The Science Behind the Aging Process

Aging is a process of life itself and the trick is not to try to reverse aging, but rather, to slow it down to an optimal level which nature intended.

How long should we live for?

This is a subject of much debate and disagreement. The position of Xtendlife is that it’s possible to live to a projected maximum human lifespan of 120 years. To achieve this, your life has to be well balanced – in other words, your lifestyle, diet, the amount of exercise you do, the environment you live in and your nutrient intake has to be as close to optimal as possible. 

As a nutritional supplement company, we focus on what your body needs to ensure optimal nutrient intake and reduce the risk of degenerative concerns. Our Total Balance products are complete nutrient systems and one of the most important components you can introduce into your daily routine for good health and wellbeing. By ensuring your body is in the best condition possible, you can help slow down the five main causes of aging.

The Five Main Causes of Aging

Free radicals are created by oxidation, and oxidation is an effect of breathing oxygen. So long as we breathe, there will be oxidation in our body thus creating free radicals. This is unavoidable.

In an ideal world, the level of free radical activity would be ‘normal’ and they would not be a serious problem. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Instead, we are subjected to air pollution, second-hand smoke, artificial radiation and nutritionally lacking food on a daily basis. We are also inadvertently exposed to a wide range of toxic chemicals which further accelerates oxidation.

Oxidation is part of nature and a critical tool which helps to degrade and decompose. However, nature has a way of keeping the oxidation process in check – and that is with antioxidants.

There are literally hundreds of antioxidants, all with varying levels of potency. For example, the common vitamins A, C, and E are all antioxidants but are quite weak. While they’re necessary, they don’t really stack up next to potent antioxidants such as L-Glutathione.

However, to ensure that L-Glutathione is effective in supplements it needs to be taken in a special ‘reduced’ form which has a smaller molecular size. This enables it to pass through the intestinal walls into the bloodstream. As reduced L-Glutathione is sensitive to stomach acid, it must be taken in an enteric coated tablet, like that of Total Balance.

Glycation has the potential to be even more dangerous to your health than free radicals. Glycating agents are molecules such as glucose which affect protein structure causing it to stick to other proteins and form Advanced Glycation End-products. These AGEs bind to cells in the body and cause them to produce a number of toxic by-products. For example, AGEs increase the formation of amyloid beta which is a toxic material found in the brains of older people and abundant in Alzheimers and dementia patients.

Three actions you can take against glycation include:

• Trying to minimize your intake of glycating foods such as simple carbohydrates and sugars
• Inactivating the ability of the glycating agent to attach to the protein
• Preventing the protein which has been affected to attach to another protein

While the first can be easily done with some dietary changes, the next two are possible thanks to recent discoveries using a dipeptide known as Carnosine.

Carnosine has the ability to attach to glycating agents and neutralize them. It also has the ability to put a protective shield around a protein molecule which already has a glycating agent attached to it, thereby preventing more protein molecules from being affected. Carnosine is also known as L-Carnosine and is found in the Total Balance range.

Methylation acts in a similar way to an on-switch for many proteins, DNA and chemicals, helping to keep them functioning well. For example, methylation of certain parts of your DNA can switch off unnecessary genes and prevent abnormal DNA division. This means that healthy methylation could help prevent genetic abnormalities from being passed on to future generations of cells – which is very important for successful aging.

Compounds that help with methylation include B6, B12, folic acid, Betain and SAMe. While the B vitamins are important, the most effective methylating agent is SAMe which is a natural chemical found in all living cells. SAMe is short for S-Adenosyl methionine and is found in the Total Balance range.