Anti-aging, literally meaning 'against aging,' is perceived as stopping or preventing aging. However, this is not scientifically possible. Delaying aging and aging healthily is possible; therefore, the goal should be to slow down the aging process and take preventative measures before losses occur. Although the aging process manifests itself to varying degrees in different organs, it affects all functions of the organism. Therefore, anti-aging procedures involve taking precautions against all factors that damage cellular functions in various organs. A wide range of issues should be addressed, from maintaining the health of the cardiovascular system, brain functions, hormonal system, the five senses, and sexual functions, to preventing psychological disorders. This is possible not after aging, but by developing appropriate health attitudes from youth onwards.
Aging is a complex and intricate process affecting many parts of our body. It is impossible for any product, pill, or elixir to stop or reverse this process.
A quote by Montaigne beautifully summarizes this situation: "The value of life lies not in its length, but in its quality."
Anti-aging falls under the category of preventative treatments and aims to slow down the aging process as much as possible, ensuring proportionate and healthy aging of the body as a whole. When performed professionally, this involves a detailed examination of the individual's natural life cycle and medical history, along with necessary laboratory tests. These parameters are then evaluated to create a personalized treatment plan and provide detailed consultation. However, you don't necessarily need to consult professional institutions for anti-aging; it's possible to delay aging and age healthily by making some changes in your own life.
Free Radicals
The oxygen that enters the body through breathing also causes the emergence of harmful substances called "free radicals," which have lost their electrons. Free radicals combine with the tissues they encounter, rendering them unable to perform their functions. This effect begins at age 30, increases in the 40s, and dramatically increases from the 50s onwards, leading to noticeable aging and the emergence of many diseases. Glycosylation, on the other hand, shows uncontrolled ups and downs, causing blood sugar and insulin to damage tissues. Having a strong antioxidant system is the most fundamental requirement for oxygen-dependent life. Even single-celled organisms could not survive if they did not develop defense mechanisms against free radicals. Every organism that lives with oxygen has systems to neutralize this danger, but the degree to which they are effective varies greatly. For example, mice are not very good at stopping free radicals. The free radical attack their DNA is exposed to every day is ten times greater than that of humans. Mice only live for a few years. Humans are in a better situation in this respect. We live longer.
What should be done?
The body has three lines of defense that fight against free radicals.
• The first line involves enzyme systems. These are molecular tools produced by the body based on information present in DNA. These enzymes remove free radicals or neutralize their "spikes."
• On the second front, a wide variety of biomolecules produced in the body are involved; these molecules satisfy the electron deficiency of free radicals by donating their own electrons. These molecules are known as extracellular free radical neutralizers. By sacrificing themselves, they give an electron to molecules that are vital inside the cell.
• The last line of defense is formed by nutrients—substances the body obtains from external sources. These supplementary forces function by sacrificing themselves. The enzymes in the first group are part of our body's natural functioning; if they become insufficient due to external factors (toxic load accumulated through smoking, breathing polluted air, stress), it may be necessary to supplement them with methods such as ozone/oxygen therapy, which fall under the category of bio-oxidative treatments.
These enzymes are a thousand times more effective than the nutrients and biochemical substances (like vitamins) in the third group that act by sacrificing themselves. For example, vitamin E gives up an electron to satisfy a free radical that is in a state of predatory hunger, thus actually becoming a free radical itself.
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