WHY DO WE AGE?

                                       

  By Ada Brownell

      My skin is shriveling up like wadded paper while I’m still in it. My face is showing tracks of all my smiles and frowns.

      “You know, Mom, if you wore long dangly earrings I could use your wrinkles like venetian blinds,” my youngest son once told me—and that was years ago.

      Now my arms joined the show, the covering looking like a balloon that’s been blown up and released one time too many. My hide is so loose I could shake it like a dog’s. If this keeps up, two people will fit in my skin.

      Why do our bodies age anyway?

      Some of us might make jokes about wrinkles, white hair, deafness and “senior moments,” but as my step-mother used to say, aging isn’t for sissies.

      David wrote, “Lord make me to know my end and what is the measure of my days that I may know how frail I am. Indeed, you have made my days as handbreadths, and my age is as nothing before you” (Psalm 39:4-5).        

      When I wrote the book, Swallowed by LIFE, Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal, I told how our cells are constantly dying and being replaced, rebuilding our bodies, including the skeleton, every seven years. Now I ask, “Why aren’t we like new every seven years?”

      In my research about aging, one section I studied was titled, “Aging: A Vital Process.” (Not encouraging.)

      “No matter what genes you have inherited, your body is continually undergoing complex biochemical reactions and ultimately, aging in the body,” explained Mark Stibich, Ph.D., author of Why We Age—Theories and Effects of Aging.

Here are theories about why we grow old, and a few of my comments:

·       The human body is programmed to age. (Duh!)

·       Certain genes switch off and on over time (Turn them back on, Doc!)

·       Aging is caused by hormonal changes

·       Immune systems are programmed to lessen their battle against attack

·       Environmental damage (Where’s the EPA?)

·       Wear and tear of tissues and cells

·       A faster pace of living shortens life (What happened to wear out or rust out?)

·       Cross-linked proteins slow down body processes

·       Free radicals damage and impair cells

·       Cells malfunction because of genetic mutations

Some of the above are theories, but seriously, we know our flesh gets sick, wears out and dies because of sin. That’s the harmful gene we inherit from Adam and Eve, and the only way to conquer it is to accept life eternal through God’s sacrifice for sin, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ (See John 3:16).

Sidebar:

HOW TO STAY YOUNGER AND LIVE LONGER (This is more than a theory)

·                 Inherit longevity genes

·                 Eat foods loaded with antioxidants such as green tea and blueberries

·                 Exercise to limit muscle and bone loss

·                 Keep cholesterol low

·                 Use your brain cells to keep them fit

·                 Practice positive thinking

·                 Accept redemption through Jesus Christ and live forever! (see John 3:16).

Ada’s blog: http://www.inkfromanearthenvessel.blogspot.com

Ada Brownell is author of the book, Swallowed by LIFE: Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal. Paperbacks are available at Amazon.com http://buhff.ly/TLkr0a

8aDA BROWNELL IS A RETIRED MEDICAL REPORTER FOR THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN