Longevity Functions
To have the goal of a healthy life span is to respect the gift of life.
Here are some of the underlying causes of the diseases of aging:
1. Chronic inflammation
Aging people suffer an epidemic of outward inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, but chronic inflammation also damages brain cells, arterial walls, heart valves, and other structures in the body. Heart attack, stroke, heart valve failure, and Alzheimer’s senility have been linked to the chronic inflammatory cascade so often seen in aging humans.*
2. Glycation
It is well known that diabetics age prematurely, but even non-diabetics suffer from a devastating chemical reaction called glycation, where protein molecules bind to glucose molecules in the body to form nonfunctioning structures.
Glycation is most evident in senile dementia, stiffening of the arterial system, and degenerative diseases of the eye.
3. Methylation Deficit
Cellular DNA requires constant enzymatic actions (methylation) for maintenance and repair.
Aging cripples youthful methylation metabolism causing DNA damage that can manifest as cancer, liver damage, and brain cell degeneration.
4. Mitochondrial Energy Depletion
The mitochondria, the cell’s energy powerhouse requires a complex series of chemicals to be present to maintain critical functions such as transporting nutrients through the cell membrane and purging the cell of toxic debris.
Mitochondrial energy depletion can result in congestive heart failure, muscle weakness, fatigue, and neurological disease.*
5. Hormone Imbalance
The trillions of cells in the human body are delicately synchronized to function by chemical signals called hormones. Aging creates a severe hormone imbalance that is often a contributing cause to many diseases associated with aging including depression, osteoporosis, coronary artery disease, and loss of libido.*
6. Excess Calcification
Calcium ions are transported into and out of cells through calcium channels in the cell membrane. Aging disrupts calcium transport, and the result is excess calcium infiltration into cells of the brain, heart valves, and middle arterial wall (causing arteriosclerosis).*
7. Fatty Acid Imbalance
The body requires essential fatty acids to maintain cell energy output. Aging causes alterations in enzymes required to convert dietary fats into the specific essential fatty acids the body requires to sustain life. The effects of a fatty acid imbalance may manifest as an irregular heartbeat, joint degeneration, low energy, hyper-coagulation, dry skin, or a host of other common ailments associated with normal aging.*
8. DNA Mutation
Numerous synthetic and natural compounds mutate cellular DNA and cause cancer cells to form. Aging cells lose their DNA gene repair mechanisms and the result is that DNA genetic damage can cause cells to proliferate out of control, i.e., turn into cancer cells.*
9. Immune Dysfunction
For a variety of reasons, the aging immune system loses its ability to attack bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells. In aging humans, excessive levels of dangerous cytokines are produced that cause the immune system to turn on its host and create autoimmune diseases associated with aging such as rheumatoid syndrome.*
10. Non-Digestive Enzyme Imbalance
Internal cellular functions depend on multiple enzymatic reactions occurring with precise timing. Aging causes enzyme imbalances primarily in the brain and liver, which results in severe neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s or the persistent memory loss aging people so often complain about. Impaired liver function results in toxic damage to every cell in the body.*
11. Digestive Enzyme Deficit
The aging pancreas often fails to secrete enough digestive enzymes, while the aging liver does not secrete enough bile acids. The result is chronic indigestion people complain about as they age.*
12. Excitotoxicity
The aging brain loses control of its release of neurotransmitters such as glutamate, resulting in devastating brain cell damage and destruction.*
13. Circulatory Deficit
Microcapillary perfusion of blood to the brain, eye, and skin is impaired as a part of normal aging. The result is that disorders of the eye (such as cataracts, macular degeneration, and glaucoma) are the number one aging-related degenerative disease. Major and mini-strokes are common problems associated with circulatory deficits in the brain. The skin of all aged people shows the effects of a lack of nutrient-rich blood in the upper layers.*
14. Oxidative stress
Free radicals are unstable molecules that have been implicated in most diseases associated with aging. Antioxidants have become popular supplements to protect against free radical-induced cell damage, but few people take the proper combination of antioxidant supplements to adequately compensate for the age-induced loss of endogenous antioxidants such as SOD and catalase.