Hey you,
We've all met older adults who appear younger than their actual age, whose bodies and brains appear decades nimbler than they actually are, and wondered, "What makes them different?" Apart from surgery, that is.
Despite the wide range of products claiming, without scientific proof, to undo the effects of ageing, there may be something to be learned from epigenetics in biological aging.
The word “epigenetics” comes from the Greek word “epi”, meaning “over” or “above,” and in this case, over or above the genome. Epigenetics studies how our lifestyle practices and environment affect the way our genes function.
Epigenetic changes play an important role in normal biological functioning and can influence natural cycles of cell death, renewal, and ageing.
Different lifestyle and behavioural patterns such as diet, sleep habits, regular exercise, smoking, drinking alcohol, and other factors can also affect the composition of the chemical groups that attach to our DNA. Other environmental factors, such as stress or trauma or even neighbourhoods or postal /zip codes may also play a role.
Epigenetics can gauge chronological time versus biological time, too. Chronological age is based on our date of birth, but biological age means our true age according to the state of our cells, tissues and organ systems, which is determined by our biochemical makeup. Our epigenome is influenced by our environment and experiences throughout life, just like how rings on the inside a tree can tell us how old the tree is and where it has been damaged or stressed.
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