Factors that affect how quickly we age
Nobody knows exactly how long they’re going to live but there are a range of factors we can take into consideration that affect how quickly we age.
Environmental pollutants
While we live in a much healthier and cleaner environment than say in the Victorian era, air, water and noise pollution still exists. In fact, research has identified that current levels of air pollution have reduced life expectancy by 1 year and 8 months on average worldwide. The environment can play a huge part in determining longevity and external influences such as environmental toxins really do affect ageing.
Genetics
Some things are just in our DNA and our genetics have a part to play in how quickly we age. There’s no definitive answer on how long we’re going to live but we can have some sort of indication by looking at our parents and other members of our family.
Chronic illnesses and diseases
Living with a chronic illness or disease plays a role in how long we live. So this can include things like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s. Chronic inflammation actually plays a central role in these diseases and long-term inflammation has also been shown to play a role in ageing and age related disease. In fact, three out of every five people around the world die from a disease that has been linked to inflammation.
Additionally, research has shown that suffering from chronic stress shortens the lifespan by just under three years.
Lifestyle choices
A poor diet coupled with a sedentary lifestyle can significantly shorten your lifespan. And when you add in things like drug use, excessive alcohol consumption and smoking, it just gets shorter and shorter.
NAD+ and ageing
So can NAD+ actually help us live longer? Well it’s vital for the biochemical pathways that keep our bodies functioning and due to its role in supporting efficient DNA repair, NAD+ has been touted as the “anti-ageing molecule.” As we age, our bodies produce less and less of this coenzyme. This explains why older adults are frail or do not have much energy to power their bodies and physiological processes.
NAD+ has also been shown to reduce oxidative stress that is associated with chronic inflammation within the body. Something we mentioned earlier as a factor in how quickly we age.
Essentially, without NAD+, our bodies would not be as efficient as they should be, repair themselves less efficiently, and be prone to degenerative diseases that we associate with ageing.
So while it’s not a miracle solution that can stop ageing in its tracks, it’s certainly worth considering alongside a healthy lifestyle if we wish to live as long and as healthy as possible.
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