Maybe soon you won't have to make a pact with the devil to gain longevity. From what we know today, you need to eat a low-calorie diet, live in an unpolluted environment and have the right genes. What does genetics have to say about our longevity?
Life expectancyhas increased significantly - our prehistoric ancestor lived four times shorter. Scientists promise that in the middle of the 21st century, the advancement of medical therapies will make a big step towardslongevitythanks to tissue engineering, transplantation of organs in place of used ones, and nanotechnology, which will allow to inhibit unfavorable processes in the body. American theoretical physicist Michio Kaku says: “We can be careful about doubling the life expectancy. If we can do it with animals today - if we starve them, we will reduce their daily calories, then we can do it by 30-100 percent. extend their life. This is the case with the fruit fly, bee, spider, cat or dog. We don't know exactly how it works, but it is most likely related to several genes, such as SIR2, which controls oxidative processes. The more we eat, the more we oxidize, which means we just rust. "
Recognized Aging Mechanisms
In the book of genes there is no record on which page the word "end" will appear, but in the book of life the chapter "old age" is in the table of contents. - Thanks to research on yeast, C. elegans nematodes, fruit flies, mice and rats, we already know a bit about the mechanisms of the aging process - says Prof. Puzianowska-Kuźnicka. - It is now believed that aging is not genetically programmed, but is the result of an accumulation of random damage to genetic material and vital proteins and lipids, and the pace of the process is influenced by both genetic and non-genetic factors. The good news is that no matter what varieties of genes we are born with, by modifying the environment, we can change the activity of key aging pathways, such as those responsible for the level of oxidative stress, the rate of metabolism, the severity of inflammatory processes and the efficiency of damage repair mechanisms. Thanks to this, we can slow down the aging process and delay or prevent the unfavorable genetic predisposition from revealing itself.
See the gallery of 8 photosAccording toexpertprof. Monika Puzianowska-Kuźnicka, Institute of Experimental and Clinical Medicine M. Mossakowski PAN
Aging is one of the most complex phenomena in medicine. Currently, its main cause is seen in the accumulation of damage to the genetic material. Each of us is subject to it and each of us is slightly different - depending on exposure to environmental damaging factors, such as improper diet, ultraviolet radiation, toxins, etc., and on intra-body factors: genetic and non-genetic (e.g. metabolic) - to some extent modifiable.
Until the age of 85, the share of genes in regulating the rate of aging and life expectancy is only 25-30%, with environmental and lifestyle factors responsible for the rest. After the age of 90, the role of genetic factors increases. Longevity, unlike aging, is genetically determined. Dozens of genes important in regulating the rate and course of the aging process have been described. Their role in model organisms has been recognized, but the role of most of these genes in human aging has not yet been studied. Genes with a high probability of importance in human aging are genes encoding proteins that are elements of the insulin and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) pathways, which include affect the metabolic rate. Metabolism is closely related to the production rate of extremely harmful reactive oxygen species (ROS) - the main factors accelerating aging. Simply put, "fast" metabolism is accompanied by high production of ROS, which damage genes: "the more we eat, the more we oxidize" - as Prof. Kaku. Other genes involved in regulating the rate of aging in humans are likely genes encoding sirtuins - proteins that affect the activity of other genes, genes encoding ROS inactivating proteins, genes encoding damage repair proteins, and many more.
In laboratory conditions, inhibition of genes included in the insulin axis and IGF-1 and activation of sirtuin genes extend life by up to several dozen percent. In humans, their influence is not so spectacular, but scientists have managed to link the occurrence of certain varieties of such genes with extreme longevity. The environment "talks" to the genome through the so-called epigenetic modifications (also known as the epigenome) that do not change the sequence of the genes, but affect their activity. The most important of them is the methylation of genomic DNA and various modifications of the proteins forming the so-called chromatin. These modifications also include the action of microRNAs that can prevent protein synthesis. Environmental factorsthrough epigenetic modifications, they can have a positive effect on the body (e.g. a correct diet, avoiding excessive exposure to radiation, avoiding inhaled toxins, food toxins, toxins absorbed through the skin, etc.) or negatively (the effects of an improper diet, smoking, etc.).
Life is extended by a low-calorie diet
Diet comes first among environmental factors that are fundamental to the epigenome. Thanks to the results of a limited number of studies, we are beginning to understand what nutrients influence epigenetic modifications. It seems that the key to delaying aging is to provide the body with all the substances necessary to maintain the "young" epigenome (a set of epigenetic modifications characteristic for young people), both those that increase and decrease methylation and acetylation (these are processes influencing gene expression) etc. Foods with beneficial effects are mainly foods of plant origin, mainly vegetables, fruits (especially blueberries - blueberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, currants etc.), seeds and nuts, unprocessed cereal grains and herbal spices - garlic, turmeric, ginger, galangal, and curry. In order to provide the body with the substances necessary for the maintenance of the "young" epigenome, it is also advisable to eat seafood and fish, less often - dairy products and meat. Vegetables and fruit are best eaten raw or with little heat treatment. Longevity is favored by a full-fledged low-calorie diet (20-30 percent kcal less than in a normal diet, which changes the metabolism so that the caloric demand decreases). Those on this diet are lean but not debilitated and greatly extend the life of yeast, C. elegans, fruit flies, mice, rats and primates. - Summarized in 2009, a 20-year study in monkeys found that life expectancy reached 80%. animals on such a diet and only 50 percent. those who eat at will - says prof. Puzianowska-Kuźnicka. - Moreover, animals on a diet were half as likely to suffer from cancer and cardiovascular diseases, and they did not suffer from diabetes at all. Research on the human body suggests that a similar effect can also be obtained in our species. So we should eat less, but whole foods. Our metabolism will switch to 20-30 percent. less calories below normal.
Stress shortens life
An important role in delaying aging is most likely to inhibit the activity of the so-called stress axis. - We can explain the relationship between stress and the quality and duration of life at the molecular level: the immune system, the endocrine systemand nervous are closely related. Excessive, prolonged activation of the stress axis with high cortisol production affects the central nervous system; cortisol also adversely affects immune cells, and reduced immunity may contribute to the occurrence of various diseases - says prof. Puzianowska-Kuźnicka. Since we already know that we have a choice: we can choose a he althy lifestyle, watch the calories, eat he althy products, move - not because of an unjustified whim, but because of respect for our body and life, for which we are obliged to take care of the best, as we can - let's choose wisely. Intuitively and spontaneously, but also in accordance with the findings of science.
ImportantIt pays to fight for a slim figure
If you do not have genes for the so-called high penetration (high probability of occurrence of a given disease), then put a dam on a cascade of disease events by:
- taking care of your he alth
- physical activity
- diet
- maintaining a he althy body weight
- not to be exposed to the adverse effects of environmental factors.
Recently there have been reports that gaining weight and losing weight alternately, although far from ideal, is better than obese all the time, because when we are thinner, our metabolic parameters improve.
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