HUMAN CELLULAR AGING
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EXTENDING YOUR LEGACY
Environmental factors
stress
ultraviolet radiation
Cell proliferation is when there is an increase in the number of cells, this also contains a good balance between cell division and cell death. When a proliferating cell is affected by stress, it can lead to telomeres, activated oncogenes, and oxidative stress. That same stress leads to senescent cells which can cause you to age or develop cancer. If the senescent cell goes through bypass, the enzyme telomerase is expressed and creates a damaged proliferating cells which definitively leads to cancer.
STRESS
Stress speeds up the aging process by shortening the length of each DNA strand. Each chromosome is capped with a telomere and as they become shorter, it causes cells to age faster and die younger. An overload of cellular senescence can lead to premature aging along with a shorter lifespan. Other than the shortening of telomeres, studies have also shown that too much stress continuously can throw a person off of balance. As humans approach old age, their brain starts losing the ability to regulate its hormone levels. Loneliness greatly contributes to stress, while confidence has been found to elongate lifespan.
POOR DIET
Meals with flavoring, salts, meats or refined sugar and flour all cause inflammation, weight gain, and high cholesterol levels which can easily lead to heart disease. A poor diet can lead to premature aging and many other diseases that are able to be avoided. These toxins go and alter your metabolism, then the body is not able to properly detox itself. Physicians highly recommend daily exercise and incorporating healthy fruits and vegetables into ones life in order to reduce the chance of many diseases and to decelerate the rate at which wrinkles begin to form on ones body.
ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION
The sun's ultraviolet rays can lead to premature skin damage such as wrinkles and hyper-pigmentation. When UV rays penetrate the skin, it has an affect on the collagen formation and contributes to an increase in free radical formation. The UV rays create an imbalance in the amount of melanin in your skin, which causes your skin to produce a darker pigment in order to protect itself. If this skin damage accumulates over time, it can possibly lead to skin cancer. Rays also have the ability to penetrate deep into the skin rather than being superficial.