Aging with Health Maintaining optimal function inside and out In a world that places such emphasis on defying the signs of aging with the help of botox, col-lagen injections, eye lifts, facelifts, and yes, now even kneecap skin lifts…what, really, does “growing old gracefully” mean? It is a very personal journey, how we move through our years feeling secure, happy, and good about ourselves and, also, about our appearance. The word used most commonly to describe moving into our senior years with vigour is “anti-aging” – but would we not be wisest to redefine this as “healthy aging”? After all, we could all, with 100 per cent certainty, put on our tomb-stones, “I knew this was going to happen.” Healthy aging could be defined as doing all we can do to keep our bodies functioning opti-mally internally and externally. Science has shown us that some things are genetically deter-mined but this can be influenced, by our actions and efforts, to improve our genetic expression. A discussion with Dr. Penny Kendall-Reed, author and highly respected naturopathic doctor, revealed some key concepts influencing healthy aging. Below is a review of the aging theories she discusses: Dr. Victoria Coleman is a 1994 graduate of CMCC and a BSc in Kinesiology specializing in Fitness Assessment and Exercise Counsel-ing. Working with patients over the years, it became her mission to teach people that everything you eat, breath, drink, and think affects your health. This fuelled her desire to further expand her career and continue her studies. She is an avid follower of the Institute for Functional Medicine and is currently working toward her certification in Functional Medicine. Dr. Coleman is also the president of Douglas Laboratories/Pure Encapsulations Canada. AGING THEORIES The aging process can be divided into three main categories: genetic, biochemical and physiological. However, another way to understand the aging process is to divide these processes into two main classes. The first can be termed “programmed theories” that rely on the principles of biology, adhering to the idea that aging is a continuation of growth and development with gradual exhaustion of our cellular machine. The second class concerns “error theories,” whereby environmental insults to our system gradually cause the body to “break down.” Although it is clear that aging involves the simultaneous pro-gression and interaction of all these processes and theories, considering them separately helps our understanding and directs treatment. Programmed theories can be broken down into three categories: Genetic theory involves the process of the turning on and off of specific genes, and the correlation of these events to the occurrence and timing of age-related pathologies. It includes the antagonistic pleiotropy theory, which argues that evolution has endowed us with genes offering short-term benefits early in life but causing deterioration as we age. Endocrine theory includes the changes in hormone synthesis and activity and the effect this has on the pace and rate of aging. Immunological theory concludes that a decline in the strength of the immune sys-tem leads to an increased vulnerability to infections, pollutants and cancer, along with impaired ability to heal and repair. Error theories are divided into four categories: Wear and Tear states that cells and tissues lose their ability to replace themselves at their normal rate, ultimately weakening the body. This incorporates the idea of telomere shortening. Every time a cell replicates, its nucleic acid sequence, or telomere, is short-ened. Once it becomes too short, the cell dies. Cross-linking theory describes aging as an accumulation of abnormally formed cross-linked bonds between proteins. These cross-links obstruct the passage of nutrients across the cell wall, can react with other proteins in the body causing further cross-links and damage, and are a source of free-radical oxidation. Free Radical theory attributes the aging process to an accumulation of oxidative in-flammation and cellular damage to the point of tissue mutation, disease or death. Errors in Repair describes damage to the mechanisms that synthesize proteins, re-pair and destroy faulty cells, and remove toxins from the body, resulting in metabolic failure, aging and cellular death. As we reach our senior years, a complex interaction of all these factors has been clinically demonstrated. For example, a study in Korea demonstrated the relationship www.canadianchiropractor.ca ictoria Coleman, DC, 36 • CANADIAN CHIROPRACTOR | FEBRUARY 2012
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