UNDERSTANDING WHY WE AGE

Good day dear steemians.

Does the thought of aging ever bother you? Whenever I see an aged person struggling to take a walk or do any activity a young person does with ease, I can't help imagining what it means to grow old. Aging is usually associated with the development of certain type of diseases which are not common to young folk. The thought of aging is actually scary to many people. I hope it isn't to you.

Scientists have come up with many theories in a bid to explain why people age with some of the theories contradicting one another. An author has rightly noted that the many aging theories have one thing in common: "They can't stop you from aging!" Aging is inevitable. So what benefit lies in understanding why we age? Well, a good understanding of why we age can certainly help in slowing down or delaying the process of aging. That mean our lifespan can be increased by our understanding of how aging take place.

The many theories of aging are generally classified into genetic and non-genetic theories. I like to go over two of the non-genetic theories which are of interest to me as a chemist with you. So let's get right to it.

THE ACIDIFICATION THEORY

According to the proponent of this aging theory, we age because of the accumulation of acid waste product in our body.

Our body functions best at certain pH level and various body part has optimum pH level. For example the stomach is more acidic than other part of the body as it digest our food.

The pH scale measure the acidity or alkalinity of a substance and range from 0-14. In general, the body maintains a pH of about 7 which is designated as neutral on the pH scale. The blood functions best in a slightly alkaline environment with a pH of 7.3 to 7.4.

By Hans Kirkendoll - Own work, CC0,

When the body pH is acidic it becomes vulnerable to sicknesses.

Two types of sicknesses

Asian doctors classify sicknesses into two groups viz: Contagious or communicable and adult sicknesses.

Communicable or contagious diseases

These are caused by sources outside the body. By bacteria, viruses and other pathogens. Examples of such sicknesses include cholera, gonorrhea, influenza HIV/ AIDS and so on.

Adult diseases

These are diseases that originate from within or inside the body. Examples of such diseases include cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's, arthritis, asthma and so on.
A highly acidic body is a breeding ground for adult diseases to thrive. That does not not mean that a highly alkaline body is an advantage! Either extreme can result into serious harm to the body. The body, especially the blood is very sensitive to pH changes and maintain a homeostasis - an equilibrium environment that engenders efficient and effective functioning.

By OpenStax CC BY 3.0,

Causes of acid waste in the body

Acidity of the body result mainly from bad diet and stress. when we feed on processed food, fried foods, soft drinks, coffee, alcohol and the likes, we are acidifying our body. Physical and mental stress can also bring about the same result.

Dealing with excess of acid in the body

When acid waste from our diet get into the bloodstream, the blood being very sensitive to pH change, decreases the acidity of the blood supply by various buffer systems. It buffer the acid and moves it to less vulnerable location like the lungs, kidney and when the wastes are too many, the heart, pancreas, liver and other body parts. With passage of time, these wastes spread throughout the body.

Proponents of acidification theory noted that the body becomes more acidic with age and the pH of a patient suffering from an adult disease is acidic whereas that of a healthy person is slightly alkaline. They opine that many adult diseases can be treated by alkalizing the bloodstream. One way of doing that is by drinking ionized alkaline water and consuming plant base foods ( 80 %) with only a little (20 %) acid forming foods like egg, meat and diary.
(You can learn more about this by clicking on the source of the video advert on alkaline diet below and listening to the advert.)

source

The claim that adult diseases can be treated by alkalizing the blood stream have been challenged by some critics on the ground that there are no sufficient scientific evidences to validate such claim.

Now, let's move on to...

THE FREE RADICAL THEORY OF AGING

A free radical is a reactive specie that is formed when an atom or molecule loses an electron. A free radical has an unpaired electron or odd number of electron.

By Healthvalue - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,

According to the free radical theory of aging which was proposed by Denham Harman in 1956, aging result from constant damage to our body cells by free radicals.

Free radicals are essential for many biochemical processes taking place in the cell but outside the arena of their usefulness they cause damage to other molecules in the cell. when a free radical encounters a molecule it remove an electron from the molecule turning it into a free radical. The affected molecule seek for another molecule to attack and that kick-start a chain reaction. The overall process damage the cell because the affected molecules lose their functions.

Cumulative damage to the cell mitochondrial DNA by reactive oxygen species is the root cause of aging according to the free radical theory of aging.

Evidences from laboratory studies on animal show that the process of aging can be significantly reduced by protecting test animal's mitochondrial DNA from attack by free radicals. This is done in two ways viz:

• By genetically altering the test organism to produce more natural antioxidant. Antioxidants are molecules that removes free radicals.

• By limiting the food intake of test organism which slow down metabolic activity of the organism and reduces the accompanying free radical generation.

It is worthy of note that when dietary antioxidant like vitamin C and E were administered to test organisms there was no significant increase in their lifespan. This is due to the fact that dietary antioxidant does not reach the test organism's mitochondrial DNA and therefore cannot prevent free radical attack.

Dietary antioxidant, however, protect other part of the cell from free radical and consequently may increase the lifespan of an organism.

The free radical theory of aging has also being criticize because experiment in which test organism natural antioxidant was blocked show that the lifespan of the organism increases.

CONCLUSION

The acidification theory propose that aging result from accumulation of acid waste in the blood and that adult diseases can be treated by alkalizing the bloodstream whereas the free radical theory propose that aging result from constant damage to mitochondrial DNA by free radicals.
There is no theory on aging that have an all-inclusive explanation as to why we age.

DISCLAIMER

I am not a medical doctor. Do not take any health decision on the basis of the information provided here. it is for learning purpose only. For professional advice, consult your doctor.

REFERENCES

Anti-aging today

Acidification theory

The free radical theory

Thank you for stopping by to read my post. Your comment are highly cherished just like your vote. Until next time, keep on steeming.