Here’s why some people seem to age so much faster than others

[Lauren]

WE’VE ALL HEARD THE SAYING, “AGE AIN’T NOTHING BUT A NUMBER” – BUT IS IT TRUE?

IT TURNS OUT, IT IS – TO AN EXTENT.

STANFORD SCIENTISTS NOTICED THAT – JUST LIKE PEOPLE – MICE THEY WERE STUDYING COULD BE THE SAME AGE… BUT WHILE SOME COULD PASS COGNITIVE TESTS AND RACE AROUND THEIR EXERCISE WHEELS – OTHERS COULDN’T REMEMBER A SIMPLE TASK OR STRUGGLED TO GET AROUND.

TO GET ANSWERS, THE SCIENTISTS TURNED TO A NEW AREA OF RESEARCH – ORGAN AGING.

ORGAN AGING LOOKS AT HOW DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE BODY SEEM TO START AGING EARLIER THAN OTHERS – WHICH CAN DETERMINE THE DISEASES YOU DEVELOP OR HOW LONG YOU LIVE.

FOR A LONG TIME, THE BELIEF WAS THAT AS YOU AGED, EVERYTHING IN YOUR BODY AGED ALONG WITH YOU IN A STEADY, PREDICTABLE WAY.

NOW, WE KNOW AGING STARTS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE BODY AT DIFFERENT TIMES… AND WHILE THAT TIME LINE IS UNIQUE FOR EVERYONE – SCIENTISTS SAY ONCE WE KNOW HOW AN INDIVIDUAL’S ORGANS AGE… WE *MAY* BE ABLE TO SLOW IT DOWN.

RESEARCHERS CAN USE MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, GENETICS, AND BLOOD SAMPLES TO FIGURE IT OUT.

FOR EXAMPLE – SOME PEOPLE ARE WHAT’S KNOWN AS “BRAIN AGERS.”

THAT MEANS THEIR BRAIN IS RELATIVELY OLDER THAN OTHER ORGANS IN THE BODY.

OR THEY COULD BE “HEART AGERS” – MEANING THEIR HEARTS APPEAR MUCH OLDER THAN THE REST OF THEIR BODY.

SCIENTISTS SAY ALMOST ANY ORGAN CAN BE THE FIRST TO SHOW SIGNS OF EXTREME AGING.

AND WHILE THEY SAY THEY STILL HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE PINPOINT EXACTLY *WHY* PEOPLE’S ORGANS AGE AT DIFFERENT RATES… THEY HAVE FOUND LIFESTYLE CAN PLAY A BIG ROLE.

STANFORD RESEARCHERS FOUND PEOPLE WHO SMOKED, DRANK ALCOHOL, AND ATE PROCESSED MEATS OFTEN WERE MORE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE ACCELERATED ORGAN AGING WHILE THOSE WHO EXERCISED REGULARLY AND ATE A HEALTHIER DIET HAD MORE YOUTHFUL ORGANS.

AND WHILE THERE’S NO GUARANTEE – SCIENTISTS SAY KNOWING HOW OUR ORGANS AGE COULD HELP GUIDE SOME OF OUR HEALTH DECISIONS FOR THE BETTER.

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