Hollywood actor George Clooney had a bad year in 2005. He gained 25 pounds for his role in the film Syrian and had an accident during filming that left him with a brain injury and unable to return to his previous weight for his next job. Later, he would say, “Everyone has a year where they age a decade, and that was mine.”
Time passes for everyone, but it is clear that there are people who age more slowly and others at an accelerated rate. Even for the same person, a recent study published in the prestigious journal Nature revealed that aging is not continuous, but rather undergoes two “accelerations”, approximately at 44 and 60 years of age.
Various factors accelerate aging. Stress – or “discontents,” as they are colloquially called – is one of them. Exposure to toxins, such as tobacco or alcohol, can be another. The main causes of aging have been detailed in an important study by the Spanish scientist López-Otin on the markers of aging. Others have been added to this list, and one in particular stands out: aging due to chronic inflammation or inflammationas it is abbreviated in English.
“Inflammation is a necessary physiological response that our immune system carries out to deal with damage, such as external pathogens or cancer cells in our own body,” explains Dr. Irene Martínez de Toda Cabeza, director of the Aging Research Group, Neuroimmunology and Nutrition at the Complutense University of Madrid.
A recent study published in the prestigious journal Nature revealed that aging is not continuous, but rather undergoes two “accelerations”, at approximately 44 and 60 years of age.
Dr. Martínez continues: “The problem is that as we age, the inflammatory response becomes dysregulated. Instead of returning to baseline, it is maintained. This is chronic low-grade inflammation. This is called inflammation” Martínez is the lead author and co-author of several scientific studies on the relationship between inflammation, the immune system and aging.
Damage caused by inflammation that causes cells to age
A constant state of inflammation has devastating effects on the body, particularly because inflammation produces oxidative stress, the release of free radicals and other oxidizing substances that damage healthy tissues.
“Oxidation and inflammation always go hand in hand, which is why we now call it oxy-inflammatory. The scientific evidence has proven it. If you increase oxidative damage, aging is accelerated, while if you give antioxidants, you delay it,” says Martínez. “At the same time, when an organ fails due to aging cells, a greater state of inflammation occurs.” So it is a vicious circle between inflammation and aging, but what happens first and, above all, why?
One cause is thought to be the accumulation of senescent cells. These defective cells have stopped dividing, but they don’t die, they become zombie cells. They no longer do their job and start producing inflammatory cytokines, chemical messengers that cause inflammation. These include interleukins (such as IL-6 and IL-1β), growth factors, and chemokines, which damage surrounding tissues.
The cells of the immune system, called white blood cells, must eliminate these defective cells. Dr. Martínez explains the problem: “What happens is that the immune system’s own cells also become senescent and stop eliminating other damaged cells. “These defective immune cells start producing more cytokines and more oxidation.”
The problem is that as we age, the inflammatory response becomes dysregulated. Instead of returning to baseline, it is maintained. This is chronic, low-grade inflammation. This is called “inflammatory.”
Irene Martinez de Todo Cabeza
— researcher specializing in aging
Inflammations and diseases of old age
Chronic inflammation not only causes aging, but, as one review of studies explains, it also underlies diseases associated with aging: diabetes, cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer.
The damage caused by increased inflammation affects a fundamental part of cells: mitochondria, the cellular “batteries” that provide energy for the chemical processes necessary for life. But again, defective mitochondria produce excess reactive oxygen species (ROS), which damage DNA and proteins, or in other words, cause cells to age rapidly.
“It is not necessary to be old, if we suffer from higher levels of oxidation, our cells age more quickly,” says Martínez. Many factors of the modern lifestyle promote this oxidative damage to our body and accelerate aging: a sedentary lifestyle, a diet rich in ultra-processed foods with a large amount of sugar and fat, chronic stress, not consuming fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants, and lack of antioxidants. sleep can contribute to the development of a chronic inflammatory state.
In addition to generating systemic inflammation, these factors alter the intestinal microbiota. We now know that an imbalance in the microbiota can increase intestinal permeability, i.e. the appearance of “holes” in the intestinal barrier through which bacteria and toxins pass into the blood, triggering an inflammatory reaction.
Obesity is another factor that aggravates the process of inflammation. Adipose tissue, especially visceral tissue, acts as an endocrine organ that secretes pro-inflammatory substances. As body fat increases, the production of these substances also increases, further aggravating the inflammatory state.
How to avoid inflammation
Can we stop this wheel of inflammation, accelerated aging and disease? “If you could take a pill that would solve this problem, people would see it better,” jokes the researcher. “The best-known solution is exercise, and it may seem contradictory because physical exercise involves stress and generates oxidation and inflammation, but, if maintained over time, it is beneficial because it makes cells more resistant to oxidation,” he says.
A review of studies from different specialties found that any type of exercise promotes the reduction of inflammatory cytokines and that older adults who exercise have lower levels of inflammation.
Diet is another key factor. Numerous studies have shown that an inflammatory diet accelerates aging, while on the contrary, a diet rich in antioxidants, healthy fats and fiber, including whole grains, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, can significantly reduce inflammatory markers.
Foods rich in polyphenols, such as fruits, vegetables, olive oil and green tea, have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that help fight cellular damage. “It is better to get antioxidants from foods rather than from supplements that contain excessive amounts,” says Dr. Irene Martínez.
Taking care of the microbiota and probiotics is another lever to combat chronic inflammation. According to Irene Martínez, “taking probiotics with a cocktail of bacterial strains can improve the symptoms of autoimmune diseases or slow down the aging process.”
“We are increasingly aware of the importance of stress management,” he adds. Chronic stress, even of low intensity, produces a suppression of the immune system and, at the same time, also inflammation. “That’s why you can get herpes before an exam,” Martínez explains.
It’s not so much about boosting the immune system, as many supplements and functional foods promise, or avoiding stress, an impossible task in modern society. The key is adaptability. “When a living being is functioning well, the physiological responses are adaptive and short-lived,” says the aging expert. As with everything, we need the right amount of inflammation in our lives to avoid aging more quickly.
* Darío Pescador is editor and director of the Quo Magazine and author of the book the best of yourself Published by Oberon.
