The internet and social media are rife with tips on how to age gracefully. Medical and biochemical research continues to fuel excitement and ideas—and of course, resulting products—to help millions of Americans to flourish as they enter golden years. Several supplier executives reveal what they find most compelling about healthy aging science.
Aparna Kalidindi, PharmD, technical sales and marketing manager, Natreon, Inc., New Jersey, pointed to emerging studies suggesting that healthy aging is dependent on the health and functionality of a person’s mitochondria as being quite compelling. Mitochondria are the energy-producing component in every cell in the human body. Aging causes changes within the cells, often leading to destruction of the mitochondria, thus leading to risk of potential disease development. “Metabolic disorders, such as diabetes, and degenerative disease, such as Alzheimer’s Disease, have been linked to mitochondrial dysfunction,” he said. “Therefore, the key to healthy aging is reversing mitochondrial damage.”
Chase Hagerman, brand director of Chemi Nutra, Texas said he is intrigued by how sarcopenia (muscle loss) greatly affects aging. Although other areas such as cardiovascular, memory and joint health and aging are well understood, “the interest revolving around the topic of muscle is just starting to grow (pun intended). Muscle is traditionally associated with gym rats, but people are realizing again that maintaining muscle mass is essential to health, not just to vanity.”
A 2014 study on sarcopenia and muscular dystrophy mentions that lean muscle is typically about 50 percent of a young adult’s body weight; but in the elderly (75-80 years of age) this percentage is typically cut in half. The study authors, Hagerman pointed out, also noted the loss of muscle is “most notable in the lower limb muscle groups.” He commented, “Therefore, it’s no surprise people often accuse the elderly of moving slowly. At the very basic level, age-related muscle wasting affects mobility. More categorically speaking, a reduction in muscle and thus strength means it is associated with a risk of falls and a greater mortality risk.”
Silent calcification plays a huge role in the difference between healthy aging and poor aging, according to Eric Anderson, senior vice president of global sales and marketing with NattoPharma USA, Inc., New Jersey. “Calcification is usually believed to be an unfortunate result of aging,” he emphasized. However, studies show that arterial calcification is an actively regulated process—a process that people can actually prevent to a significant degree. Healthy arterial tissues have been shown to contain 100 times more vitamin K2 than calcified arteries, and the amount of calcium in the arteries is a risk factor for poor cardiovascular health.
“You are as old as your arteries. Flexibility of the arteries is in direct correlation to longevity (biological age vs. chronological age),” he commented. “Calcification is said to add 10 years to one’s biological age. In NattoPharma’s 3-year cardiovascular study, the placebo group showed their arteries continued to calcify over the study period, whereas the active MenaQ7 group actually saw a regression in calcification. This means the placebo group aged, while the MenaQ7 group actually became younger (according to their arteries).”
Similarly, weight can be controlled as well through healthy lifestyle, and weight does tend to increase during middle-age. And, said Barbara Davis, PhD, RD, vice president, medical & scientific affairs PLT Health Solutions, Inc., New Jersey, “an unhealthy weight is the underlying or contributing cause to any number of chronic health conditions present in later years such as CVD and can exacerbate others like joint health.”
CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) lists the following chronic conditions (most of which are associated with the aging process) with being overweight:
• Coronary heart disease
• Type 2 diabetes
• Cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon)
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Dyslipidemia (for example, high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides)
• Stroke
• Liver and Gallbladder disease
• Sleep apnea and breathing problems
• Osteoarthritis (a breakdown of cartilage and bone within a joint)
In the marketplace today, Davis observed, there are relatively few weight management products targeted to seniors. “Weight management is something we can all do at any age to stack the odds in our favor for healthy aging.”
