Imagine the benefits of visiting your doctor annually to receive a truly comprehensive evaluation of your body’s health. Imagine being able to detect and prevent diseases before they even start, and avoid serious illnesses before they can take hold. Instead, do you feel that you don’t really know your health? Do your routine lab results show that everything is normal, but you still don’t feel your best? Maybe you’re just getting older? Maybe not. The good news is that it is possible to actually own your health through longevity medicine. Research has shown that although healthy aging is complex and different for everyone, understanding and managing biomarkers has been shown to be effective in disease prevention and is now more accessible than ever before. Let’s take a closer look at some of the key indicators that can provide us with valuable insights into the aging process.
Biomarkers: Your Blueprint to Healthy Aging
Longevity medicine is a field of medicine that focuses on aging well. It may be surprising, but even though we get older each year, an individual’s biological age can actually be younger than the chronological age. By keeping track of and managing biomarkers of aging, it’s possible to prevent and reverse the effects of aging and prevent diseases that can come with it, such as diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease, autoimmune conditions, hormone disorders and many others. In short, longevity medicine plays an important role in promoting healthy aging and reducing the risk of chronic diseases.
It is important to understand the underlying contributors of disease, such as inflammation, methylation, mitochondria, gut microbiome, and insulin resistance. The goal is to age better by improving these underlying systems and optimizing pathways. These pathways, when blocked or dysfunctional, create chaos in the body and can lead to premature aging.
The Role of Mitochondria: Empowering Your Health and Longevity
One of these systems is found in the ever-present mitochondria, which are responsible for creating energy. This energy fuels our muscles and our thinking. Everything we do requires the energy produced by the mitochondria. This small organelle is the powerhouse of the cells and plays a crucial role in providing the body with energy. However, optimizing mitochondria is not an easy task. It requires a deep understanding of the biochemistry involved in the Krebs cycle. The Krebs cycle is responsible for converting consumed food, such as fats, proteins and carbohydrates, into energy. To optimize the Krebs cycle, it is necessary to ensure that adequate amounts of nutrients, B vitamins, amino acids, minerals, and vitamins are consumed.
Lifestyle Factors Impacting Longevity: Stress, Toxins, Sleep, and Nutrition
There are several lifestyle factors that can impact the mitochondria and the Krebs cycle, including stress levels, toxins and pollutants in our environment, quality of sleep, and the food we eat. It’s important to note that the mitochondria’s energy use generates oxidative stress, which needs to be balanced by antioxidants. While some oxidative stress is necessary, it’s crucial to maintain a balance between oxidants and antioxidants, as having too many of either one can be harmful to overall health. Further testing is needed to delve into the mitochondria and identify the top bi-products it produces. By analyzing these bi-products, we can determine how efficient the energy production is. Metabolism also plays a crucial role in longevity, as it reveals how well the mitochondria is functioning.
Inflammation and Gut Health: Unveiling the Link to Chronic Disease
Inflammation is also a factor in aging, specifically chronic low-grade inflammation that can persist for years. This inflammation can be caused by mitochondrial dysfunction, as well as a lack of essential vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats. The gut microbiome is also critical in this process, as an overgrowth of bacteria can produce lipid polysaccharides that can lead to inflammation. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to gut health and ensure that any latent viruses are addressed promptly when the body is compromised. Knowing which biomarkers to test for and understanding the standards for the testing process is crucial for overall health and longevity.
Environmental Factors: Identifying and Addressing Hidden Health Disruptors
It is important to be aware that certain substances in our environment such as dormant viruses, heavy metal toxins, environmental endocrine disrupters and other toxins in the environment, can cause inflammation and mimic hormones, disrupting our body’s natural balance. These substances, also known as xenoestrogens or pseudohormones, can be found in plastics, Teflon, and industrial bi-products that make their way into our water and cooking supplies. This can have a negative impact on our health, including our hormone levels, which are key to longevity. It’s important to optimize the production of adrenal hormones, the hormones involved in fight or flight responses, as well as thyroid hormone, which is responsible for regulating metabolism. Instead of waiting for hormone dysfunction to occur, be proactive! It is important to strive for an optimal balance of hormone levels before they become problematic.
Testing Biomarkers: A Personalized Approach to Healthy Aging
The best way to age well is through knowledge and prevention. Knowing which biomarkers to test for and understanding the standards for the testing process is crucial for our overall health and longevity. Some examples of important biomarkers to test for include high sensitivity C reactive protein, ferritin, GGT, homocysteine, uric acid, insulin, cortisol and comprehensive stool testing. By monitoring these biomarkers, we can identify any compromised pathways that may accelerate the aging process and provide you with a a clear and personalized path to best health.
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