Sports Nutrition and Healthy Aging by Jerry Brainum 4/23

 

 

The effects of aging are inevitable. This is true despite the many "anti-aging" claims made over the Internet. Some of the more wild claims are that there is no limit to human lifespan, and there is no reason why humans cannot live indefinitely. In fact, the oldest human on record was a Frenchwoman named Jean Calment, who lived to 122 years old. I've seen others who claim to be as old as 168, yet the evidence to prove it is non-existent or anecdotal. Most gerontologists who study aging think that the maximum human lifespan is about 135, though no one has yet reached that age. Indeed, people who manage to make it to over 100 are like mutants in that they have certain genes that favor aging. And most people who live to over 105 are usually small both in height and weight. You never see grossly obese people living to 100 or over. Obesity shortens lifespan because there is a massive level of systemic inflammation occurring in people with higher body fat levels. That inflammation derives from proteins released from fat cells collectively called "adipokines," and there are over 100 of them. The level of inflammation they produce is silent but deadly and is the cornerstone to most diseases that shorten lifespans, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer.  

But what about athletes and bodybuilders? Surely with their higher activity levels and usually low body fat levels, they should be more likely to live to advanced ages. But the truth is that most champion bodybuilders live only normal lifespans, usually dying in their 70s like other people who never set foot in a gym. How to explain this? One obvious explanation is using anabolic drugs for extended times. The current bodybuilding competition involves massive amounts of various anabolic drugs, including anabolic steroids and growth hormone. Although most intelligent bodybuilders cycle these drugs, thus allowing the body to repair any damage caused by the drugs, recent studies show that using the drugs for extended times can cause permanent structural damage to the heart. Getting off the drugs won't prevent this if drug cycles are used continually for years. Other bodybuilders and athletes never get off the drugs, thinking that using lower doses will maintain muscle gains but cause no harm. This is erroneous and faulty thinking. Staying on low-level drug regimes year-round doesn't allow time for body repair and leads to the subtle destruction of tissues and organs. That damage will take a toll on future longevity. One particular anabolic steroid, trenbolone, is known to promote the accumulation of toxic misfolded proteins in the brain that is the cause of Alzheimer's disease. Animals known to either produce low amounts of, or are relatively insensitive to growth hormone live up to 30% longer compared to animals with . . .