Biological Age and Cleansing at the Cellular Level
The state of your cellular health will impact the way you age, including your energy, appearance, and overall vitality. The quantity of healthy versus unhealthy or dormant, senescent cells will affect the function of your immune system and other body systems. One way to capture this information is through the concept of biological age. Biological age can be thought of as an assessment of biological parameters to predict functional capacity[1]. It provides a snapshot of the state of your cells and how much damage the body has sustained during life.
Studies with twins suggest that only around 25 percent of the variation in the human life span is influenced by genes[2]. Other factors such as injuries, accidents, and exposure to substances that accelerate aging contribute the other 75%. We have created a Biological Age Quiz that can help you approximate your biological age. It involves a series of questions covering diet, health, and lifestyle to give you an idea of your true age and offer some suggestions on how you can support your health. Once you have a baseline, now is the time to do a seasonal cleanse and support removal of toxins.
There are many ways that you can harm your cellular health and impact your biological age. Daily exposure to toxic compounds can damage your cells. Toxins, in a broad sense, are any element that can disrupt your physiology. They can be made in your body, (such as uric acid produced during metabolism, or lipopolysaccharide made by your gut bacteria), or can come from the external environment (including petrochemicals and heavy metals). Carcinogens, which cause cancer, are not the only type of toxins.
Some, the obesogens[3], can cause fat accumulation. They contribute to diabesity (obesity and diabetes[4]). We have identified at least 20 environmental obesogen chemicals that promote the genesis of adipose cells and accumulation of fat. It seems that the body aims to sequester toxic compounds in fat to try to prevent harm[5]. Obesogens interfere with normal endocrine or hormonal regulation of metabolism, appetite, weight and energy balance. Clearing them out is important to feeling your best.
Others, the gerontogens, can speed the aging process[6]. Gerontogens are chemical substances which include arsenic (found in groundwater and brown rice) and benzene (in industrial emissions in the environment). They are defined as having the capacity to accelerate the aging process. They may lead to signs of aging and degeneration such as impairment of physical function and cognitive decline.
Some substances are useful in small amounts but harmful in large amounts - many trace minerals are like this. Some, especially man-made toxins, are harmful in any amount, but, if we are not constantly exposed to them, we can process them and be okay. Problematically, these molecules are frequently becoming things we are continuously exposed to, and in more combinations and with greater intensity. According to The Lancet, pollution is the largest environmental cause of disease and premature death in the world today[7].
When the body cannot process polluting substances out, some of it overflows the liver and spills into the surrounding tissues. Cells are damaged, and eventually, toxins start to bind to enzymes and reduce health and vitality cell by cell, causing a gradual slide into health problems. Occasional fasting and regular movement can help by mobilizing toxins out of storage in fat cells. Eating colourful plants can give you fibre and phytonutrients to help the body eliminate the mobilized toxins.
It is no coincidence that the longest-lived people on earth move often and naturally and eat mostly plants, ingesting plenty of polyphenols in the process, and fasting on occasion. You can benefit from passing food by on occasion and ingesting many polyphenol-rich foods otherwise. This and exercising at a mid to upper level of exertion for an hour a few times per week can support your cell health. Centenarians tend to also live low-tech lives with plenty of fresh air. Some particulate toxins are so harmful when inhaled, simply living close to a highway significantly increases our risk of heart disease[8].
Luckily, it is possible to lower the toxic burden of gerontogens on your body and thus to reduce your biological age even without adopting a rural homesteading lifestyle. Supporting various elimination pathways (the liver, kidneys, lungs, skin, intestines, lymphatic system) in your body can improve removal of wastes and toxins too. Flor·Essence™ consists of eight herbs that support these elimination pathways and your detoxification at the cellular level.
Flor·Essence™ is tested for 43 key marker compounds. These include polyphenols and other phytonutrients provided by eight great herbs; burdock root, sheep sorrel, slippery elm, Turkish rhubarb, red clover, blessed thistle, watercress and kelp. Each of these herbs contains hundreds of constituent phytonutrients to support overall cellular health, energy, and function. They all work in synergy to lower the burden of toxins on the body and to support the body in eliminating the toxins that cause premature aging.
Aging, in the sense of becoming an elder, is a gift and an honour to look forward to. Aging, in the sense of losing one’s faculties and function, is not. By using the Biological Age Quiz on a regular basis, you can check if you are moving the needle on your health in the right direction. To help you in your quest for a more youthful biological age, Flora is offering Flor·Essence™ at 15% off when you use the code CLEANSE15 at checkout.
Take our NEW Biological Age quiz for personalized product recommendations.
HOLISTIC NUTRITIONIST DANA GREEN REMEDIOS, RHN, RNCP HAS A PASSION FOR HELPING OTHERS BREAK THROUGH THEIR BLOCKS TO GREATER HEALTH, WEALTH, AND HAPPINESS, WORKING WITH TRANSFORMATIONAL MIND-BODY TOOLS. THE VANCOUVER-BASED EDUCATOR AND COACH ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH, FRENCH, AND SPANISH AS A SPECIALIST WORKING IN THE PRODUCT INFORMATION DEPARTMENT AT FLORA, AND IS A REGULAR CONTRIBUTOR TO THE FLORAHEALTHY BLOG.
[1] https://academic.oup.com/biomedgerontology/article/74/Supplement_1/S52/5625183
[2] Christensen, K., K. Ohm Kyvik, N.V. Holm, and A. Skytthe, Register-based research on twins. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 2011. 39(7 suppl): p. 185-190.
[3] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666086520300126
[4] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666086520300126
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6101675/
[6] https://www.cell.com/trends/molecular-medicine/pdf/S1471-4914(14)00068-9.pdf
[7] https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(17)32345-0.pdf
