Everyone knows that as we age, our bodies go through a lot of changes. While changes will occur every year, past research shows that, at the protein level, the most notable changes take place around ages 34, 60, and 78.
Although some of these aging body changes you can see — such as graying hair and skin wrinkles — many of these alterations are not visible as they happen inside the body to organs, tissues, and even on a cellular level.
Scientists from the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered that humans undergo two major changes in their molecules and microorganisms around ages 44 and 60.
Researchers say these changes can potentially have a major impact on a person’s health, including cardiovascular health.For this study, researchers analyzed data from 108 people living in California between the ages of 25 and 75.
Throughout the study, participants donated blood and other biological samples every few months, which allowed scientists to track changes in their bodies’ molecules and microbiomes.The research team tracked age-related changes in more than 135,000 different molecules and microbes for almost 250 million distinct data points.As Snyder and his team looked at the data more closely, they noticed that about 81% of the molecules and microbes they identified change more at certain ages than at other times of a person’s life span.
The two ages with the largest molecule and microbe changes, scientists found, occur when a person is in their mid-40s and early 60s.The changes in the 40s were unexpected although in hindsight it is a time when people hit their ‘mid-life crisis’ and often injured themselves. Additionally, the scientists found that the most noteworthy age-related molecule and microbe changes were linked to potential health concerns.
For example, with people in their 40s, Snyder and his team discovered significant changes in the number of molecules related to alcohol, caffeine, and lipid metabolism, as well as cardiovascular disease and skin and muscle.
At the age of 60, the biggest molecule changes were related to cardiovascular disease, immune regulation, kidney function, carbohydrate and caffeine metabolism, and skin and muscle.
You can track these changes and take action with this information. For example, get on statins as you hit your 40s or just before, and make sure you exercise through life. In your 60s, drink plenty of water for keeping healthy kidneys, eat immune boosters, and antioxidants.
Ultimately, this will help us understand how to keep our patients healthy and aging well. It may also help us to develop new therapies for diseases that result from abnormal aging. It’s important to note that these factors often interact and influence each other.
