Wrinkles? Maybe it's the meat! What effect does animal protein have on our aging? And would you trade twenty years for meat and testicles?

What are wrinkles?

That it's a stupid question and we all know it? Sure, we all suspect that wrinkles are some depressions in the skin. The difference between a shiny greyhound and a wrinkled scarpey. The result of frowning. Or laughter. Evidence of age.

The skin is the largest organ in our body, and like everything else, it undergoes changes over time. And not just because we're approaching a certain age. Wrinkles can be caused by genetic factors (thanks, Mom and Dad!), smoking or excessive sunbathing.

The skin is very elastic, and so it adapts to our facial expressions, our speech or even the fact that we splash on the pillow. We get up, have a little peek and good, no lifetime defect from unaesthetic sleep. Well, yeah, but over time the skin starts to lose its elasticity and in very exposed places it just stays, in layman's terms, stretched and scratchy.

Hence all the ads for collagen, hyaluronic acid and other miracles. They are not miracles, but simple logical solutions. We moisturize and replenish what will stop the process of reducing flexibility or replenish sagging skin. The next step is to visit an aesthetic surgeon.

Lifestyle

We have already mentioned the sun in passing, so it is clear that we can help ourselves with a healthy lifestyle. Big weight changes, exposure to radiation, vitamin deficiencies and other missteps go against wrinkles. But surprisingly, there are also things we do on purpose. We think they are to our benefit. Meanwhile, they are causing us to age. How so?

What is the carnivore diet

I'm referring to a diet that's based on animal protein. Meat, meat, meat. If you want to read more, we wrote about it here.

Novos Labs has given some thought to the topic of aging and the carnivore diet, or high animal protein intake, and has come up with some interesting points. Specifically, in addition to the fact that people usually believe they are doing the best for themselves when they diet, and this is not always the case, there are the following - in a nutshell:

Longevity Zones

There is supposedly no longevity zone for carnivores anywhere in the world. This means people who eat mainly meat and who would live to a significantly older age than others.

Longer-lived zones are said to be called "Blue Zones " and are characterized by their inhabitants dying later. What these zones have in common is that people in them eat fewer animal products. Novos cites Okinawa, Sardinia, the island of Ikaria and the Seventh-day Adventists who live in California as examples. While there are certainly many other longevity factors at play, reduced animal protein intake cannot be overlooked.

What do the scientists

Novos reports that most studies agree that eating more foods that are plant-based is healthiest. While there is research that says it's best to eat mostly meat, there is less of it. And so if you go for quantity, carnivore fails. And qualitatively, a layman probably shouldn't get into it. It's best to work with your body under the supervision of a professional. If you're still interested in what we've read next, here are some other interesting tidbits:

Protein accumulation

According to Novos, one of the causes of aging is the accumulation of proteins outside and inside cells. This accumulation can result in Alzheimer's disease, heart problems, blood pressure problems and so on. We won't burden you with scientific terms, you can look that up. The main message of this paragraph is that a high-protein diet can pave the way for aging.

Testosterone

That the more the better? Sure, testosterone is associated with manliness and strength, but according to Novos Labs, those with a lot of testosterone circulating in their bodies age faster. Supposedly, even experimental animals that have extra testosterone injected into their bodies age and die faster. If the male was injected with "female" hormones, he lived longer. We won't give details because animal tests really aren't pretty.

If we look at the testosterone issue from a more titillating point of view, sorry, but those who have lost their testicles, and thus do not produce sex hormones in layman's terms, are said to live on average 14 to 19 years longer. Doesn't that sound like an awful lot of difference?

According to CNN, it really is. Research on 81 eunuchs between the fourteenth and twentieth centuries was said to show that they lived to an average age of 70. This was significantly more than other men of the same socio-economic status (at the same time), who mostly didn't even reach 50 then.

The balance: testicles or twenty more years? Hm? What do you think?

So what should we eat to age slowly?

You won't find out in this article. I'm sorry. It's highly irresponsible to publicly proclaim a one-size-fits-all diet. Not to mention the promise that it will make you live to be a hundred. That would be as good advice as telling men to get castrated for longevity. Please don't do that, and certainly not because you read it somewhere.