Treatments to slow down cell damage

Our society is becoming increasingly long-lived. We have a better quality of life and we are living longer, but physiological ageing, the natural process that accompanies every human being and whose progress cannot be halted by medicine, is one thing. pathological ageingor the premature onset of signs of ageing. The anti-ageing medicine helps to slow the deterioration of our health over the years.

In some cases, an individual's chronological age does not correspond to their biological age, but their body is more affected by the passage of time than their ID card indicates.. The genetics of each person influences this time lag, but only by 25 percent, which implies that there are 75% external factors on which ageing depends, such as an unbalanced diet, stress, lack of sleep, smoking or environmental pollution.

Theories explaining ageing

Currently, the most widely used theory to explain ageing is the free radical theory.

The author of the theory was Denham Harman in 1956, which proposed that ageing is the result of damage caused by free radicals generated during normal cell metabolism. In 1972 Harman redefined his theory and argued that the main site where free radicals are generated is the mitochondria, and the theory was named Mitochondrial Theory of Free Radical Aging.

The theory is simple. Free radicals are destructive by attacking various components of cells such as DNA, proteins, lipid membranes and carbohydrates. The degree of ageing and the onset of neurodegenerative diseases are determined by the rate of free radical leakage into the mitochondria, in combination with the innate ability of cells to protect themselves or repair damage.

The idea that oxidative damage increases with ageing has been supported in numerous studies. Over the last 50 years, Harman's theory has been modified to include not only free radicals but also other forms of activated oxygen. This has led to the Oxidative stress theory of ageingaccording to which there is a chronic state of oxidative stress in the cells of aerobic organisms due to an imbalance between pro-oxidant and antioxidant factors.

The main function of mitochondria is to oxidise metabolites (Krebs cycle, β-oxidation of fatty acids) and to obtain ATP by oxidative phosphorylation, which is dependent on the electron transport chain.

Free radicals are atoms, molecules or compounds with one or more unpaired electrons in their outermost orbital and attack sites of high electronic density or instability such as DNA, RNA and proteins and the double bonds in unsaturated fatty acids, thereby modifying their functions within the cell.

An excess of free radicals disrupts the balance of cells and causes oxidative stress, an important phenomenon in the development of various cardiovascular, hepatic, inflammatory, tumour and endocrine diseases.

We have already mentioned that external factors such as environmental pollution, smoking, alcohol consumption, exposure to solar radiation and high-fat diets contribute to an increase in free radicals.

A balanced diet that provides natural antioxidants, the practice of sport and the avoidance of the external factors mentioned will reduce free radicals and give us a better quality of life, slowing down the ageing process.

Anti-Aging Programmes

Anti-ageing treatments or programmes are not only aimed at people who have a negative balance between their chronological and biological age or who are already in the process of ageing, but also at those who are already in the process of ageing. are designed to be applied to people from the age of 35 years and older, because regardless of the patient's condition, their preventive nature prevails.

At Biosalud, we have two types of anti-aging treatment depending on the age and condition of the person:

• Preventive programme: for people between 35 and 45 years of age who are in good health, aiming to maintain their health and avoid pathological ageing.
• Therapeutic programme: Aimed at people over 45 who are already showing signs of ageing, such as osteoarthritis, high cholesterol, skin ageing or osteoporosis.

Personalised anti-ageing programmes

At Biosalud we always start from the maxim that treatments, whatever type they may be, must be personalised and individualised. That is why, it is essential to know the patient's physical and psychological condition as accurately as possible.. This is where biological medicine comes in. This part of medicine is based on the overall condition of the state of health and thus goes a step further than conventional medicine, focusing in detail on the immune system. In other words, the organism is considered as a whole, linking all organs and systems.

In our private biological medicine clinic we use the latest technological advances such as food intolerance testing or FoodInt, genetic analysis of food or FoodGen, obesity testing, or testing for geopathies, radiation or environmental exotoxins.

In conclusion, anti-ageing treatments, which also reduce cell damage, improve the body internally by normalising physiological processes and reactivating the body's own defence and regeneration mechanisms. The aim is for the person to be, and also to feel, young or rejuvenated and in full physical and intellectual capacity.