Ageing : What you need to know
“Ageing” the very word sparks an image of an old frail body with sagging skin, stooped structure and a feeble walk; but what we do not know is the fact that ageing begins as young as 20 years! So here is the list of the body parts that age when we grow.
In 20’s
What begins to age: Brain, Skin and lungs
Brain: Yes, you read it right. Brain is the first organ to age. As we grow older, the number of nerve cells in the brain; called as “neurons” begin to decrease in number. We have around 100 billion neurons, but the numbers start to decline and by the time we reach 40 years, we could be losing up to 10,000 neurons per day. These neurons donot have the capacity to regenerate. If students begin to fret around exams or if office goers forget some work, it is time to help the brain by taking nutritious home cooked fruits with vegetables and dry fruits like almonds, walnuts, etc.
Lungs: The capacity of the lungs slowly starts to decrease and the muscles stiffen up as we age. That is when people often find difficulty in breathing while walking stairs or running. Things like exposure to pollution, long stay in traffic, inhaling pungent smells for long time triggers the aging of the lungs.
Skin: the first sign of skin aging around 20’s is tanning and huge pores of skin. The skin around the face begins to wrinkle, dark spots appear, pores enlarge and the shine goes away. Regular scrubbing of the skin, facials, etc helps skin looks younger and fresher. Make sure that skin is moisturized every day.
In 30’s
What begins to age: Muscles, Hair, Fertility, Bones
Muscles: All the time of the growth, muscles helped in forming around the bones of the body. As we enter the age of 30’s, muscles begin to breakdown more rather than build up. That’s why mothers feed their college and school going children more proteins so that it may not have an adverse effect by the time they reach 30’s
Hair: It is a known fact that we lose hair everyday while we brush/ comb it. The hair follicles from where hair grows begin to deteriorate if proper care is not given; hence people become bald at the age of 35 itself. The pigment that gives the dark color to the hair, melanocytes, starts to decrease and the hair turns grey.
Fertility: Female fertility begins to decline after 35, as the number and quality of eggs in the ovaries start to fall. The lining of the womb may become thinner, making it less likely for a fertilized egg to take and also creating an environment hostile to sperm. French doctors have found that the quality of men's' sperm starts to deteriorate by 35, so that by the time a man is 45 a third of pregnancies end in miscarriage. So people opting for late marriages, do keep these in mind!
Bones: Throughout our life, old bone is broken down by cells called 'osteoclasts' and replaced by new bone-building cells, the process called ‘osteoblasts’. Children’s bone growth is rapid - the skeleton takes just two years to renew itself completely and in adults, this can take ten years. Until our mid-20s, bone density is still increasing. But at 35, bone loss begins as part of the natural ageing process.
In 40’s
What Begins to age: Eyes, Heart, Teeth
Eyes: 40’s is the crucial age where specs become a trend- especially for far sightedness glasses. You might find our uncles or near ones reading the newspapers with thick glasses. This is so because the cells around the eyes start deteriorating and regeneration starts to decrease.
Heart: we often forget that heart is also a muscle that continuously beats, and it too has an ageing time. The heart pumps blood less effectively around the body as we get older. This is because blood vessels become less elastic, while arteries can harden or become blocked because of fatty deposits forming on the coronary arteries - caused by eating too much saturated fat. The blood supply to the heart is also reduced. Men over 45 and women over 55 are at greater risk of a heart attack. People must be aware of various types of heart diseases and conditions and stay alert.
Teeth: We think that the elderly lose teeth, but teeth begin to age around 40 years. As we age, we produce less saliva, which washes away bacteria, so teeth and gums are more vulnerable to decay. Tissue lost from gums around the teeth - is common in adults over 40 years of age.
In 50’s
What Begins to age: Hearing, Kidneys, Prostrate, Gut
Hearing: We do tend to speak to our elders in a louder voice, tv volume shoots up if people above 50 years watch tv. This is the age where the natural ageing for the ears begin.
Kidneys: We often see people with problems of the kidney like the kidney stone or failure of kidney functionality. The filtering units of the kidney, known as 'nephrons' begin to decline from this age
Prostrate: The prostate often becomes enlarged with age, leading to problems such as increased need to urinate. This is known as 'benign prostatic hyperplasia' and affects half of men over 50 years, but rarely those under 40 years. It occurs when the prostate absorbs large amounts of the male sex hormone 'testosterone', which increases the growth of cells in the prostate. A normal prostate is the size of a walnut, but the condition can increase this to the size of an orange.
Gut: A healthy gut has a good balance between harmful and 'friendly' bacteria. But levels of friendly bacteria in the gut drop significantly after 55, particularly in the large intestine resulting from poor digestion and an increased risk of gut disease. Constipation is more likely as we age, as the flow of digestive juices from the stomach, liver, pancreas and small intestine slows down.
In 60’s
What begins to age: Taste and smell, Voice and Bladder
Taste and Smell: We start out in life with about 10,000 taste buds scattered on the tongue. After we turn 60, taste and smell gradually decline, partly as a result of the normal ageing process.
Voice: Our voices become quieter and hoarser with age. The soft tissues in the voice box (larynx) weaken, affecting the pitch, loudness and quality of the voice. A woman's voice may become huskier and lower in pitch, whereas a man's voice might become thinner and higher.
Bladder: Loss of bladder control is more likely when we hit 65. Women are more vulnerable to bladder problems as, after the menopause; declining estrogen levels make tissues in the urethra - thinner and weaker, reducing bladder support. Bladder capacity in an older adult generally is about half that of a younger person - about two cups in a 30-year-old and one cup in a 70-year-old
In 70’s
What begins to age: Liver
This is the only organ that begins to deteriorate in later stages of a person’s life. Liver that detoxifies the toxins begin to lose their capacity. It is often said not to have higher levels of alchol when a person turns 70
What can you do to stay younger?
You can defeat the beholder’s eyes by maintaining and looking after your body well. Here are few tips to look younger and stay healthy. My father of 60 years often tell people that he is “just sweet 16”
1. Balanced diet: have a diet consisting of excellent vegetables and fruits that balances the vitamins and nutrients to the body. Cut down on fats and have loads of water every day
2. Exercise : everyday exercise prolongs longevity of a body, let the exercise regime not be rigorous; but make it enjoyable
3. Stress management: the best stress buster is laughter. Gather around friends and laugh off your sorrows, do meditate to relieve stress, so that all the muscles in the body is worked out and ‘happy hormones’ is released. Meet friends and have meals with family, reduce stress and increase your longevity.
4. Spirituality: often people indulge in prayers and meet to discuss mind breaking spiritual findings that elevate our spirit inside, don’t wait till you become old, start young!
5. Hair and skin care: moisturize skin every day and night, (application of olive oil helps). Keep hair healthy by taking Indian gooseberry (amla) and Almond oil. Indulge in regular spa treatments to ward of dead cells and rejuvenate the dull skin.
6. Have a pet: it is said in studies that having a pet such as dog and cat prolongs our age by 3 years. Go and gift yourself a pup or a kitten and be happy about it!
7. Regular check ups: It is better to schedule regular check up of the heart, lungs, sugar, cholesterol, breast cancers and prostrate cancers every quaterly. This will ensure that we take care of our body well and we can prevent many conditions affecting our body
It’s time to begin right now, let us begin to defeat ageing!
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