Different Parts of Our Body
Age At Different Times
WE
all accept that getting older is inevitable, and now leading clinicians
have revealed the exact age when different body parts start to decline,
most alarming being the brain and lungs.
French doctors have
found that the quality of men's' sperm starts to deteriorate by 35, so
that by the time a man is 45 a third of pregnancies end in miscarriage.
Here, with the help of leading clinicians, Angela Epstein tells the
Daily Mail the ages when different parts of the body start to lose
their battle with time.
BRAIN -Starts ageing at 20
As
we get older, the number of nerve cells - or neurons - in the brain
decrease. We start with around 100 billion, but in our 20s this number
starts to decline. By 40, we could be losing up to 10,000 per day,
affecting memory, co-ordination and brain function.
GUT -Starts ageing at 55.
A healthy gut has a good balance betweenharmful and 'friendly' bacteria. But
levels of friendly bacteria in the
gut drop significantly after 55, particularly in the large intestine,
says Tom MacDonald, professor of immunology at Barts And The London
medical school. As a result, we suffer from poor digestion and an
increased risk of gut disease. Constipation is more likely as we age,
as the flow of digestive juices from the stomach, liver, pancreas and
small intestine slows down.
BREASTS -Start ageing at 35
BY
their mid-30s, women's breasts start losing tissue and fat, reducing
size and fullness. Sagging starts properly at 40 and the areola(the
area surrounding the nipple) can shrink considerably.
BLADDER -Starts ageing at 65
Loss
of bladder control is more likely when you hit 65. Women are more
vulnerable to bladder problems as, after the menopause, declining
oestrogen levels make tissues in the urethra - the tube through which
urine passes - thinner and weaker, reducing bladder support. Bladder
capacity in an older adult generally is about half that of a younger
person - about two cups in a 30-year-old and one cup in a
70-year-old....
LUNGS -Start ageing at 20
Lung
capacity slowly starts to decrease from the age of 20. By the age of
40, some people are already experiencing breathlessness. This is partly
because the muscles and the rib cage which control breathing stiffen up.
VOICE -Starts ageing at 65
Our
voices become quieter and hoarser with age. The soft tissues in the
voice box (larynx) weaken, affecting the pitch, loudness and quality of
the voice. A woman's voice may become huskier and lower in pitch,
whereas a man's might become thinner and higher.
EYES -Start ageing at 40
Glasses
are the norm for many over-40s as failing eyesight kicks in - usually
long-sightedness, affecting our ability to see objects up close.
HEART -Starts ageing at 40
The
heart pumps blood less effectively around the body as we get older.
This is because blood vessels become less elastic, while arteries can
harden or become blocked because of fatty deposits forming on the
coronary arteries - caused by eating too much saturated fat. The blood
supply to the heart is then reduced, resulting in painful angina. Men
over 45 and women over 55 are at greater risk of a heart attack.
LIVER - Starts ageing at 70
This is the only organ in the body which seems to defy the aging process.
KIDNEYS -Starts ageing at 50
With kidneys, the number of filtering units (nephrons) that remove waste from
the bloodstream starts to reduce in middle age.
PROSTATE -Starts ageing at 50
The
prostate often becomes enlarged with age, leading to problems such as
increased need to urinate, says Professor Roger Kirby, director of the
Prostate Centre in London . This is known as benign prostatic
hyperplasia and affects half of men over 50, but rarely those under 40.
It occurs when the prostate absorbs large amounts of the male sex
hormone testosterone, which increases the growth of cells in the
prostate. A normal prostate is the size of a walnut, but the condition
can increase this to the size of a tangerine.
BONES -Start ageing at 35
'Throughout
our life, old bone is broken down by cells called osteoclasts and
replaced by bone-building cells called osteoblasts - a process called
bone turnover,' explains Robert Moots, professor of rheumatology at
Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool . Children's bone growth is
rapid - the skeleton takes just two years to renew
itself
completely. In adults, this can take ten years. Until our mid-20s, bone
density is still increasing. But at 35 bone loss begins as part of the
natural ageing process.
TEETH -Start ageing at 40
As
we age, we produce less saliva, which washes away bacteria, so teeth
and gums are more vulnerable to decay. Receding gums - when tissue is
lost from gums around the teeth - is common in adults over 40.
MUSCLES -Start ageing at 30
Muscle
is constantly being built up and broken down, a process which is well
balanced in young adults. However, by the time we're 30, breakdown is
greater than buildup, explains Professor Robert Moots. Once adults
reach 40, they start to lose between 0.5 and 2 per cent of their muscle
each year. Regular exercise can help prevent this.
HEARING -Starts ageing mid-50s
More than half of people over 60 lose hearing because of their age, according
to the Royal National Institute for the Deaf.
SKIN -Starts ageing mid-20s
The skin starts to age naturally in your mid-20s.
TASTE AND SMELL -Start ageing at 60
We
start out in life with about 10,000 taste buds scattered on the tongue.
This number can halve later in life. After we turn 60, taste and smell
gradually decline, partly as a result of the normal ageing process.
FERTILITY -Starts ageing at 35
Female fertility begins to decline after 35,as
the number and quality of eggs in the ovaries start to fall. The lining
of the womb may become thinner, making it less likely for a fertilised
egg to take, and also creating anenvironment hostile to sperm.
HAIR -Starts ageing at 30
Male hair loss usually begins in the 30s. Hair is made intiny
pouches just under the skin's surface, known as follices. A hair
normally grows from each follicle for about three years, is then shed,
and a new hair grows. Most people
will have some grey hair by the age of 35. When we are young, our hair
is coloured by the pigments produced by cells in the hair follicle
known asmelanocytes.
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