Top 10 Causes Of Premature Aging

Aging appears to be a fact of life, and even with all of the medical advances that have been made, particularly over the past century or so, death still seems inevitable.

However, what we choose to do during our lives can and does affect how soon death comes.

This is why more and more research is looking into how to determine your biological age. While your chronological age is based solely on the date you were born, your biological age reflects how “old” your body really is – if your biological age is less than your chronological age, then you’re doing fine, but if it’s the other way around, then you are likely not healthy and are aging too quickly.

And according to at least one study that analyzed various biological markers, certain conditions can lead to a greater rate of aging.

So, this article lists what are believed to be the top ten reasons why some people age prematurely.

Bad Habits

It should be common knowledge by now that certain bad but socially acceptable habits (e.g. smoking, drinking alcohol) can cause serious health problems.

Smoking can cause a host of health problems (e.g. cardiovascular disease) that can shorten your life, but it also accelerates aging because it steps up the production of certain enzymes that work against your appearance and health. That means that you’ll develop wrinkles, lines, bags under your eyes, and sagging skin.

As with the increased cortisol caused by a lack of sleep (see below), smoking slows down your collagen production, so once again, you can end up with sagging skin.

In addition, nicotine thins your skin, which affects how smooth your skin appears.

Let’s move on to alcohol.

You’re probably aware that it can cause damage to your liver, but it too can cause premature aging.

When you drink alcohol, some of its ingredients destroy cells that your body normally uses in the detoxification process.

This allows toxins to build up, and those make your body age faster.

You may be aware too that alcohol can dehydrate you (see below for more information about not drinking enough water).

Then, you have to consider that many alcoholic drinks also have added sugars, and sugar can cause damage to your cells.

And lastly, on the subject of alcohol, it affects how your body handles blood circulation, which in turn can cause your body to age prematurely inside as well as out. For example, one of the visible effects of this is the development of spider veins on your legs.

Depression

While I have written many articles about depression, of relevance here is the relationship between depression and premature aging.

Studies have shown that depression can cause the body’s cells to age faster, which can then lead to inflammation and other health problems.

People who are depressed can develop health issues that you would normally only see in people who were much older, such as cardiovascular disease, cognitive problems, muscle weakness, tremors, and weakened bones.

Another reason that depression can cause premature aging (besides cells that age faster) is that it can cause the length of your telomeres to shorten.

Telomeres are present on the end of every strand of DNA in your body, to help protect the DNA.

And every time your DNA replicates, a tiny part of those telomeres is lost.

When they become so short that your cells can no longer divide, those cells die.

Studies have shown that telomeres have a longer length in healthy bodies, and a shorter length in unhealthy bodies.

In fact, some scientists suggest that telomere length is one of the most accurate indicators of biological age.

And it turns out that depression, which we already know can lead to various health problems (e.g. cardiovascular disease), may be associated with shortened telomeres.

To prevent this telomere damage, you can engage in actions that boost your telomerase level, including:

• eating a healthy diet
• regular exercise
• stress reduction

Diet

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “You are what you eat” (I know I’ve mentioned it a few times in the many articles I’ve written regarding diet), but what you may not realize is that what you eat can also lead to premature aging.

Eating healthily is about a lot more than maintaining a healthy weight.

For example, eating the wrong foods can cause inflammation, which is believed to be the cause of many health issues, especially chronic ones.

Inflammation can make you look older than you really are (i.e. increase your biological age compared to your chronological age), and cause you not to feel well.

High-carbohydrate foods (which includes many junk foods as well as some would not be considered “junk”) are one reason why collagen production can be reduced. Insufficient collagen becomes visible via the effect it has on your skin (e.g. wrinkles).

Internally, your organs can be affected too – e.g. you may develop a fatty liver.

If you have a diet that is high in carbs and also low in protein, then this is particularly bad when it comes to premature aging.

This is why you need to be careful of fad diets, especially those that focus on one specific food group.

Drinking Liquids Other Than Water

I’ve already talked at length about the benefits of drinking enough water in this article, but too little (or the wrong type of liquids, such as caffeinated coffee or sodas), can also contribute to premature aging.

In the case of caffeine, it forces your body to get rid of water because it has a diuretic effect. This can cause your skin to appear dry, and your organs not to function optimally.

Something else to bear in mind is that feeling thirsty may not be the warning sign that you’re close to being dehydrated you think it is – you can already be quite dehydrated before the thirst kicks in.

