Aging, Inflammation and Hydrogen

The Cause of Aging

Everyone understands that the older we are, the less energy we have, the more brittle our bones, and the more sick we get. It’s a matter of life, and a matter of time before we start filling our cupboards with 50 different kinds of supplements.

But what causes aging and our plodding spiral to inevitable mortality?

Simply put, T cell functionality decreases the older we get:

Less neural network in aging T cells (Source: MedicalXpress)

But what causes T cell functionality to decrease?

In short, inflammation.

Increased exposure to our environment (radiation, the foods we consume, pollution) causes inflammation, or oxidative stress. Even breathing causes tiny amounts of inflammation that add up overtime, because oxygen actually causes cells to decrease in functionality via free radicals¹.

Three Ways to Slow Down Free Radical Production

While there doesn’t seem to be a way to stop our cells from decreased functionality, there are ways to slow down the process:

1. Exercise

While exercising can cause inflammation in the short-term (typically a few days to a week depending on how strenuous the activity is), in the longer term it lowers inflammation in the body. Research has shown that exercising can reduce inflammation², thus promoting health.

Photo: Active Health SG

Exercising is also known to have neuroprotective effects³, contributing to reduced risks in dementia.

2. Eating healthy

Unlike the olden days, our foods today are chalked with preservatives and food enhancers. Our drinks are doused in high amounts of sugar and processed chemicals like sodium benzoate. These ingredients cause oxidative stress in the body, which will overtime cease functionality in our cells.

There is no need to completely avoid them, but easing up on processed foods and drinks as much as possible will slow down the decrease in cell functionality.

3. Sleep

One of the most important reasons for sleep is the rejuvenation of brain functionality⁴. When we don’t get enough sleep,  the neurons in our brain don’t get the opportunity to rewire itself properly, and can result in temporary memory loss, otherwise known as “foggy brain”.
Sleep is also known to be able to remove “waste products” from brain cells.

Sleep is also crucial to the body. Lack of sleep can result in negative health consequences such as obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure⁵.

Image taken from Hypnopedia.site

Getting enough sleep will reduce inflammation in the body and build (or rebuild) your immune system. The older you get, the more crucial it is to get adequate hours of sleep.

4. Consuming hydrogen

Not only has tons of research shown hydrogen to have positive effects with various health issues in both humans and animals including Parkinson’s, cancer, infertility and many others, there are a host of research indicating that hydrogen is one of the best antioxidants to free radicals and anti-inflammatory counteragents to oxidative stress.

Because hydrogen is the smallest molecule in the entire universe, it is able to penetrate past  the cell membrane into the mitochondria, and neutralize the free radicals that are being generated from deep within the nucleus of the cell.

Hydrogen has also been found to slow down aging, prolong health and promote flawless skin.

Source: Britannica

For more information on how hydrogen interacts with your immune system, we dedicated a special page explaining the workings of your immune system and the ways hydrogen consumption can benefit your health. Check out:

• Your Immune System on a Cellular Level

Footnotes:

1. Free radicals are unstable atoms or molecules that damage cells, proteins and DNA in order to maintain stability
2. Source: Medical News Today
3. Source: Pubmed
4. Source: Hopkins Medicine
5. Source: NHS