More than 90% of the aging process is driven by environment, can be reversed; hair graying is a good biomarker of aging
-
Perfect corroboration of the other post I just did – i.e. low calcium and vitamin D being linked to hair graying. Low calcium and vitamin D also mean low oxidative metabolism. If aging is 93% controlled by the environment and only 7% controlled by genes, it can be reversed, just as studies have already shown hair graying to be reversible. As the study below note, it is chronic stress that probably drives those 93% of the aging process, through cortisol depleting ATP and inhibiting oxidative metabolism. Ray mentioned in one of his articles that injecting cortisol into animals can produce every phenotype of aging even in young animals, and it seems that he was right once again. Actually, the truth is even scarier as one does not need to achieve pharmacological levels of serum cortisol in order to age prematurely. Just slightly, but chronically, elevated cortisol can also have the same effects. This has been recognized in basic science research for decades under the so-called “chronic unpredictable mild stress” (CUMS) protocol, which is used in animal research to induce not only mental disease, but virtually all other chronic diseases known to medicine including heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer, cancer, etc.
“…Picard’s lab at Columbia University conducted experiments exposing human cells to stress hormones in controlled environments. What they discovered was striking: the basic energy cost of cellular survival jumped by roughly 60% under stress conditions. That means cells operating under chronic psychological stress burn significantly more ATP—the molecular currency your body uses for everything from thinking to healing—just to maintain baseline function.”
“…Picard’s work challenges conventional thinking about aging. Genetics, he notes, accounts for only about 7% of longevity. The remaining 93% comes down to behavior, environment, and lived experience. That means how you manage stress, connect with others, find purpose, and care for your body directly shapes your cellular energy economy—and ultimately, how fast you age. One surprising finding: grey hair may be partially reversible. Picard’s research suggests hair greying is linked to cellular energetic stress, and when that stress resolves, pigmentation can sometimes return.”
-
Looks like Picard's work supports the "rate of living theory".
For example, in his
Cellular allostatic load is linked to increased energy expenditure and accelerated biological aging
hypermetabolism, defined as "increased energy expenditure", it is concluded that "a robust and specific temporal association between hypermetabolism and premature cell death, aligning with prospective observations in the human literature where hypermetabolism increases mortality risk. Finally, our experimental modulation of OxPhos and total J_ATP suggest that total energy expenditure, rather than flux through mitochondrial OxPhos, may have a particularly influential effect on cellular aging".Hmm... but the references that they use could be mined further for some gems.
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register Login