Y'all. This is so frightening to me, and my poor little gerontologist's heart is broken to see this floating around the internet. I mean, I shouldn't be surprised given the state of our world. But, the fact that this information is coming from a doctor means that people WILL BELIEVE IT! And, the doctor in question is a MEDICAL DOCTOR. This is opposed to my Ph.D., which some people believe to be less "expert" than a medical doctor. However, a medical doctor is not necessarily trained in research, not explicitly trained in the scientific method, nor are they actively doing research every day of their life. I AM- as are other scientists in the field. So... with that in mind, here's what I saw.
In an online interview with Dr. Mark Hyman, Simon Sinek posted a conversation where this guy claimed that "most scientists are now saying that aging is a disease" and that "biological aging can be controlled." This is categorically untrue, and only perpetuates the fears that people have about getting older. To set the record straight, I'd like to address these claims here.
"Aging is an extraordinary process where you become the person you should always have been."- David Bowie
This is not the claim of REAL science
There are HUGE differences between normative aging processes and changes resulting from disease. They are not the same. Normative aging processes are gradual, slow, and don't tend to negatively impact our activities of daily living. That is, we can still do all the things we could always do- even if they happen slower than they used to. A healthy older adult CAN cook, clean, pay bills, walk, learn new things, socialize, and carry on with lots of enjoyable life events. And they have no reason not to.
Sometimes, disease happens. And, some disease processes are more common in older adults than they are in young adults. However, this doesn't mean that it is guaranteed or that aging equals disease. And, this doesn't mean that if there is disease that life will be less enjoyable or that the disease will negatively impact your daily living. For example, if you have high blood pressure, you may need to adjust your diet a bit or increase your exercise some- or maybe even add a medication to your daily routine. BUT, those do not equal a bad life or negative experiences, nor do they negate anything else you are doing in your life that is productive and joyful. Your high blood pressure didn't happen because you are older. It happened because you are you.
Biological aging
Biological aging is real, and as Dr. Hyman suggests, IS different from chronological aging. That is, chronological age is the number of years old you are (I'm 41 in case you were wondering. You probably weren't.), but biological aging is the process by which your body's cells age. Several factors can speed up your biological aging process, including stress, poor diet, and disease processes. However, unlike what Dr. Hyman claims, we can't UNDO biological aging. Nor is biological aging the same thing as a disease. Biological aging works like this: each time our cells get "worn out" from use, cells divide and replace themselves. In that process, the ends of the strands of DNA within our cells (called telomeres) shorten and thin out. Eventually, they cannot divide and replace themselves anymore. You can think about it like this: try to rip a piece of paper in half. Then again, and again. Eventually, it's too small to rip in half anymore, and the process stops. It's called the Hayflick Limit, and scientists have known about it for almost 100 years. To disregard it now, without evidence to show otherwise is unfounded and irresponsible- and NOT REAL SCIENCE.
*oh, and I should note that cells that replicate endlessly, without a limit, are called cancer cells. We don't want those.
Image from: https://media.istockphoto.com/id/916486974/vector/telomere-is-the-end-of-a-chromosome.jpg?s=612x612&w=0&k=20&c=MAjMTqTtIS_jd-TpSy8kCzg6NfMVHG_mVQ1KsOFzCZ4=
This cell division process, and the thinning of those DNA strands can be sped up when stress is involved. Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn has won a Nobel Prize for discovering the process, the impact of telomeres on cell division, and continues to do meaningful, scientific research in the area...you know, unlike Dr. Hyman. (insert giant eye roll here)
We can also experience increased cellular damage, leading to the need to increase the speed at which we replace those cells when we are exposed to free radicals. Free radicals are always around, but we increase our exposure to them in high pollution, eating a diet full of fried foods, smoking, and generally not taking care of ourselves. The process goes like this: free radicals float around our world looking for pieces of atoms known as electrons. Our body's cells have those. So when the free radicals encounter our body's cells they steal the electrons to become more stable. The problem is that when those electrons are stolen, the cell can no longer function as needed and it dies.
We can reduce the impact those free radicals have on our bodies when we change those behaviors and increase our intake of antioxidants. Antioxidants function to intercept the theft and provide the electrons to the free radicals, so they don't steal them from our body. To his credit, Dr. Hyman does value antioxidants, and promotes the intake of foods high in antioxidants to maintain good cellular heath. However, this can happen very simply with foods like blueberries and green tea. While, Dr. Hyman suggests that we need all kinds of restrictive diets and fancy supplements to do it- which is, to be candid, elitist and out of the budget for most Americans (including me). There's no reason why only the wealthy can "age well." We all can. Because aging is NOT illness, and illness is not guaranteed.
Aging Claims
The claims he is making are wildly irresponsible because they make people think that unless they eat/drink/act like him, they are aging incorrectly- and will die sooner. And they perpetuate fear in our western world. A large portion of the determining factors for how long we'll live has to do with our genetics- that is if a parent or grandparent has lived past 100 years old, it's more like that you will too. And beyond that, taking care of our cells with a diet rich in antioxidants, managing stress, and decreasing the worry that you are aging incorrectly can be just as beneficial.
And, let's stop assuming that medical doctors are scientists--- they usually aren't the ones doing the research. Clearly, I am fired up about this. And I hope you are too. Let us stop believing that aging is negative and start taking control of our own narrative. We CAN and likely WILL age well. It's our fear that gets the best of us. And that fear is only perpetuated by people like Dr. Hyman. Reject this narrative. Learn about ourselves. Trust the science.
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