Research shows our bodies go through rapid changes in our 40s and our 60s

For many people, late 40s may mean having unpleasant signals the body is not as efficient as it used to be. Accidents are not an exception and they appear to recur with an alarming rate. Muscles may feel weaker. 
 
A new study, published Wednesday in Nature Aging, reveals what might be responsible for it: P erceptible sharp deterioration in physical health. Scientists have established that the molecules and microorganisms in and on our bodies are in a state of flux, starting at about 44, and then again at 60. All those changes might be leading to substantial differences in such aspects of health as cardiovascular system efficiency, immunity level, etc. 
 
The research is based on the investigations by Stanford specialists, and the data was gathered from blood and other biomaterials of 108 people aged between 25 and 75, who were constantly contributing their samples for years. 
 
“As you would expect through one’s lifetime, the clock ticks and you grow older, but there are two major transitions,” said the senior author of the paper Michael Snyder, a professor of genetics and the director of the Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine at Stanford University. for instance “there is increase in lipid metabolism when people are age 40 and carbohydrate metabolism when the people are age 60. ” 
 
LDL, HDL, Triglycerides – These are all types of fats or lipids that have dozens of vital functions in the human body but are considered to be dangerous if they appear or are accumulated in the blood. 
 
Many types of molecules were monitored in samples: RNA itself, proteins, and participants’ microbiota. 
 
The metabolic shifts the researchers identified do not mean that sedentary folks in their 40s metabolise calories slower – but rather, the fact that food substances are being processed differently by the body. The scientists do not know precisely how those changes affect health even though they are sure that such changes are existent. 
 
Past studies proved that basal metabolism – the amount of energy used at rest – remained the same from 20 to 60 years of age. That is not refuted by the findings of the new study. 
 
Those changes impact, for instance, the body’s reaction to alcohol or caffeine, although the health effects are not yet known. The consequences are that for some stimulants such as caffeine, this may lead to enhanced sensitivity. 
 
One also does not know yet if these changes could be due to certain lifestyle or behaviours. For instance, the modification in alcohol metabolism may be attributed to the fact that people consume alcohol most in mid-40s Snyder stated. 

In the meantime, Snyder said that for people in the 40s, the lipids must be closely monitored especially, the LDL cholesterol. 
 
“If they begin to rise then people may want to consider to start on statins if their doctor advises them to do so, he said. Furthermore, one can say knowing that there is a change in the molecules that impact muscles and the skin, you can try to warm up more before exercising not to injure yourself. 

Snyder said until further understanding of those changes — some of which have yet to be discovered — the best course of action would be to consume nutritious food and engage in physical activity. 
 
Josef Coresh, MD, MPH, founding director of the Optimal Aging Institute at NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City, likened the new findings to the discovery of the microscope. 
 
“The advantage of this kind of a paper is that we can look at the molecular level changes,” explained Coresh, a professor of medicine at the school. “It will take some time before these changes are distinguished from one another and before the medications are adjusted for such changes. We do know that much of the roots of diseases occur at midlife in people at 40 and 40s even if the disease kicks in decades later. 
 
But the new study “is an important step forward,” said Dr. Lori Zeltser, a professor of pathology and cell biology at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Even though we do not yet know what the outcome of those metabolic changes might be, ‘right now we already have to recognize the fact our metabolism of the food we consume changes in our 40s and that is something new’. 
 
The changes the researchers identified might contribute to all sorts of clock-related physiological alterations — be it muscle atrophy, because “your body is metabolizing food differently,” Zeltser said.