The pledge to live longer and healthier lives
Young and healthy, the body constantly renews its cells and neutralizes excess free radicals, thus maintaining an effective functional balance.
With age and under the effect of various aggressions the biological balance is disrupted, oxidative stress takes over and causes corrosion that leads to cellular aging.
Free radicals or Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) are molecules that are very reactive to oxygen, they have important biological functions in communication between cells but when their number increases, they attack all the constituents of our body.
Glycation is a natural phenomenon, a healthy organism generally knows how to manage it well, it can get out of control when we consume too much sugar, when products are cooked at very high temperatures or when we suffer from stress.
Chronic inflammation sets in quietly and lasts over time, it is necessary to anticipate it as well as possible, to spot it before it gradually undermines our immune, antioxidant and energy systems. It is a major concern for nutritionists because it leads to acute undernutrition.
During inflammation, immune cells produce chemical mediators that attack and cleanse the affected areas. If the inflammation persists, the immune system will continue to produce pro-inflammatory substances, such as free radicals, which can lead to permanent tissue damage. This damage accumulates slowly and leads to a severe deterioration of all tissues including the dermis with the appearance of wrinkles and skin aging.
Telomeres are the structures that delimit the ends of chromosomes; their role is to protect the chromosome and genetic information. With each division, DNA loses terminal nucleotides causing telomeres to shorten. When the telomeres are shortened to a minimum length, the cell interprets this as DNA damage, its multiplication process is interrupted, it goes into senescence and then apoptosis (programmed death).
Telomeres can be repaired and protected either by somatic stem cells (replacement of the affected cell) or by the action of a repairing enzyme, telomerase, which allows telomeres to be lengthened.
Telomere shortening has been shown to decrease life expectancy, increase mortality from heart disease, infectious diseases and cancer, and to induce premature osteoporosis.
