and damage to tissues. (Kirkwood and Austad, 2000).
Do proteins make us age?
Mikhail Blagosklonny, a professor of oncology in New York suggests that the cause of ageing are proteins (and the genes responsible for making them).
Some of these proteins are enzymes, among them one called TOR.
Could there be a connection between TOR, nutrition and diseases of old age?
Recent studies show that TOR is also directly related to neurodegenerative diseases. For example, the activity of the TOR enzyme in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s is much higher compared with healthy brains.
To keep the enzyme TOR active longer eat well, paying attention to foods high in protein.
None of the current, or past theories on ageing have found the answer to eternal youth, but what scientists do say is that ageing is strongly linked to the way we’re individually made and there’s not a lot we can do about that – just yet!
