What are sirtuins?
Sirtuins are enzymes that influence many crucial processes in our body, including muscle building, fat burning and protection against diseases. They also help our Slow down the ageing process. They are currently at the centre of research as they influence all these important processes by controlling our epigenome.
Many scientists believe that sirtuins, with their life-prolonging properties, are the key to qualitatively extending our life expectancy.
What is the epigenome?
We know that all our cells have the same DNA. However, the fact that a nerve cell differs from a skin cell, for example, is due to the epigenome. The epigenome is, so to speak, the control system that tells the cell which genes should be switched on and which should remain silent.
We can also influence our epigenome ourselves to a certain extent. It is precisely in this process that sirtuins act like a switch-on or switch-off button.
Why should I activate sirtuins and how do they work?
Sirtuins act like a command centre for our genes: they take care of DNA stability and repair, survival, metabolism and communication between cells. They even control fertility.
However, sirtuins have to enter into a trade-off - in "good times" they can regulate reproduction, but in times of higher stress they command our organism to protect us from diseases and chronic inflammation. They also prevent cell death (apoptosis).
We humans have a total of 7 sirtuins:
- SIRT1, SIRT6, SIRT7 are important for the control of the epigenome and DNA repair.
- SIRT3, SIRT4 and SIRT5 are located in the mitochondria (the small power stations of our cells) and control the energy metabolism there.
- SIRT2 controls cell division and ensures the production of egg cells.
What do sirtuins have to do with longevity?
Sirtuins stabilise human DNA and thus prevent cell ageing. They therefore play an important role in regulating the lifespan of humans.
Ageing at the cellular level
To be able to categorise the importance of this knowledge, it is helpful to understand why we actually age (more information in this article).
According to Harvard biologist Dr David Sinclair and his "information theory of ageing", the so-called epigenetic noise responsible for the fact that we grow older and frailer and eventually die.
The term "epigenetic noise" means that our cells can be destroyed over time or have so many defects that they are no longer functional. The more of these cells accumulate in our body, the more we age.
The destructive deficiencies arise day after day through environmental influences, our lifestyle and our diet. Nevertheless, there are things that cause particularly great damage to our DNA. For example, DNA breaks down due to X-rays or UV radiation, toxins (drugs, cigarettes, alcohol), free radicals, etc.
Conclusion: Our DNA is not our destiny! Studies on identical twins estimate the genetic contribution to longevity at only 10-25%. This means that the remaining 75-90% influenced by our lifestylet become!
So you can take your fate into your own hands.
