Why do we age?  What causes it?  Why does our body slow down?  Why do the normal bodily processes change with time?  Why do we start looking different as we age?

All of us age and as we begin to feel the changes, we become more aware of the gradual deterioration our body is going through.  Scientists have been trying to find the answer to the mystery of ageing and they have come up with several theories to explain it.  In this article we are going to look at some of them.

The first theory was developed in 1882 by Dr. August Weisman.  In his “wear and tear” theory he explains that our cells and organs are damaged by abuses caused by alimentation and the environment.    According to Dr. Weisman, these abuses are even manifested on the cellular level.  This theory however, does not really explain the ageing process but the factors that accelerate organ damage.  The abuses that cause organ wear and tear are not the main causes of ageing.
Young people still have the natural ability to recover from excessive drinking or smoking but such is not the case with older people.  Whether or not they have lived a healthy lifestyle their advanced age has caused their cells and organs to be subjected to years of “wear and tear”.

Another theory was formulated by Dr. Vladimir Dilman.  He elaborated on the principles of “wear and tear” and called it the neuro-endocrine theory.According to this theory our body produces lesser quantities of hormones as grow old leading to causing our normal functioning to be negatively affected.  As young people our hormone levels are very high and our hypothalamus works efficiently sets up a multitude of chain reactions that control our bodily functions.  However, the decrease in hormones brought about by the natural ageing process causes deterioration that renders the aged body weak and no longer functioning efficiently.

The third theory is the genetic ageing theory.  According to this theory the unique genetic code or DNA which all of us are born with, determines how long we will live and how fast we will age.  Proponents of this theory believe that each one of us have a biological clock that we have inherited which has been programmed to ring sometime in the future.

The waste accumulation theory is our fourth theory.  According to this theory, the culprits behind the ageing process are the cells.  This theory says that during its lifetime, a cell produces more waste than it can eliminate.  These accumulated wastes which contain high quantities of toxins then begin to interfere with the cell’s functioning resulting in age-related complications.  This theory is based on the presence of Lipofucin which is a toxin found in heart and nerve cells which are critical to life.

Lastly is the Mitochondrial theory.  Mitochondria are organelles which produce ATP, the body’s main source of energy.  The problem however, is that despite their vital importance to the body, they are weak.  Compared to other organelles, mitochondria are defenseless against diseases.  Scientists have been doing research on mitochondrial healing which may unlock some important answers in the war against ageing.

These are just some of the more significant theories that scientists have come up to explain the ageing process.  Although science has not found a way to effectively stop ageing, we can at least slow it down by not abusing our bodies and by living a healthy lifestyle.