The Aging Problem

There's nothing like a new car, and you never forget the day your drive your first one off the lot. But eventually your new car ages, the catalytic converter becomes less effective, the exhaust isn't very clean, things begin to rust and the engine suffers wear and tear.

Our cells are like car engines. They have the same combustion process, produce some of the same byproducts and clean up with similar catalytic converters. When we're young, our enzymes (our cells' catalytic converters) function well and do a good job cleaning the toxic byproducts our bodies generate. But unfortunately, like cars, our bodies don't always function like new. As we age, our bodies produce more free radicals and less of the special enzymes that fight free radicals causing oxidative stress. The damage by oxidative stress leads to the symptoms of aging.