Are u Afraid Of Getting Old? HEALTH INFORMATION

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ARE YOU AFRAID OF GETTING OLD? – HEALTH INFORMATION

 

Different parts of our body ages at different times

 

WE all accept that getting older is inevitable, and now leading clinicians have

revealed the exact age when different body parts start to decline, most alarming

being the brain and lungs.

 

French doctors have found that the quality of men's' sperm starts to deteriorate

by 35, so that by the time a man is 45 a third of pregnancies end in

miscarriage. Here, with the help of leading clinicians, Angela Epstein tells the

Daily Mail the ages when different parts of the body start to lose their battle

with time.

 

BRAIN - Starts ageing at 20

 

As we get older, the number of nerve cells - or neurons - in the brain decrease.

We start with around 100 billion, but in our 20s this number starts to decline.

By 40, we could be losing up to 10,000 per day, affecting memory, co-ordination

and brain function.

 

GUT - Starts ageing at 55.

 

A healthy gut has a good balance between harmful and 'friendly' bacteria. But

levels of friendly bacteria in the gut drop significantly after 55, particularly

in the large intestine, says Tom MacDonald, professor of immunology at Barts And

The London medical school. As a result, we suffer from poor digestion and an

increased risk of gut disease. Constipation is more likely as we age, as the

flow of digestive juices from the stomach, liver, pancreas and small intestine

slows down.

 

BREASTS - Start ageing at 35

 

BY their mid-30s, women's breasts start losing tissue and fat, reducing size and

fullness. Sagging starts properly at 40 and the areola(the area surrounding the

nipple) can shrink considerably.

 

BLADDER - Starts ageing at 65

 

Loss of bladder control is more likely when you hit 65. Women are more

vulnerable to bladder problems as, after the menopause, declining oestrogen

levels make tissues in the urethra - the tube through which urine passes -

thinner and weaker, reducing bladder support.... Bladder capacity in an older

adult generally is about half that of a younger person - about two cups in a

30-year-old and one cup in a 70-year-old. ....

 

LUNGS - Start ageing at 20

 

Lung capacity slowly starts to decrease from the age of 20. By the age of 40,

some people are already experiencing breathlessness. This is partly because the

muscles and the rib cage which control breathing stiffen up.

 

VOICE - Starts ageing at 65

 

Our voices become quieter and hoarser with age. The soft tissues in the voice

box (larynx) weaken, affecting the pitch, loudness and quality of the voice. A

woman's voice may become huskier and lower in pitch, whereas a man's might

become thinner and higher.

 

EYES - Start ageing at 40

 

Glasses are the norm for many over-40s as failing eyesight kicks in - usually

long-sightedness, affecting our ability to see objects up close.

 

HEART - Starts ageing at 40

 

The heart pumps blood less effectively around the body as we get older. This is

because blood vessels become less elastic, while arteries can harden or become

blocked because of fatty deposits forming on the coronary arteries - caused by

eating too much saturated fat. The blood supply to the heart is then reduced,

resulting in painful angina. Men over 45 and women over 55 are at greater risk

of a heart attack..

 

LIVER - Starts ageing at 70

 

This is the only organ in the body which seems to defy the aging process.

 

KIDNEYS - Starts ageing at 50

 

With kidneys, the number of filtering units (nephrons) that remove waste from

the bloodstream starts to reduce in middle age.

 

PROSTATE - Starts ageing at 50

 

The prostate often becomes enlarged with age, leading to problems such as

increased need to urinate, says Professor Roger Kirby, director of the Prostate

Centre in London . This is known as benign prostatic hyperplasia and affects

half of men over 50, but rarely those under 40. It occurs when the prostate

absorbs large amounts of the male sex hormone testosterone, which increases the

growth of cells in the prostate. A normal prostate is the size of a walnut, but

the condition can increase this to the size of a tangerine.

 

BONES - Start ageing at 35

 

'Throughout our life, old bone is broken down by cells called osteoclasts and

replaced by bone-building cells called osteoblasts - a process called bone

turnover,' explains Robert Moots, professor of rheumatology at Aintree

University Hospital in Liverpool . Children's bone growth is rapid - the

skeleton takes just two years to renew itself completely. In adults, this can

take ten years. Until our mid-20s, bone density is still increasing. But at 35

bone loss begins as part of the natural ageing process.

 

TEETH - Start ageing at 40

 

As we age, we produce less saliva, which washes away bacteria, so teeth and gums

are more vulnerable to decay..? Receding gums - when tissue is lost from gums

around the teeth - is common in adults over 40.

 

MUSCLES - Start ageing at 30

 

Muscle is constantly being built up and broken down, a process which is well

balanced in young adults. However, by the time we're 30, breakdown is greater

than buildup, explains Professor Robert Moots. Once adults reach 40, they start

to lose between 0.5 and 2 per cent of their muscle each year. Regular exercise

can help prevent this.

 

HEARING - Starts ageing mid-50s

 

More than half of people over 60 lose hearing because of their age, according to

the Royal National Institute for the Deaf.

 

SKIN - Starts ageing mid-20s

 

The skin starts to age naturally in your mid-20s.

 

TASTE AND SMELL - Start ageing at 60

 

We start out in life with about 10,000 taste buds scattered on the tongue. This

number can halve later in life. After we turn 60, taste and smell gradually

decline, partly as a result of the normal ageing process.

 

FERTILITY - Starts ageing at 35

 

Female fertility begins to decline after 35, as the number and quality of eggs

in the ovaries start to fall. The lining of the womb may become thinner, making

it less likely for a fertilised egg to take, and also creating an environment

hostile to sperm.

 

HAIR - Starts ageing at 30

 

Male hair loss usually begins in the 30s. Hair is made in tiny pouches just

under the skin's surface, known as follices. A hair normally grows from each

follicle for about three years, is then shed, and a new hair grows. Most people

will have some grey hair by the age of 35. When we are young, our hair is

coloured by the pigments produced by cells in the hair follicle known as

melanocytes.