This article is originally published on Freedom from Diabetes website, available here.
This is very common nowadays, many people seem to look older than their actual age? Diabetics often experience this accelerated aging, and there are clear reasons behind it.
To understand the aging, you should understand, Chronological Age, based on the number of years you’ve lived, And Biological Age, how well your organs and tissues are functioning right now.
Understanding aging
For Diabetics, Aging Speeds Up For 5 Key Reasons
1. High BSL- High blood sugar speeds up aging by creating harmful compounds called AGEs. These cause skin wrinkling by damaging proteins and fats in the body.
2. High insulin levels-
High insulin levels in type 2 diabetics can have devastating consequences, as they cause cells to absorb not only sugar but also excess water and fat, triggering oxidative stress and the formation of free radicals that can damage your heart and compromise brain function.
3. Oxidative stress-
When high blood sugar and insulin flood your body with sugar and fat, it depletes antioxidants, leading to oxidative stress and inflammation. This speeds up aging and wears you down.
4. Metaflammation-
The cumulative effect of the above changes over time leads to a state of chronic, low-grade inflammation known as metaflammation.
5. Cellular Senescence-
All the previous factors lead to something called cellular senescence, where cells stop dividing and working as they should, speeding up aging. In type 2 diabetes, stress from high blood sugar causes early aging of cells, shown by higher levels of a marker called p16.
Do you want to know How to Reverse the Aging Process? Visit our Article.
https://www.freedomfromdiabetes.org/blog/post/understanding-aging/4111