This is why it’s important to drink water regularly throughout the day, whether you feel thirsty or not. It’s better to do this than to drink a large quantity at once a few times a day.

Insufficient Sleep

I have written other articles about sleep, and you’re probably aware that sleep deprivation can cause performance and concentration problems, amongst many other issues, but another aspect of not getting enough of it is that it too can cause premature aging.

This is partly because lack of sleep increases your cortisol levels (cortisol being the so-called stress hormone), which in turn can lead to anxiety, stress, and even depression.

And those types of mental health issues can lead to early aging – inside and out.

Constantly elevated levels of cortisol decrease your body’s production of collagen, which is vital for healthy skin – too little collagen will make your skin look saggy.

The additional cortisol can also cause you to develop dark circles under your eyes, and your growth hormone levels, which play a part in maintaining strong bones, will be reduced too.

Low BMI

This one may come as a surprise, given that people are constantly being told their Body Mass Index is too high.

But if you think that the goal is to drive down your BMI to the lowest possible number, then you have been misinformed.

Your weight needs to be appropriate for your frame.

A BMI that’s too low can cause a loss of soft body tissue, which again can decrease collagen production, with the consequent effect on your skin (e.g. sagging and wrinkling).

In addition, if your BMI is too low, it can weaken your immune system, cause anaemia, and lower your energy levels.

Overexposure To The Sun

While the sun is generally good for us – it’s the best source of vitamin D, which is vital for so many functions in our body – too much of it can cause premature aging.

To begin with, it can make your skin look older than it should, through fine lines and wrinkles, because it affects collagen production.

You only have to look at the skin of people who have spent a lot of time outdoors (or under the tanning bed) to notice that it looks leathery. (In China, one reason why people prefer paler skin to darker skin is because it has a class connotation – darker skin means you have to work in the fields, while paler skin signifies you are wealthy enough to spend your time indoors.)

One somewhat controversial topic regarding exposure to the sun involves cancer, and, in particular, skin cancer.

While the majority of the medical community will tell you that you should wear sunblock to guard against the sun and skin cancer, there is a growing body of research that this is incorrect.

For example, Dr. Daniel Coit, a surgical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center presented some startling evidence and stated that most melanomas are not related to sun exposure, and therefore sunblock or avoiding sun exposure does not prevent melanoma.

There are even those who suggest the sun can actually protect against certain types of cancer, maybe because of the vitamin D that sunlight helps create.

The fact that almost half of all Americans are deficient in vitamin D would lend some credence to this argument, but like I said, it’s currently a controversial topic. Having said that, it makes sense to ensure you are getting enough vitamin D (as well as other minerals and vitamins, of course).

Sedentariness

Being the proverbial couch potato, who rarely gets any exercise, can double your risk of premature aging.

Exercise then, which has many health benefits (both physically and mentally), is also helpful in reducing the rate at which you age, and that’s because it can help protect your telomeres (see the section on Depression, above, for more information regarding these).

Regular exercise therefore helps prevent cell death (which is linked to premature aging), improves blood circulation, can protect against heart disease, boost your immune system, and reduce inflammation.

Again, you’ll find that exercise is a common thread throughout many of the articles on this site.

Stress

We all deal with stressful situations from time to time, and our body can usually handle these well. It’s when we suffer severe acute stress, or chronic stress, that our body’s ability to deal with it becomes overwhelmed.

And as with depression (see above), severe or chronic stress can shorten your telomeres.

I would therefore suggest you check out the articles I have written about stress, for more information, especially regarding ways to reduce it.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

PTSD (which I’ve written about elsewhere) carries with it the same sort of problems as depression and stress, as mentioned above and below (e.g. telomere shortening).

It can lead to cognitive issues, dementia, heart disease, and intestinal problems, and those suffering from PTSD typically have higher mortality rates due to the premature aging process.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many reasons why some people age prematurely, but there common threads running through all of the above:

1. Diet.
2. Excessive cortisol production.
3. Reduced collagen production, which particularly affects how our skin looks.
4. Telomere shortening, which affects how soon our cells dies.

The key then, is to:

1. Eat healthily.
2. Exercise regularly.
3. Get enough sleep.
4. Manage / reduce your anxiety, depression, PTSD, stress, etc.
5. Reduce or eliminate bad habits such as drinking alcohol and smoking.

Additional Resources

These are suggestions for those who wish to delve deeper into any of the above:

1. Biological Age Calculator
2. Drink Water Hypnosis Program
3. Guided Stress Relief Hypnosis Session
4. Hydration Calculator