Aging Ain’t that fun

Stanford University researchers have some bad news for elder millennials me... —you’re about to get real old, real fast. At least on a molecular level. That’s because the researchers found that the aging process involves two significant bursts of rapid molecular changes, first at 44 and then again at 60. The first wave of changes happens at around 44. All the molecules relating to cardiovascular health, lipid processing, and metabolizing alcohol and caffeine start to change, getting a whole lot worse at their jobs than they were before. When you hit 60, your molecules kind of just fall apart. Immune regulation, kidney function, skin and muscle elasticity, carbohydrate metabolism—everything starts to go. The sudden molecular changes aren’t isolated to a specific gender, either. Men and women were equally affected, even after factoring in menopause or perimenopause for women in their mid-40s. The researchers say there’s still a lot of work to be done to figure out why these abrupt…