The Anti-Aging “Pill” Looks a Lot Like Veggies and Exercise: LifeOmic Health Roundup
This week, LifeOmic bloggers have taken a magnifying glass to brain, gut and cellular health. Along with emerging drug-based and precision medicine therapies, lifestyle behaviors appear vital for all three.
Brain
A whopping 46 million Americans are currently over 65 years of age. As Americans age, they are more at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
A phenomenon called cellular senescence, previously identified as a culpable cause of aging and age-related disorders, was recently implicated in Alzheimer’s disease for the first time. Senescent cells, often referred to as “zombie” cells that can grow but are blocked from dividing due to some internal damage, are cleared from the body by a healthy immune system. As we age, however, more senescent cells escape immune surveillance.
Senolytics, drugs that specifically eliminate senescent cells, are currently being tested against models of Alzheimer’s disease. In the meantime, other researchers are investigating lifestyle interventions that may help to minimize the inflammatory effects and burden of senescent cells in the aging brain, including anti-inflammatory plant-based diets, exercise, intermittent fasting and improved sleep hygiene.
Learn more with LIFE Apps blogger Raeesa Gupte.
Gut
Microorganisms manipulate the world we live in and our health in profound ways that we are really just beginning to understand, partly thanks to genome sequencing technologies. One thing we have realized, however, is that our diet — including what and even when we eat — affects our health through our gut and the microorganisms living there.
Rita Colwell and others at CosmosID have also used genomic sequencing technologies to reveal that many nasty gut infections such as cholera aren’t caused by a single “bug” but rather a mix of microorganisms. Your microbiome at any given time, or the microorganisms living in your gut, may help protect you or put you at greater risk of developing a serious infection. Personalized treatments for gut and other infections based on microbiome sequencing are on the horizon.
Cellular Health and Stress
What is oxidative damage and oxidative stress? How are reactive oxygen species formed and how can they harm your cells if present in high concentrations? How can you minimize the creation and negative impacts of reactive oxygen species in your body and brain?
This explainer from LIFE Apps blogger Sara Wilbur answers these questions about cellular health and oxidative stress:
Physiological stress, such as that experienced through school, work and childrearing, increases markers of oxidative stress and can shorten telomeres, the protective sequences at the ends of our chromosomes. To support ourselves in times of stress, we need to prioritize sleep, improve our diet by selecting a variety of antioxidant-rich foods, and incorporate regular exercise. Seeking to reduce stress (especially chronic stress) might be the most important thing we can do for our health and longevity, as a calm mind and body naturally lead to healthier and more self-positive choices.
Learn more about harnessing health behaviors that can reduce oxidative stress, including mindfulness training, plant-based nutrition, exercise, intermittent fasting and adequate sleep, with LifeOmic’s LIFE Extend app.
