Genetic inheritance may prove to be man’s great hindrance, as abnormal genes ‘mislead’ the metabolism and may undermine a person’s capacities. On the other hand, inheritance of normal and efficient genes is a blessing. But it may not guarantee normal metabolism and healthy life as one has to live in an ‘environment’ and all what is to be metabolized, including food and other materials.
The biological events that effect every human’s life, from conception and development in the womb to the last inevitable, take direct or indirect instructions from the environment. The aging-process, like the metabolic process, is not an exception.
It is common knowledge that people who easily adjust to varying situations and are more happy and relaxed than others, live longer. In fact, people who remain angry, may live lesser lives because feedback mechanisms of their system may continuously produce destructive chemicals, like excessive corticosteroids, which are stress mobilized and may increase the rate of aging.
So far, no particular ‘aging’ genes have been identified, except for those rare progeroid diseases, which enhance aging. A genetic variant of apolipoprotein-E gene (apoE-4) is suspected to increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes, due to fault in the lipid transport and metabolism. The protein product of the gene fails to get hold of low density fat, from the blood vessels for transportation, to the cell receptors and final submission to the metabolic disposal inside the cell, as chemistry of the holding system in the protein is not upto the requirement.
This lipid transport failure across the cell membranes may promote deposition of lipids in the vessels to form fatty plaques, which, after calcification, can offer considerable resistance to the blood flow, as plaques rise above the inner walls of vessels.
This situation not only accelerates aging in the vessels and retards blood supply to the tissues of brain and heart, but would also promote general loss of firmness in the muscles as ratio of fat to muscle tissue would increase.
Aging in blood vessels and susceptibility to stroke, as a result of fat deposits, cannot exclusively be attributed to faulty expression of genes. One can very easily acquire this condition having normal genes. Excessive calories are bound to be deposited as fat, because, there is a limit to the production of transport molecules on the command of genes, beyond which economy of the system suffers. Animals live much longer than those kept in similar conditions receiving food on will, which may produce positive slack due to partial consumption of nutrients in the functional set up.
Food is of central and crucial importance in our daily life. Its source, processing, the way it is cooked and consumed, in terms of quality and quantity, determines the metabolism and the capacities of individuals. The constituents of food like water, minerals, proteins, fats, carbohydrates and vitamins have various collaborative functions after incorporation in chemical reactions which make us live. The actual metabolic process starts in the cells where the processed chemicals from food materials are fed into metabolically inter-dependent pathways. There the chemistry of these substances is changed. Made to measure metabolites are synthesized for the purpose of incorporation into the functional set up, energy production and other chemical mechanisms of living processes. The unwanted chemicals or parts of chemicals similarly have to be rejected and excreted.
Our system tries to metabolize or process every substance, which enters. Unwanted substances cost heavily in terms of metabolic efficiency and have substantial role in the human aging process. The chemical products of invading organisms, polluted environment, toxins from altered food materials and products of incomplete metabolic reactions, all would ‘choke’ the normal metabolic activities, and, may enhance aging.
Essential minerals are very important for normal metabolism, but their excess is always toxic. For example, toxic metal ions may enter cells and other compartments by inhibiting essential ones, retarding related physiological functions. Their accumulation favours aging process. Aluminium for instance, the major metal of our cooking ware, has widely been reported as etiological agent in the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative disorders. Nickel, in addition to being immunotoxic causes cancer. Similarly, arsenic is considered to be a major factor for skin, lungs, liver, bladder and kidney cancer.
Many of our foods are mineral concentrates, prepared after hours of high temperature treatments which spare nothing of intact organic essentials which may even be converted to harmful substances. Excessive sodium chloride in particular can be a significant factor in promoting calcium kidney stones. It will also promote fat transport across intestines responsible for additional calories, weight and blood pressure. Human systems would last much longer, if feedback and controlling mechanisms of genes and metabolism, having links with environment, attitudes, behaviour, life styles, social status and eating habits, could be modified in favour of metabolic efficiency. Proper education and awareness in this regard can go a long way in adjusting the ‘molecular link’ to desirable levels and prevent metabolic insults, which accelerate aging and shorten life. It may be possible to identify individual specific faulty trends and put off the resultant manifestations of aging by avoiding the root cause factors. But the shorter and easier way is to follow and try general longevity predictor guidelines.
