How old are you? What about your teeth? Your hair? Your big toe?
I suppose this is common sense if you think long and hard about the nature of biology, but scientists have worked out that even different organs within the same human body can be of vastly different ‘ages’.
Heart tissue…tended to be about nine years younger than the rest of a person’s tissue samples, most likely because it is constantly being regenerated by stem cells. On the extreme ends of the spectrum, researchers found that cancer cells are on average 36 years older than the rest of the body, whereas pluripotent stem cells are a constant age 0.
- Young At Heart, Literally, from Discover
Especially interesting is the observation that where there is a concentration of hormones, the body parts age more quickly. Breast tissue is therefore older and more prone to cancer than other parts of the body. (As if we need more reminding.)
Taking a more proactive attitude toward health and its management, remember, too, that insulin is a hormone — a ‘master hormone’ in fact — so we should listen to nutritionists who advise eating in a way to minimise great swings in blood sugar.
