A ketogenic diet may unlock the secrets to the fountain of youth.
In the late 1940s, Denham Harman PhD, an accomplished chemist, became so fascinated with the idea of finding a cure to ageing that he decided to go back to school and study medicine. In 1953, while still an intern at Berkeley in California, he proposed a radical new theory called the ’the free radical theory of ageing‘. In this theory, he declared that ageing is caused by reactive oxygen species accumulating within cells. Denham then noticed that it wasn’t simply the accumulation of reactive oxygen species that affected lifespan, but the damage these reactive oxygen species were inflicting on mitochondria. So, he modified his theory and gave it a new name: ’the mitochondrial theory of ageing’. Harman changed the course of anti-ageing research forever.
What Are Reactive Oxygen Species?
Mitochondria are energy ‘factories’ within cells. They produce ’packages’ of energy in the form of the molecule ‘ATP’. In the process of energy production, single electrons escape from the ‘factory line’ and react with oxygen molecules to form free radicals such as peroxide and superoxide. These free radicals react with everything and can wreak havoc, this is why they are called ’reactive oxygen species’. Excessive levels of these reactive oxygen species cause damage to the mitochondria themselves. They can be ’mopped up‘ by anti-oxidants and mitochondria usually contain anti-oxidants that do this but these may decline in number, over time and with age. As a result, high levels of reactive oxygen species start to accumulate and cause mitochondrial damage. Dysfunctional mitochondria can no longer produce enough energy and ’starving’ cells may degenerate and die. Brain cells are extremely dependent on their mitochondria for energy and most diseases of old age seem to affect the nervous system, giving credibility to Denham’s theory.
