It’s not just genetics; your habits also have an impact on how your body ages. Diet, smoking, sun exposure, and exercise all have an impact on how long you live, how healthy you are, and even how your brain functions. Below is a list of “5 Proven Unhealthy Habits That Make You Age Faster.”
1. Regular soda consumption may make you age more quickly
According to researchers who discovered that consuming sugary drinks was linked to cell aging, the consumption of sugar-sweetened soda might increase the risk of disease separately from the part it plays in obesity.
The study discovered that the protective DNA caps at the ends of the cells’ chromosomes known as telomeres were shorter in those individuals’ white blood cells who consumed more soda.
Telomere length can be most easily measured in white blood cells and has been linked to human lifespan before. Short telomeres have also been linked to the chronic diseases of aging such as diabetes, heart disease, and certain kinds of cancer.
Regular drinking of sugar-sweetened sodas could have an impact on the development of disease, not just by putting a strain on the metabolic control of the body, but also by accelerating cellular aging of the tissues.
The only beverage consumed that was negatively associated with telomere length was sugared soda consumption.
2. Too little sleep may make your skin age more quickly
Researchers have found that quality of sleep has an impact on the aging and function of the skin. The study revealed that study participants who had poor sleep experienced an increase in signs of skin aging and recovered slower from various environmental stressors like skin barrier disruption or ultraviolet radiation.
It was conclusively proven that insufficient sleep correlates with accelerated aging of the skin as well as a reduction in skin health. Women who are sleep deprived exhibit signs of premature aging of the skin and a reduction in the ability of the skin to recover after exposure to the sun.
Skin functions as a protective layer from external stressors like toxins in the environment and DNA damage from the sun.
3. Smoking cigarettes may make your face age more quickly
In a study of twins, those who smoked exhibited considerably more premature facial aging in comparison to their identical twins who didn’t smoke. The study found significant facial aging differences between twins with a difference of as little as 5 years in their history of smoking.
The study results also indicate that the impact that smoking has on facial aging is most noticeable in the lower 2-thirds of the face.
4. Eating ultra-processed foods every day may speed up the aging process
A study has established that there is an association between ultra-processed food consumption and telomere shortening. Telomeres are parts of chromosomes that can be made use of as biological age markers.
The study results suggest that people with a high intake of over 3 servings of ultra-processed foods every day were twice as likely to have short telomeres, which are a biological aging marker at the cellular level, indicating that diet may cause faster aging of the cells.
Telomeres are structures situated at the ends of the chromosomes and made from a strand of DNA in conjunction with specialized proteins. Every human cell consists of 23 pairs of chromosomes which include genetic code, and although the telomeres don’t include genetic information, they are essential for the preservation of the integrity and stability of chromosomes and subsequently, the DNA that each cell in the body is reliant on for functioning.
As we age, the telomeres get shorter because a section of the telomere is lost every time a cell divides, so the length of the telomere is regarded as a biological age marker.
Ultra-processed foods are industrial formulated substances derived from food such as fats, oils, sugars, protein isolates, and starch that include little if any whole food and often contain emulsifiers, colorings, flavorings, as well as other cosmetic additives. The ingredients and processes made use of in the production of ultra-processed foods ensure they are convenient and attractive to consumers, and extremely profitable for the producers.
These properties also make them unbalanced or nutritionally poor, and likely to be consumed in excess, usually at the expense of more nutritious and less processed alternatives.
Research has linked ultra-processed foods with serious conditions such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, depression, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and a variety of cancers. These diseases are often related to age and are associated with cellular aging, inflammation, and oxidative stress which can also affect telomere length.
5. Drinking alcohol every day may speed up the aging of the brain
According to a study, daily alcohol consumption appears to be associated with an increase in relative brain age in comparison to those who consume less alcohol.
Research has already proven that some lifestyle habits, such as heavy alcohol consumption, are linked to harmful effects in certain areas of the brain.
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