Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Jules Renard, the French author, said, “It is not a question of how old you are, but a question of how you are old.” We cannot control aging but how do we prevent it before time? Before we delve into understanding how preventive healthcare is the new form of anti-aging, let’s try to comprehend what causes us to age.
A study published on NCBI by Stefan Liochev, a scholar from Duke University Medical Centre in the United States, states “The causes of aging synergize with each other”. The study also states that aging is a result of damage to cells, tissues, and organs that leads to the development of pathological conditions and eventually, death. According to Medical News Today, the damage is a result of several factors like environmental, psychological, poor diet, stress, etc.
Johnny Bowden, the nutritionist, and best-selling author told U.S. News that only 5–10% of our aging process is related to our genes. The rest is how we treat our bodies. He states that four causes of aging are dependent on free radicals, inflammation, stress, and too much sugar.
But how do we determine things like the level of inflammation or the amount of sugar in our bodies? It’s possible through preventive healthcare. Cheaper than curative healthcare, preventive healthcare allows knowing what is going on with our bodies. For example, too much sugar shows up in blood tests while stress tests determine whether an individual is too stressed. Vitamin and mineral deficiencies play a huge role in determining the functioning of our bodies can also help prevent some diseases, or get them diagnosed in the nascent stage.
Aging leads to diseases. Diseases lead to death. Preventive healthcare can slow down the aging of the cells. Aging doesn’t necessarily mean an increase in the number of years you have lived. It also means the age of your body and how healthy your body is. Two people who are 30 years old may have a different body age and different fitness levels. Death happens after the biological aging of the body. But through preventive healthcare, it can be slowed to the normal pace, reducing the number of preventable deaths in the world.
Preventive healthcare spans across tests, screenings, regular checkups, lifestyle changes, immunizations, counselling, etc. This includes not only the physiological aspects but also the psychological ones as stress is one of the leading causes of aging. It analyzes what influences a person’s health through biostatistics and epidemiology.
Even the smallest change in your body (biological aging) can show up in the preventive medical tests. This enables the diagnosis and treatment of several aging-related diseases like cancer and ultimately contributes to having a longer lifespan and enhancing the quality of life.
The best hack for anti-aging is preventive healthcare. Know what’s going on with your body and treat it before it overpowers your bodily functions. Stay one step ahead!
“This article is exclusively produced for The Times of India Healthy India, Fit India initiative by our partner, Healthians to spread awareness on the importance of preventive health care”