Healthy Aging Month: Addressing the hallmarks of aging with nutritional solutions

Summary

• People today are living longer, but not necessarily better, with almost a decade of good quality living lost to ill health.¹ This Healthy Aging Month marks a time to reprioritize health and empower ourselves with a deeper knowledge of health, nutrition and the aging process.
• From genomic instability to chronic inflammation, the twelve hallmarks of aging interact in complex ways to drive the aging process.^2,3 Four hallmarks of aging in particular – mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, chronic inflammation and dysbiosis – could be key for enabling nutritional interventions that effectively extend our health span.
• Join us as we explore the potential for brands to harness the power of nutritional innovation to modulate homeostasis and the hallmarks of aging, potentially enabling consumers to live longer and better.

This September marked Healthy Aging Month – a time to take proactive steps to help address the challenges that come with aging. Healthy Aging month reminds us that it’s important to pursue a healthy lifestyle in this hectic, fast-paced modern world. More importantly, it’s an opportunity to grow our knowledge on health and nutrition, so we’re empowered to make positive lifestyle changes at any age to help us mature gracefully.

But why does healthy aging matter in the first place? In short, it’s because people today are living longer, but not necessarily better. In fact, 2.1 billion people – more than 20% of the global population – will be over 60 years old by 2050.⁴ Moreover, there’s a ten-year gap between lifespan and health span – years lived in good health feeling well and mostly free of disease.¹ With almost a decade lost to ill health, this gap poses major public health challenges and governments are faced with increasingly heavy healthcare burdens. For instance, the top five noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) worldwide today – cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, cancer, diabetes and mental health conditions – together cost an average of US$2 trillion annually.⁵

As the global population ages, addressing the gap between health span and lifespan is vital to help people live vibrant and fulfilling lives for longer.⁶ So how does the aging process work, and where are the areas that nutrition can make a real impact?

The core hallmarks of aging

First, what do we mean when we talk about aging? Scientists in this emerging field have now identified some of the key mechanisms that contribute to the aging process. Providing a conceptual framework that describes the biochemical changes that occur in organisms as they age, the twelve hallmarks of aging interact in complex ways to drive the aging process.^7,8

Generally, the aging process involves three components, each featuring distinctive hallmarks. Damage to DNA, proteins, organelles and other intracellular structures first builds up over time to kick-start the aging process. The primary hallmarks of this aspect of aging include genomic instability, telomere attrition, epigenetic alterations, loss of proteostasis and disabled macroautophagy. In response to this cumulative damage, the antagonistic hallmarks of aging emerge. These include cellular senescence, mitochondrial dysfunction and deregulated nutrient-sensing. For example, cellular senescence, a process that stops damaged cells from growing, can lead to chronic inflammation as we get older. 

Following the first two stages of aging, integrative hallmarks of the results of aging appear. These effect changes that can affect entire systems, like the microbiome, and lead to the decline in bodily functions that we associate with aging. In total, there are five integrative hallmarks of aging, including stem cell exhaustion, altered intercellular communication, chronic inflammation and dysbiosis.

Identifying key avenues in the pursuit of healthy longevity

Yet we needn’t simply resign ourselves to the consequences of age-related deterioration. While aging is inevitable, it’s possible to maximize the potential for better health and quality of life. At dsm-firmenich, we’ve identified four hallmarks of aging – mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, chronic inflammation and dysbiosis – that hold significant potential for promoting healthy longevity. In other words, targeting these four hallmarks could be the keys to enabling nutritional interventions that effectively extend the health span. 

First, mitochondrial dysfunction occurs when these essential organelles fail to generate enough energy, manage oxidative stress and regulate cell function. This leads to cellular damage, aging and various age-related diseases, like neurodegenerative disorders, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome and some cancers.^9,10 Second, senescent cells lose function but continue to accumulate and damage neighboring cells.^11,12 Over time, this can contribute to impaired immune function and chronic inflammation, tissue dysfunction, impaired regeneration and ultimately, the deterioration of organ systems. 

The third hallmark, chronic inflammation, is intrinsically linked to the first two hallmarks of aging — being both a contributor to and a consequence of mitochondrial dysfunction and senescent cells.¹³ It is a slow, ongoing process that can damage tissues and organs. It speeds up cellular aging by increasing oxidative stress¹⁴ and is linked to the development and progression of age-related diseases, like Alzheimer’s disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, arthritis and cardiovascular diseases. Finally, dysbiosis occurs when there’s an imbalance or disruption in the gut microbiota.¹⁵ Beyond accelerating aging, dysbiosis triggers chronic inflammation, weakens immune function and causes metabolic dysfunctions, like insulin resistance, obesity and type 2 diabetes.¹⁶

Empowering consumers to live healthier, longer and better 

So, how can health and supplement brands target these four hallmarks of aging to effectively support the quest for healthy longevity? The answer lies in nutritional innovation. With nutrition serving as a key influence on the aging process, brands can harness the power of nutrients and other compounds, like phytochemicals, to increase quality of life and function in advancing years. 

At dsm-firmenich, our commitment to healthy longevity is rooted in science, bolstered by robust evidence generation and grounded in a portfolio of cutting-edge ingredients. Our goal here is to help consumers recover from lifestyle stressors that range from poor diets to sleep deprivation. This is instrumental in maintaining internal balance or homeostasis and reducing the vulnerability toward diseases that comes with aging. Moreover, our approach to healthy longevity solutions and supplement innovation is based on a deep understanding how nutrients and bio-actives can modulate homeostasis and the hallmarks of aging.