Inflammation & Ageing

The fundamental core of premature ageing

What is ageing? In effect it is a degenerative process whereby cells in your body no longer function, as they should. In terms of visible age, this relates to the skin texture, elastin, collagen & hydration in the skin.. But what is the cause? If we knew that then surely we could find the cure, correct?

Many theorists have studied ageing, and although no single cause can be pinpointed as the culprit they all have a single common thread … inflammation.

Stress causes ageing, stress causes inflammation. Chronological ageing causes mitochondria damage, most likely due to inflammation. Even environmental and lifestyle factors cause inflammation and it is likely that a combination of everything mentioned above leads to ageing or premature ageing with inflammation as a root cause that needs to be addressed.

What is inflammation?

Inflammation is actually a healing process. It is designed to stimulate tissue repair, to effectively return the body or cells affected by trauma to a state of homeostasis. We feel inflammation as swelling or heat, redness and in many instances pain – these are signals that your body is reacting to a trauma and correcting the problem. So how is it that if inflammation is so good for you and essential for healing, can it be considered a culprit for ageing?

Chronic vs. Acute inflammation

Acute inflammation is the result described above. A simple healthy reaction to a state of trauma. Chronic inflammation, however, is far more sinister.

Under non-traumatic situations inflammation attacks healthy tissue & cells, including the skin. In chronic environments this ongoing attack on healthy cells has been noted as the root cause for numerous diseases including heart disease or even cancer simply due to the breakdown of tissue and trauma caused by the inflammatory process. Of course this extends to visible age too. So how do you manage the chronic inflammation?

Take care of what you can:

Lifestyle and environmental factors will increase chronic inflammation in your skin. Smoking, excessive drinking and Glycation are all factors that increase chronic inflammation in the skin and hasten premature ageing. Sun damage is far more obvious and is reason enough to apply daily sunblock.

A healthy diet complete with anti-oxidants will assist in reducing chronic inflammation. In this regard, it is best to speak with Dr Clark or Dr Marks for dietary advice, as new research is consistently being done not only for inflammation reduction but also weight-loss and anti-ageing.

Manage your stress levels. Work stress or lifestyle stresses are key indicators for increased internal inflammation. If not for anti-ageing, for your general health it is wise to take daily personal time to reduce stress. This can be done with meditation, simple relaxation techniques or in the more severe cases by enlisting the services of a professional.

Exercise is key to relieving stress, and therefore reducing chronic inflammation. There are multiple studies detailing how regular physical exercise can prolong life, reduce stress & also improve personal confidence.

The key element that we at SAI want to get to our loyal clients is that Dr Marks & Dr Clark understand how to use acute inflammation to your anti-ageing benefit, but holistically getting your chronic inflammation under control will not only improve your aesthetic result, but your quality of life too. There may be no “cure” for ageing but with this approach we can control & stall visible aging, and even more so if we do it with holistic health as a core motivator.

If you would like to discuss inflammation and ageing, or discover Dr Clark and Dr Marks approach to holistic anti-ageing simply book your appointment with Dr Clark or Dr Marks at SAI Sandton on 011 883 3116 or SAI Waterkloof on 012 460 7047 today.

Category: Articles