Skin is a visible organ which suffers cross-linking damage. However, unlike other tissues, skin is exposed to considerable ultraviolet light (UV) energy from sunlight. Ultraviolet light is a major cause of skin cross-linking. This type of damage can be prevented or retarded by staying out of sunlight or using sun-block preparations containing esters of PABA […]
Read more Cross-linked Molecules and Aging in Skin, Arteries, and Other Tissues IV
- beta carotene, body clock, canthaxanthin, carotenoid, Cross-linking, death clock, DNA, Dr. W. Donner Denckla, nucleic acid, Orobronze, PABA, pituitary gland, RNA, skin, ultraviolet light, UV damage, UV light, vitamin A, vitamin b
As we mentioned earlier, some nutrients effective to a degree in slowing cross-linking include cysteine (a sulfur-containing amino acid, which helps maintain sulfur in proteins in the reduced state); vitamins A, B-1, B-5, B-6, C, E; the mineral selenium; and other antioxidants. Removal of calcium and heavy metals from collagen by chelating agents may be […]
Read more Cross-linked Molecules and Aging in Skin, Arteries, and Other Tissues V
- amino acid, bromelain, chelating agent, collagen, Cross-linking, cysteine, Dr. Johan Bjorksten, micro-protease, nutrients, papain, papaya, pineapple, proteolytic enzymes, sulfur, vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, vitamin c, vitamin E
Proteins are complex molecules, made up of amino acids, which perform a wide variety of functions in the human body, from chemical reaction-controlling enzymes, to structural molecules like collagen, to necessary components in human memory. In order to function properly, proteins must assume a correct three-dimensional configuration. In their proper shape, some proteins act as […]
Read more Cross-linked Molecules and Aging in Skin, Arteries, and Other Tissues III
- acetaldehyde, alcohol, amino acid, arteries, blood vessels, chelating agent, collagen, connective tissue, Cross-linking, diabetes, EDTA, EGTA, enzymes, free radicals, hemorrhage, ketones, lipids, metal ions, molecules, muscles, nitrogen, oxidation, oxygen, plasma, plasma lipids, protein, proteins, smog, sodium citrate, sulfur, tobacco, unsaturated fats, vitamin c, wine
As you grow older, your body becomes stiffer, less elastic, and less agile. This is due to cross-linking at a molecular level. You become stiffer for the same reason that old rubber becomes brittle and stiff—your large structural molecules such as collagen (an important protein in connective tissues) are welded together by cross-links. This process […]
Read more Cross-linked Molecules and Aging in Skin, Arteries, and Other Tissues II
- agile, bitamin B1, collagen, Cross-linking, flexibility, molecules, nutrients, PABA, vitamin A, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, vitamin c, vitamin E
Empiricism may serve to accumulate facts, but it will never build science. The experimenter who does not know what he is looking for will not understand what he finds. —Claude Bernard, 1813-1878 When your skin wrinkles, or arteries or bread hardens, or rubber becomes brittle, or old Jell-O® stiffens, we are seeing examples of the […]
Read more Cross-linked Molecules and Aging in Skin, Arteries, and Other Tissues I
- acetaldehyde, alcohol, amino acid, arteries, atherosclerosis, cancer, cells, Cross-linking, cysteine, DNA, eggs, esters, flexibility, hemorrhage, liver, metabolism, molecules, nutrients, PABA, proteins, rats, RNA, sunlight, tissues, tobacco, ultraviolet light, vitamin b, vitamin B1, vitamin c, wrinkles
Selenium, a mineral, is an important trace element in immune system function. It has been found in experimental animals to act as an anti-carcinogen and anti-mutagen (can prevent DNA mutations—undesired alterations of your DNA master blueprint in the presence of some mutagenic agents). Selenium is an essential part of your enzyme called glutathione peroxidase, which […]
Read more Aging and the Immune System III
- Allan L. Goldstein, anti-carcinogen, anti-mutagen, aorta, bacteria, bromelain, cholesterol, DNA, Dr. Takashi Makiodan, enzymes, fibroblasts, glutathione peroxidase, high-cholesterol diet, hydrogen peroxide, immune system, immune system suppressants, interferon, lymphocytes, oxidation, papain, peroxides, selenium, stem cells, T-cells, thymosin, thymus gland, trypsin, vitamin A, vitamin c, vitamin E, white blood cells
One of the most important factors leading to immune system decline is the greatly reduced rate of release of growth hormone by the brain as we age. This hormone, produced by the pituitary gland, begins to fall off in quantity after your teens. Since the thymus gland requires growth hormone to function properly, this decrease […]
Read more Aging and the Immune System II
- amino acid, arginine, B-cells, bacteria, bromelain, cysteine, Dr Cheryl F. Nokels, enzymes, growth hormone, hormones, immune system, kidneys, lymphocytes, mercaptoethanol, ornithine, papain, papaya, pineapple, pituitary gland, Proteases, red blood cells, T-cell cloning, T-cells, thiol, thymocytes, thymosin, thymus gland, trypsin, tumor, virus, vitamin A, vitamin c, vitamin E, zinc
… just as the pigment of the hair is destroyed by phagocytes, so also the atrophy of other organs of the body, in old age, is very frequently due to the action of devouring cells which I have called macrophages. —Elie Metchnikoff, The Prolongation of Life (1908) Instead of preventing diseases only by protecting the […]
Read more Aging and the Immune System I
- aging, amino acid, antibodies, arthritis, atherosclerosis, atherosclerotic plaque cells, autoimmune disease, bacteria, bone marrow, cancer, chromosome, cysteine, ducts, Elie Metchnikoff, free radicals, immune system, influenza, interferon, Life extension, lymph nodes, microbes, microphages, nerve cells, polypeptides, proteins, selenium, spleen, T-cells, thymus gland, virus, vitamin A, vitamin c, vitamin E, white blood cells, X chromosome, Y chromosome, zinc
Most vitamins are soluble in either the watery or the fatty tissues of our bodies, but not in both. Vitamins C and B are water soluble; vitamins A, E, D, and K are fat soluble. Both types of vitamins are necessary for health and long life. We have different storage capacities for different vitamins. For […]
Read more Molecules of Life and Life Extension: An Introduction to the Cast II
- adenosine triphosphate, amino acid, anti-aging enzyme, ATP, Carbohydrates, citric acid cycle, copper, energy, enzymes, fat soluble vitamin, glutathione peroxidase, iron, manganese, minerals, PABA, peptides, proteins, selenium, superoxide dismutase, vitamin b, vitamin B12, vitamin c, vitamin D, vitamin E, Vitamin K, water soluble vitamin, zinc
… all diseases may by sure means be prevented or cured, not excepting that of old age, and our lives lengthened at pleasure even beyond the antediluvian standard. —Benjamin Franklin, in a letter to English chemist Joseph Priestley The same molecules that serve us well by keeping us alive and healthy can, if they fail […]
Read more Molecules of Life and Life Extension: An Introduction to the Cast I
- amino acid, blood, Carbohydrates, deoxyribonucleic acid, diet, DNA, energy, enzymes, eye, fats, genetic defects, hair, height, krebs cycle, lipids, metabolism, molecules, nonessential vitamins, oils, PABA, polypeptide hormones, polypeptides, ribonucleic acid, RNA, sources of energy, starches, structural molecules, sugars, tissue, tissue type, vitamin A, vitamin b, vitamin c, vitamins