The issue of aging is no longer confined to genetic factors alone. Scientists have confirmed that there are a number of environmental factors surrounding humans that contribute - severely - to increasing the frequency of aging. What are these factors?
Wrinkles, age spots, and light hair are all signs and signs of aging that can be seen on our faces, whether we like it or not, but signs of aging do not appear to everyone at the same rate, and the blame cannot be placed on genes only.
It is not possible to fight all aspects of aging with creams and cosmetics only. What many people do not know is that the speed of our aging does not only depend on the genetic factors and genes, but also like: How do we act? And where do we live? How do we deal with our environment?
Environmental factors
Regarding changes in the skin, the numbers are clear. "About 20 to 30% of the skin changes are caused by genetic factors, and the rest 70 to 80% are caused by environmental effects, such as UV rays and pollution," says Jean Krutman, head of the Leibniz Institute of Environmental Medicine Research. The air. "
And whoever wants to understand why changes in our appearance are closely related to the environment and behavior, he must closely monitor the cells of the human body.
"Aging never affects only one organ, it always causes an entire pyramid of an organism, so external changes are linked to the entire aging process and can be an indication of the state of the body," says Martin Dentsell of the Max Planck Institute for Aging Biology. German T-Online.
Biological stress
Scientists state that if we eat fatty foods, drink alcohol, smoke, or lie down for a long time in the sun, then we expose our bodies to biological pressure, this pressure leads to damage at the molecular level. For example, the DNA is damaged, both in young adults and the elderly, and this damage occurs thousands of times every minute. But while young body systems monitor these effects very well and quickly repair, the ability of older bodies to do so decreases.
"Aging means that the body is becoming increasingly unable to overcome this tension, so DNA mutations accumulate in the cells of the body, making organ failure or tumor development easier," Martin Dentsel says.
And Kreutman of the Leibniz Institute of Environmental Medicine Research notes that such changes in cells have two visible effects on the skin: “On the one hand, there are changes that occur in the color of the skin pigment, as they become heterogeneous to begin aging spots to appear. On the other hand, the skin’s elasticity decreases and develops Wrinkles. "
The difference can be observed between genetically determined skin aging and those affected by external factors with the naked eye, "each of us gets fine wrinkles as we get older. However, if the environmental effects are added, the wrinkles become deeper, then more collagen collapses, which is The protein that creates connective tissue, which increases the depth and impact of aging.
"People have a different genetic makeup," Dentsl said. "There are people who live over a hundred years old even though they smoke or consume alcohol," adding that these differences are often clearly visible.
External influences
Crotman and colleagues perform laboratory tests to find out what is most common for human skin, what changes it and causes its aging. Although the harmful and even carcinogenic effects of ultraviolet radiation or tobacco smoke have been studied and scientifically proven, scientists are still at the beginning of their research regarding the effects of air pollution, as scientists are currently testing how affected the human skin when it comes into contact with harmful substances suspended in the air.
"If the skin is covered with dust suspended in the air, spots on the skin can be detected quickly ... The soot and fuel-burning products - coming from diesel engines in particular - are converted to harmful substances. It has not yet been established whether these changes in pigment Skin associated with an increased risk of skin cancer or not. "
Why the difference?
One of the main factors for visible aging is the substances and conditions that cause external influences on the skin, as well as the materials that we eat by mouth. Just a few weeks ago, a study published in the journal "Epidemiology and Community Health" conducted by a team from the University of Southern Denmark concluded that alcohol intensity and smoking can It causes external signs of physical aging.
Therefore, the dream of eternal youth is not fully achievable, as there are factors that affect the speed and clarity of our aging.
Since we cannot change the genes, what remains in our hands is abstaining from alcohol and tobacco, improving eating habits, protecting from the sun's rays, and improving the quality of the air we breathe, and as experts say, "No one gets old for no reason."