Women live longer, but age faster? Remember these 10 things to age slower

This article was reviewed by Zhao Wei, MD, associate chief physician at Tianjin University Teda Hospital

It is well known that women live longer than men.

According to the World Health Organization's World Health Statistics 2019, the average life expectancy of the global population has reached 72 years, and the life expectancy of women is still higher than that of men, at 74.2 years for women and 69.8 years for men. In other words, women live longer than men on average. ①

However, don't be too happy too soon. Many studies have found that women age faster than men.

Why do women age faster than men?

In 2006, German researchers published a study in the Journal of the Optical Society of America, which found that women's skin ages faster than men's skin under sunlight and natural aging. Image analysis showed that the loss of collagen in women's skin is faster than that of men.

Researchers said that collagen is an important protein in the dermis. It acts like a "spring" to keep the skin elastic. However, as people age, collagen begins to age and disappear, causing wrinkles, enlarged pores, sagging skin, and other problems. Precise analysis of laser images has proven that this loss is related to gender.

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Wang Xin, former chief physician of the Department of Dermatology at the First Affiliated Hospital of Tsinghua University, published an article in 2019 stating that there is no difference between young men and women, but as they age, especially when women approach menopause, estrogen will gradually decrease, endocrine disorders are prone to occur, and the balance of collagen synthesis will also be disturbed, leading to increased collagen loss.

I want to age slower.

Women should remember these 10 sentences!

How to delay aging while living a long life? Remember the following 10 sentences, I hope all female friends can have both!

1. Don’t be too spicy

Zhong Weihong, director of the Department of Dermatology at Foshan Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in Guangdong Province, published an article in 2016 stating that eating spicy food and preferring fried foods can easily cause "getting angry" and lead to skin acne and other conditions. Excessive saltiness can increase the sodium ions in the body, causing facial cells to become dehydrated. Excessive intake of sugar can cause a "glycosylation" reaction, leading to skin aging, sagging, and loss of elasticity. In addition, an uncontrolled high-fat, high-sugar diet is also an important cause of obesity and hair loss. ④

2. Don’t eat too much

Zuo Xiaoxia, director of the Nutrition Department of the Eighth Medical Center of the PLA General Hospital, published an article in 2017 stating that eating too much will increase the metabolic burden on people, making it difficult to metabolize some toxic and harmful substances, and accelerating aging. But you can't eat too little either. Eating 70% to 80% full is good for longevity and health. ⑤

3. Don’t eat a monotonous diet

Zuo Xiaoxia, director of the Nutrition Department of the Eighth Medical Center of the PLA General Hospital, suggested that we should eat more than 10 kinds of fruits and vegetables every day. It is recommended to eat them raw if they can be eaten raw, and not to fry them if they can be steamed. Vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E are called the "iron triangle" of antioxidants. If we want to delay aging, we must ensure these three vitamins.

Animal foods such as meat, eggs and milk are rich in vitamin A, fresh vegetables and fruits are rich in vitamin C, and a handful of nuts contain vitamin E. The anthocyanins in purple foods such as blueberries, grapes, mulberries, purple cabbage, and radishes, and the lycopene in tomatoes can all play an antioxidant role. ⑤

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4. Don’t neglect sun protection

Zhong Weihong, director of the Department of Dermatology at Foshan Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in Guangdong Province, published an article in 2016 stating that the impact of photoaging on women's skin cannot be ignored. After long-term exposure to the sun, the skin becomes dry and dehydrated, with deep and coarse wrinkles and pigmentation that is difficult to fade. These are the "aftereffects" of excessive exposure to the sun. The ultraviolet rays in the sun are very harmful to the skin and can accelerate skin aging.

5. Don’t stay up late

Zhong Weihong, director of the Department of Dermatology at Foshan Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in Guangdong Province, said that it is often said that beauty comes from sleep. When people sleep, the skin is repairing and metabolizing itself. In addition, from 10 pm to 2 am is the time when cell metabolism is most active, and the secretion of antioxidant melatonin increases. If you do not sleep for a long time and the total amount of sleep is not up to standard, it will inevitably affect the metabolism and regeneration ability of the skin. ④

6. Don’t sit or lie down for long periods of time

Sitting for a long time may also be one of the causes of aging. Zhong Weihong, director of the Department of Dermatology at Foshan Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in Guangdong Province, said that moderate exercise can accelerate blood circulation in the skin, promote metabolism, reduce calcium loss in the body, keep the body light and upright, and maintain a healthy body. It is difficult to obtain the above benefits if you lack exercise on weekdays.

Zuo Xiaoxia, director of the Nutrition Department of the Eighth Medical Center of the PLA General Hospital, said that to delay aging, women may as well jog for 30 minutes every day (40 minutes for men) five days a week.

7. Try to stay away from tobacco and alcohol

Zhong Weihong, director of the Department of Dermatology at Foshan Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in Guangdong Province, published an article in 2016 stating that the United States had conducted a comparative study on twins who smoked and those who did not smoke. The results showed that the smoking group looked 57% older than the non-smoking group; in the control group of twins who both smoked, the group that smoked for a longer time looked 63% older than the group that smoked for a shorter time. Nicotine in cigarettes has a destructive effect on the collagen in the skin and the blood vessels that transport oxygen and nutrients to skin cells.

Drinking alcohol also accelerates aging. He Li, a researcher at the Institute of Nutrition and Health at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, published an article in 2018 stating that when the liver works hard to process the toxins in alcohol, it produces more free radicals than the antioxidants the body can handle, causing oxidative stress, which is an important factor leading to aging. ⑥

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8. Don’t overwork yourself

When a person looks younger than his actual age, it is not just because his skin, muscles and body are in good condition, but sometimes it is more related to his mental state as shown by his eyes and behavior. A good attitude is the key to slowing down aging.

Zhang Xin, an associate professor at the School of Psychology and Cognitive Science at Peking University, published an article in 2017 stating that the more people worry, the older they look. External stressors caused by excessive worrying can lead to negative mood swings, causing the brain to secrete a large amount of harmful neurotransmitters. The accumulation of harmful neurotransmitters can cause irreversible damage to the nervous system and even the immune system, which will manifest in the appearance of looking older than the actual age. ⑤

9. Don’t lose weight too much

Zhong Weihong, director of the Department of Dermatology at Foshan Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in Guangdong Province, said that many women are too obsessed with a slim figure and implement strict dieting to lose weight, which leads to a serious lack of body fat, affects the secretion of estrogen, and even causes amenorrhea, which in turn inhibits the ovulation function of the ovaries, causing premature ovarian failure, and ultimately accelerates the aging of women's entire body.

10. Don’t neglect your health

Zhong Weihong said that if people do not pay attention to the grooming of their body and appearance, and lack the awareness of health care and maintenance, they will become old in heart before they grow old in body. Giving up on themselves too early, allowing their weight to soar, their figure to become out of shape, and their faces to age, will only make their health worse and worse, and even lead to various chronic basic diseases. Life is long, and only with the awareness and habit of health care can one go longer. ④

This article is compiled from:

①"World Health Statistics 2019"

https://www.who.int/gho/publications/world_health_statistics/2019/EN_WHS_2019_Main.pdf?ua=1

②Journal of the Optical Society of America

https://opg.optica.org/josaa/home.cfm

③2019-04-16 Health Times "Women age faster but live longer"

④2016-06-17 Health Times "Why do you age faster than others"

⑤2017-12-01 Health Times "Why do you age faster than others?"

⑥2018-12-21 Health Times "Drinking makes people age"

Source: Health Times

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