How Aging Affects The Body

Introduction What is health? What is aging? Now most people would describe health as whether being sick or not. Most people would describe aging as getting old or relate it to the physical appearance of a person or object because of the noticeable changes (wrinkles, discoloration). It is a little more complicated than that when talking about a human being. Aging can be described as change over a certain amount of time. In terms of biology, our body is composed of cells. These cells make up our body’s organs and organ systems. When cells die, our body makes new ones and it continues to function. But what happens when the body gets old? The cells in our body get old as well. Body functions don’t happen as fast as it should and they begin to die. The life choices we make affect the body on a biological level such as diet, exercise, and the things that are put into it.
Hormetic Stress vs Toxic Stress Have you ever heard of the phrase “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”? That phrase means that people all go through some tough times. That would be classified as hormetic stress in most cases such as recovering from a cold, breaking up with a spouse or looking for a new job. Hormetic stress is exposure to “limited or manageable stressful moments that may or …show more content…
One of the important cells involved in defense is white blood cells, also called leukocytes, which come in two basic types (B cells & T cells) that combine to seek out and destroy disease-causing organisms or substances. When undergoing a stressful moment, the body releases cortisol which helps release energy, fight inflammation and regulate metabolism. The negative aspect to that is too much of it in the blood suppresses the immune system making you more susceptible to infection. That can lead to further health