Health & Fitness

Exercise and Anti-Aging of Cells and Tissues

Kristen Sparrow • July 23, 2023

Exercise AND acupuncture good for HRV too!

Exercise is really the mainstay to defer aging of cells and tissues.  This detailed article lays it all out.  It’s very very science heavy.  I will translate it for you at a later date.  It stresses the role of AMPK, stimulated by acupuncture also. Inflammation is an important cause of aging, so much so that it is called “inflammageing” by longevity researchers. But for now, just know that exercise helps!  Do whatever bit you can!  “The natural aging process is carried out by a progressive loss of homeostasis leading to a functional decline in cells and tissues. The accumulation of these changes stem from a multifactorial process on which both external (environmental and social) and internal (genetic and biological) risk factors contribute to the development of adult chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). Strategies that can slow cellular aging include changes in diet, lifestyle and drugs that modulate intracellular signaling. Exercise is a promising lifestyle intervention that has shown antiaging effects by extending lifespan and healthspan through decreasing the nine hallmarks of aging and age-associated inflammation”

Carapeto PV, Aguayo-Mazzucato C. Effects of exercise on cellular and tissue aging. Aging (Albany NY). 2021 May 13;13(10):14522-14543. doi: 10.18632/aging.203051. Epub 2021 May 13. PMID: 34001677; PMCID: PMC8202894.

Abstract

The natural aging process is carried out by a progressive loss of homeostasis leading to a functional decline in cells and tissues. The accumulation of these changes stem from a multifactorial process on which both external (environmental and social) and internal (genetic and biological) risk factors contribute to the development of adult chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). Strategies that can slow cellular aging include changes in diet, lifestyle and drugs that modulate intracellular signaling. Exercise is a promising lifestyle intervention that has shown antiaging effects by extending lifespan and healthspan through decreasing the nine hallmarks of aging and age-associated inflammation. Herein, we review the effects of exercise to attenuate aging from a clinical to a cellular level, listing its effects upon various tissues and systems as well as its capacity to reverse many of the hallmarks of aging. Additionally, we suggest AMPK as a central regulator of the cellular effects of exercise due to its integrative effects in different tissues. These concepts are especially relevant in the setting of T2D, where cellular aging is accelerated and exercise can counteract these effects through the reviewed antiaging mechanisms.

Keywords: exercise, aging, AMPK, type 2 diabetes