Feel like your body fell apart after 40? Here’s why

If you’ve ever felt like everything in your body is breaking down at once, you’re not far off…

According to Stanford researchers, specific biomolecular shifts occur in our 40s and 60s that explain what’s happening to our bodies to make us feel this way.

In other words, instead of gradually aging year over year, we experience significant age-related changes during two specific times in our lives.

Here’s what’s happening and why — and what you might do to lessen the effects…

How and when your body ages the most

Using years of data from 108 people, as well as blood and other biological samples, researchers were able to identify and follow age-related changes in more than 135,000 different molecules and microbes, for a total of nearly 250 billion distinct data points.

This is how they learned that — in more than 80 percent of the molecules in the human body — major changes happen at two distinct periods of life: your mid-40s and your early 60’s.

Specifically, in our 40s, significant changes occur in the number of molecules available to metabolize alcohol, caffeine and fats (think mid-life belly bulge!) — as well as those related to the development of heart disease.

During this time we also experience a major reduction in molecules that keep our skin and muscles strong and healthy.

Then, when our 60s roll around, changes occur related to carbohydrate and caffeine metabolism, and an increase in inflammatory cytokines that weaken the immune system.

On top of more heart-related changes, kidney function can begin to suffer. No wonder older adults are prone to type 2 diabetes, and heart and kidney disease.

So, if you’ve passed 40 or 60 and feel like your best days are behind you — you’re not the only one. But while science is just now figuring out the mechanics of aging, an unsung hero of the nutritional world could help you “feel like” you’ve turned back the clock…

Combat the ‘aging decades’

Back in the 1970s, the amino acid dimethylglycine, called DMG for short, was used by athletes to give them a performance edge. But DMG turned out to be much more than a performance enhancer…

Doctors began getting feedback from patients that it provided relief for chronic joint pain, restored concentration and focus, got their cholesterol and triglyceride levels back in check — and many other age-related symptoms.

That’s when researchers started digging and backing up these claims. They found…

DMG supports heart health. Research from Clemson University showed that DMG supports the heart and blood vessels by slowing the rate of degeneration and supporting oxygen function.

DMG supports immune health. Research in The Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine showed that DMG acted as an immune modulator, enhancing the immune system’s ability to respond to foreign invaders by boosting the production of T-cells, B-cells and macrophages to guard against infection.

DMG and cognition. Based on testimonies found in The Townsend Letter, alternative health practitioners from all over have shared that DMG boosts brain function including memory, cognition and focus.

Overall, it’s involved in at least 41 different processes in your body and is needed by every single cell. Your body can’t create certain hormones, neurotransmitters or even DNA without it.

I could go on and on about DMG’s potential for relieving inflammation, reducing oxidative damage, supporting detoxification and healthy circulation — and more. But I think by now you get my point: It could be a valuable tool in the fight against the ravages of aging.

DMG is an essential amino acid, meaning our bodies can make it. You have to get it through your diet, from foods like beans, cereal grains, brown rice, pumpkin seeds and liver. But unless you get ample amounts of these foods daily, to get the therapeutic amount your body needs, consider supplementing.

Sources:

Massive biomolecular shifts occur in our 40s and 60s, Stanford Medicine researchers find – EurekAlert!