Is there a reason our bodies change as we get older?

General Questions
#1

I’m 40, and in good health. My entire life I have been able to eat anything, and I mean anything, without any problems. Spicy food, raw vegitables, you name it. No upset stomach, excess gas, nothing.

Then I turned 30 and everything changed. Remember, I’m in good health, but now certain foods raise hell.

Dairy Forget it. The doc said I was alergic and that my throat could close up. Huh?:confused: I ate lots of ice cream as a kid.

Green Peppers Love them!!:slight_smile: cooked, stuffed, or raw with a little salt. Love them! Never bothered me. Now I eat a small slice of one and I burp for 6 hours.
onions Ahhhhhhh. They can do no wrong according to my tongue. Raw, cooked, rings. Whatever. Never had a problem. Now I burp and, uh, um, :rolleyes: you know, for days after I’ve had some.

canned chile Never had any problems. Now I get heartburn from hell and gas that could propel a large car.

Most of my friends are around the same age as me, and they all concure that for the last 10 years or so (or since they turned 30) some foods just kick their ass. Why does this happen?

#2

It’s wear and tear. Our bodies just start breaking apart after while. Just like cars.

To break it down, there are physiological and physical reasons. Physiologically, our cells grow and die all the time, everytime a cell dies, a new one is replicated, but the replication process is not perfect, we might get a bunch of cells that are slightly different or not perfect and these bad replications add up. Physically, we get injured, structures get damaged. A torn knee is never 100%. Carrying heavy loads, bending over, etc. produces small cracks in your low back discs that get worse over time. The Sun produces wrinkles on your face, etc.

Over time, that’s why old people look old.

#3

Yeah, what he said.

They’ve pretty well determined that aging is the accumulation of cellular garbage in the body and the wearing out of our ability to renew ourselves. It can be delayed through carefully planned exercises and treatments. (Look at some of the people like Cher – she’s old! Howard Hughes’s ex-wife was in her late 60’s when she posed in Playboy and was absolutely lovely, looking to be in her 30’s.)

Take certain digestive aides if you have problems eating your favorite foods, like Rolaids, Tagamit tablets, Pepcid A/C, to cut down on acid. GasEx to help get rid of burps, even papaya pills – in the vitamin section – to provide additional natural enzymes to help food digest. In onions, switch to a milder brand – like Videlia. Usually those on sale at the grocery store are the cheapest and, naturally, the harshest.

Chili, well it depends on what goes into it, but eating something like Pepcid A/C before having chili or pizza helps a whole lot. You might require a few Rolaids afterwards, but the burn won’t be as bad as without the pills.

Allergies? Follow the doctors advice. If you like milk, then have him suggest an alternative, like that milk for people who have problems drinking milk, or Soya-milk. Allergies can pop up in young or old who have no history of them.

#4

What you are describing sounds more like cell mutation in a cancerous process and that isn’t a normal aging process. Our cells replace themselves with just the right kind of cell, but aging causes our body to produce less of things like collagen, which lies under the skin and makes for the loose, wrinkled look older people have. The esophageal sphincter gets looser with age, causing reflux, causing heartburn. Most people suffer a degree of lactose-intolerace that would have been very detrimental in the calcium storing days of childhood, but is of only inconveinence as an adult. There are supplemental enzymes for this. Take a capsule before your Ben and Jerry’s and I’ll bet it makes a difference!

#5

I don’t mean to be deliberately gunning for you, but this is the second time I’ve seen one of your postings that had little or no basis in fact. E.J.Corwin wrote a little Handbook of Pathophysiology you might want to pick up if you’re trying to answer a question on why our human bodies do what they do. Happy reading.

#6

Twentyeight writes:

> Look at some of the people like Cher – she’s old! Howard
> Hughes’s ex-wife was in her late 60’s when she posed in
> Playboy and was absolutely lovely, looking to be in her
> 30’s.

Terry Moore was 55 when she posed for Playboy. A lot of people in their 50’s are in good shape. If I hear you referring to one of them as “old” again, I’ll smash you with my cane and run you over with my wheelchair.

#7

The milk part is not an allergy, but a lactose intolerance. Children do not have that, since the plan of Father Nature is to have young children breastfeed. However, after childhood many people lose the enzymes necessary to completely digest lactose. Western Asian and Eastern European Jews, for example. I’m no lactose intolerant to some extent: a lot of gas after ingesting some milk. However, I can eat yogurt and kefir with no problems. There are also milk with the lactase necessary to digest the lactose in them. A little milk, such as I put in my cereals, do not bother me.

As for beans causing flatulence, everybody has that problem. I’m surprised that you did not have that problem when you were younger. Foods, such as beans, contain complex carbohydrates which are not completely digested by your digestive system. They make their way into the lower part of the large intestines where your friendly bacteria complete the digestion process. In this process, gas is produced. I also have that problem with wheat and other foods containing much fiber. If you start adding fiber to your diet, such as wheat germ, wheat bran, etc., start off slowly to let your body adjust.

Hey, so you get a little gas. So what? I was going to say that no one has died from gas, but I read an article recently where some one did. It was hilarious, in a lugubrious sort of way. I’d copy the article, but it was in an email which I deleted.

#8

Sorry, but you’re wrong. If it was just lactose intolerance I would just get gas and an uspset stomach. What I have is a full blown allergy to dairy. My esophagus goes into spasms, my throat tightens, and I have difficulty breathing. I went to an allergist and none of the medication did anything for it, perscription or over the counter.

#9

What? I find your post completely gunning for me and has no basis in fact at all!

#10

PS. You better break down exactly which of my comments have no basis in fact. What you wrote is just a straight attack out of the blue. Just because you say so doesn’t mean you’re right. Happy attacking!

#11

Cyn re Major Feelgud

I found his post quite factual, according to various articles I’ve read concerning aging and body physiology without going into minute details. There are currently two areas of thought concerning aging cells with one being that after a certain age, cellular reproduction does begin to become flawed due to damage by free radicals. The second is that our regenerative abilities wear out because of the gradual accumulation of cellular garbage.

For those who can afford it, apparently the costly programs for delaying aging do work, including structured exercise, skin treatments, diet and vitamin usage. It has been noted that women who started a habit of wearing make-up and using beauty treatments performed at home tend to age outwardly less rapidly than those who did not, which indicates that the restorative properties long touted in the beauty ads are true.

#12

When they first began the cloning experiments, I remember reading that the clones had a shorter life span due to the DNA (?) being worn out or something like that. I also remember seeing a show on aging that said something to the effect of, with every cell division, a small piece is lost off the end of the DNA (?), resulting in less than perfect cells over time. This seems to be part of what Major Feelgud is saying. Can anyone clarify or discredit this statement?

Also, since we have reproduced before our mid 20’s through most of history, anything that happens after that has nothing to do with evolution, other than a healthier body at mid 20’s will take longer to fall apart.

#13

That’s right. IIRC, it’s called telomerase. It gets shorter after every mitosis. Eventually, it disappears and reproduction of the cell also disappears.

#14

http://www.findarticles.com/m0833/9233_356/65170613/p1/article.jhtml

http://www.lef.org/anti-aging/telomer1.htm

#15

Someone on the subject:

50 percent of the people after the age of 50 suffer from hiatal hernia’s. Biggest sign of hiatel hernia is constant heartburn.

The only reason I know this is because my mother has had surgery twice for this very thing.

Other than that, I have nothing relevant to add.

Carry on.