Endocrinologist Larisa Danilova - about the benefits of sauerkraut, telomeres, physical activity and geroprotectors

Old age is one of the most uncertain frontiers in life. Modern science confirms that everyone’s old age comes in its own time. And it depends on a lot of factors. They were talked about with the Head of the Department of Clinical Endocrinology of BSMU, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Larisa Danilova. One of the features of aging is chronic inflammation that occurs in the body regardless of any infections. It is always there where there is excess body weight. To suspect something wrong, the doctor is enough to measure the circumference of the waist. Ideal parameters: no more than 80 cm for women and 94 cm for men. The risks of autoimmune diseases also increase when the immune system perceives its own cells as foreign, triggering the process of immune destruction.

Friend or foe? Microbiota (bacteria, viruses, archaea, fungi and protozoa) plays a key role in maintaining health and affects the aging process. The environment, including products of anthropogenic pollution, heavy metal salts, pesticides, herbicides, phthalates, as well as noise and light pollution, can also put a serious footing on our longevity. It turned out that the frequency of vascular accidents in people whose houses stand along noisy and bright trails is higher.

The form of cooking is also important. The lower the temperature of cooking, the healthier the food. Low-temperature cooking (usually 50-90 degrees) better preserves nutrients, improves the texture and taste of the dish. Long and short It is believed that indirectly on the lifespan of cells affects the length of telomeres - the end sections of chromosomes. With their critical shortening, a programmed cell death occurs. It is believed that smoking, obesity, infections and chronic diseases, inflammation, as well as sleep deficiency, low physical activity, negative anthropogenic environmental factors accelerate these processes. To maintain “telomeric stability” can long walking and in general physical activity, reduced calorie with a sufficient amount of fiber, weight loss and a positive attitude to the world.

Our muscles also help us live happily ever after. Changing their quantity and quality affects the rate of aging. With age, the structure of muscle tissue cells and the work of their mitochondria, which perform the functions of “internal power plants”, change. The production of muscle tissue hormones - myokines, which affect the appearance of insulin resistance and chronic inflammation, also changes. Improve the work of the muscles are able to physical and aerobic loads (walking, swimming, cycling), strength training. No less important is the amount of protein in the diet: 1 - 1.5 g per 1 kg of body weight. The more muscle tissue, the healthier the person.

Of course, nutrition is also important. Especially the Mediterranean diet, rich in olive oil, plant products, fish, nuts, berries. Natural omega-3 fatty acids (from fish, nuts, seeds), antioxidants (vitamins C, E, magnesium, selenium and zinc) reduce free radical formation and chronic inflammation.

Disrupts the work of our internal “power plants” excess sugar, fructose, trans fats and products with a high glycemic index. And frying in sunflower oil - it is better to replace it with lard, butter or ghee.

The Invisible Commander was previously thought to be a set of instructions written in DNA. With which genes he was born, he will live. But it was more complicated. Identical twins sometimes get sick with different diseases. A grandfather with bad habits is able to “reward” a grandson with various breakdowns in the body. And epigenetics understands these issues, studying not so much the genes themselves as the mechanisms of their control. Bad habits of grandparents, fathers and mothers, negative environmental factors are embedded in the genome and transmitted to the next generations, changing the epigenetic profile, accelerating biological aging. It's a little creepy. Can you control your epigenome? It turned out that physical activity has a positive effect on some of its processes. And that's encouraging.

With the prefix "hero" A fashionable and at the same time ambiguous topic is geroprotectors. It is believed that vitamins, hormones, minerals and antioxidants slow down aging, strengthen immunity, increase stress resistance and reduce the risk of age-related diseases. But things are more complicated. Vitamins from fresh foods and tablets work differently.

The heroprotective effect of reduced calorie, fresh berries, fruits, long walking, exercise is proved. So, berries (cherries, blueberries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries) are sources of anthocyanins and resveratrol. Green leafy vegetables (spinach, cabbage, onions, parsley, celery) contain quercetin, vitamins and polyphenols. Walnuts, flax seeds, fatty fish (salmon, mackerel) are rich in omega-3 acids, vitamin E. It is believed that cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower), containing sulforaphane, also have anti-aging effects. Among the leaders are fermented products. And first of all sauerkraut, wet apples. A great geroprotector is foxes. "Self-cleaning." In 2016, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Japanese cell biologist Yoshinori Osumi “for the discovery of autophagy mechanisms” that help the body control the age-related accumulation of damaged cells. Autophagy processes can trigger calorie restriction and prolonged pauses between meals, including intermittent fasting. The effects of plant substances, including curcumin, that affected the mechanisms of autophagy in mice are also being studied.

A healthy lifestyle can actually slow the rate of biological aging and significantly increase the period of active productive life. They say that in our century a person can live to 120 years. Can we check on ourselves? Scientists announced the creation of a vaccine against old age

A US company has announced the development of the SenoVax vaccine, which teaches the immune system to recognize aging zombie cells and destroy them without harming healthy ones. This is one of the most promising strategies in the science of longevity. If the tests are successful, the drug could be available by 2030. Until now, scientists have tried to poison senescent cells with chemicals, but they also affect healthy cells, requiring constant intake.