BUSINESS
Healthier aging
Selenium
and biological aging
Bjorn Falck Madsen explores the benefits of selenium on biological aging…
T
HERE is the age on your birth certificate and then there is your biological age. The two do not necessarily match up. Scientists have discovered that the micronutrient selenium may help slow down your biological clock, and that observation is particularly interesting for people living in the UK and across Europe as their average selenium intake is comparatively low. In the UK, Selenium intakes have been falling over the past fifty years and it thought that the average selenium intake may be as low as 30–40 μg/d, or around half the recommended level. Every year, there is one more candle in the
38
HOLISTIC THERAPIST 2022
birthday cake. We grow older and the aging process leaves visible footprints on the surface of our skin, and our vital organs are also affected. Still, some people look surprisingly young and fit despite their age, while others look a lot older than their peers. Besides our actual age, we have what is known as a biological age that is determined by our physical and mental state. Biological aging does not necessarily go hand in hand with chronological aging. Our biological age is influenced by such factors as lifestyle, diet, genes, and the environment in which we live.
Selenium protects our telomeres Certain nutrients have been seen to play a major role in our aging process. For instance, the trace element selenium, which is found in Brazil nuts, whole grains, fish, and shellfish. Selenium is primarily known for its beneficial effect on the immune system, male fertility,
and the thyroid function but now, a ChineseAmerican research project has demonstrated that the nutrient may also have an dampening impact on the speed at which we humans age. It turns out that higher dietary selenium intake is linked to greater telomere length, and telomeres are used to determine the body’s biological age.
Telomeres: Like protective plastic tips on shoelaces You can compare telomeres to the plastic tips at the end of shoelaces that prevent the laces from fraying. All chromosomes in our cells are equipped with telomeres that get shorter every time a cell replicates. Once the telomeres are used up, the chromosomes unravel like a fraying shoelace, and the cell dies. This loss of cells is one of the hallmarks of aging. Also, the death of cells can lead to the onset of chronic diseases that are typically associated with old age. Therefore, having
holistictherapistmagazine.com
