What are the causes of aging?

In a previous blog, I've advocated that aging is the result of a growing population of malfunctioning cells, as illustrated in the graph below. Since the body is designed to heal itself, what are the reasons for this?

In the 12 years I’ve been researching natural health options, I’ve run across hundreds of products that claim to be anti-aging.

It may surprise you, but I suspect that many of those claims are probably valid. Why? Because so many factors can cause aging.

I believe that the causes can be grouped into the following categories:

Nutritional deficiencies

Starving your cells of any vitamin, mineral, essential fatty acid, and essential amino acid will cause malfunctioning cells, which in turn will result in one or more disorders. Additionally, certain carbohydrates are critical to an effective immune system.

There are three main causes for nutritional deficiencies:

• The Standard American Diet is deficient in nutrient-rich foods.
• Even nutrient-rich foods have reduced nutritional content.
• Almost every drug depletes one or more nutrients from the body.

An acidic body

An acidic body restricts oxygen  and water absorption by the cells. It also is an ideal environment for viruses, bad bacteria, fungus, and cancer. Vegetables are the primary foods that are non-acidic. Almost all other foods promote acidity in the body.

Accumulated free radical damage

When the body’s repair processes cannot keep up with the rate of cellular damage from free radicals, damaged cells begin to accumulate. Damaged cells perform at sub-optimal levels and the build-up in the number of damaged cells begins to have long-term negative effects that result in symptoms.

Accumulated exposure to toxins

A build-up of toxins in the body’s cells, liver, kidneys, and gut overwhelms the body’s ability to rid itself of the toxins, and symptoms appear.

Chronic stress

Stress depresses the immune system. Chronic stress exposes the body to disorders related to an underactive immune system—frequent and extended infections and cancer.

Decline in the body’s ability to heal itself

• Hormone production begins to decline about 2% per year about age 25. Hormones control all glandular functions.
• Stem cell production begins to decline about age 25. Stem cells are the basic building block for cellular repair throughout the body.
• The ability to buffer excess acidity is depleted about the age of 45, beginning a trend to a more acidic body. Infections and cancer thrive in an acidic body.

Spinal misalignment

Spinal misalignment impedes signals between the brain and the rest of the body. The brain is the control center for the whole body, so if spinal misalignment impedes the communication between the brain and a specific part of the body, that part is likely to malfunction.

A diet high in sugar content

Refined sugar depresses the immune system, which in turn leads to elevated rates of viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections and a higher risk of cancer.

The negative effects of all but the last two can be reduced with proper nutritional supplementation.