Is good genes or a healthy lifestyle responsible for aging well?

[Vesuvius87]

It really sucks that we're all going to age eventually. I'll be turning 36 on April 7. Would you say the way you age depends on genes or a healthy lifestyle. I've never smoked in my life. This is my aging process so far:

As a 9-10 month-old baby

At 3 years old

11 years old (4 months shy of my 12th b-day)

At 17 years old dressed in black in chemistry class

My 24th b-day

My 26th b-day

Last Feb 2022

Just last week

Updates

1 mo

My profile picture on top is also very recently from last month or so.

[WindAtMyBack]

Both. One you have control over and the other you don't. I know that lifestyle makes a HUGE difference. Diet and exercise are extraordinarily important. Genes make a big difference, but I think lifestyle makes a much bigger difference.

A baby face might be genes. But it's not going to keep you alive if you eat like crap and don't get any exercise.

[mobiusforniner]

I think it has more to do with the stressors in your life. Do you have children? Id assume you do not.

[Vesuvius87]

Nope, unfortunately I'm a childless latina; an Insing. That means involuntarily single.

[Vesuvius87]

I wished I was married with a kid already.

[Anonymous]

It's a combination of both, but when you understand the human body and the mind, you can do so much more to age well. For example, I discovered how to instruct my subconscious mind to reverse my gray hair and also to reverse my thinning hair. You can also do the same with the shape of your face, breast size, skin tone and much more.

I look about 50% younger than my actual age and find things easier than they used to be because I'm stronger and have better stamina than when I was younger.

[Vesuvius87]

I was reading that as latin women, we tend to age slower than other groups.
www.allure.com/.../latina-women-may-age-more-slowly-study
According to Horvath, the UCLA research points to an epigenetic explanation for Latinos’ longer life spans. For example, the biological clock measured Latino women’s age as 2.4 years younger than non-Latino women of the same age after menopause.

[thnderskiies]

This is complicated, and I'm not a scientist, but epigenetic processes turn off and on, and they can be extremely influenced by outside factors like the environment. Sort of like having the "fat gene" that is thought to predispose people to gain weight more easily - it doesn't guarantee you'll have weight problems and you don't have to have it to have weight problems. Same for the gene that is often related to a predisposition for breast cancer. So, presumably life style factors would play a big role in how your aging genes are expressed.

[RockyHammock]

Both lead to desirable outcomes.

I. e. genes, for guys lead to hair loss regardless of healthy lifestyle approaches.

Conversely, if you always breathed through your mouth then your facial structure will be less aesthetic than a nose breather

[Vesuvius87]

yeah, one of my brother's friend is only 19-20 years old and he's already a bit bald. The poor kid has his father's bad balding genes.

[LaFemmeFatale_1]

Why is that? I mean mouth breathing changing the facial aesthetics.

[RockyHammock]

I dont know the science behind it, but there's a great book that details how a young girl got a hampster. Found out she was allergic to hamsters. Overtime she began aging at a rapid rate.

They got rid of the hampster and performed interventions like tape on mouth when sleeping. Her nasal passages and jaw shape improved.

[RockyHammock]

If you're curious the book is called "Jaws the hidden epidemic" it's written by ivy league scientists @ Stanford

[LaFemmeFatale_1]

I ask that because I broke a nose as a child and have been a mouth breather since then, from about the age of 10-11. I also think that it made my face less beautiful than it was supposed to be genetically without breaking my nose.

[RockyHammock]

Luckily for you most guys know perfection is a myth

[zagor]

You're doing OK.

It is a combination of both. Some people are screwed by their genes. But you can always make it worse by drinking alcohol, smoking, drugs, getting too much sun.

In regards to that last one, I noticed while living in San Diego that it was very hard to find a woman over 35 who had lived there since childhood without bad skin.

[Vesuvius87]

yeah I've never smoked, never done drugs and only drink occasionally
The genetic part that favors me is being a Latina woman. There were several research that found we tend to age slower than other groups.

[zagor]

Also have more natural sun protection. Blondes seemed to fare especially poorly.

[sheenagwapa]

for us Asians to this i mean i think many Asians believe this it's about the sun. the sun can make yoy age so much that's why yoy will never see Asians do sunbathing. apart from that we like fairer skin better so all the sun is a no-no


dry skin can also aged skin faster. i have dry skin. it's like a paper the drier the paper let's say yoy blow dry it if you crample it the more visible the lines

[ZackBan]

You do have a filter on so hard to tell how much you've aged but I'm guessing you still get carded from time to time buying alcohol.

I do think lifesyle is the major factor in aging but good genetics do play into it.

For men for example hair loss is genetic and will greatly impact how old we look.

For women I would say sagging is something that you can't really help unless you have surgery but if you keep a healthy diet and body you won't really look saggy.

[Vesuvius87]

My 2nd ex and his mother (last year when I was 34) thought I was 19 to early 20's. I can keep up with it until certain point. Sadly we'll all going to really age in the end.

[OlderAndWiser]

I'm 68, I don't live a crazy or abusive lifestyle, but I am also not very health-conscious. I routinely get told that I look younger than my age, and I am still working full-time, very involved in volunteer activities, and definitely not a couch potato. I think it is just good genes.

[Vesuvius87]

Yeah genes play a major role too. Perhaps being a latina woman helps some. According to several article, we age slower than other groups:
www.allure.com/.../latina-women-may-age-more-slowly-study

[MadAndBankrupt]

You look younger than that.

I never understood why people find getting older as a taboo and unattractive!

If I’m 27 and as I grow older, I will find women my age attractive too.

just stop thinking like that and love how you look because people would always find excuses to make you feel bad about yourself.

[Vesuvius87]

It's probably because I'm single, childess and unmarried; involuntarily.. not out of choice.

[MadAndBankrupt]

Then this the problem, its not about how you look, thats why people should get married when they’re younger because it’s the age where most people are single and are looking for a partner.
My brotherly advice to you is that you don’t lose hope and blame anything, you should go out there and find the man who would be happy to live this life with you.
He would then make you understand that this question was unnecessary.

[Vesuvius87]

The issue is having a child and my fertility will likely be over by age 40. I've been having baby fever since I was 28 and got played badly by my first ex boyfriend and then got into another dead-end afterwards; no luck.

[Vesuvius87]

I partially blame myself. I should've gotten rid of my first ex boyfriend early on.

[MadAndBankrupt]

😂 you think at 40 you can’t get pregnant!
You need to recheck that.
Don’t blame yourself because an asshole played you.
These negative vibes and emotions are going to hurt you more than your ex boyfriend ever did

[Vesuvius87]

I want to have a child before 40.

[MadAndBankrupt]

Hopefully you will, just go places where you will find decent men.
Clubs, streets etc.. aren’t going to make you find them

[Vesuvius87]

True. I'll be stepping out more on the weekends, esp on Sundays.

[MadAndBankrupt]

But don’t forget to choose the man right for you not just anyone because that would affect you later on

[Vesuvius87]

thank you

[TenderFantasy]

You're only two years yougner than me yet you are already having better luck with people telling you nice stuff on here lol. Must be your looks. If you don't mind me saying too, I think you look fantastic for your age, though if I may say, you did seem like an early bloomer because when I was 11, I did NOT have breasts like you already did!

Also, I am thinking of doing the baby/child thing on my own if I don't find anyone. Last time I tried to get someone else to help me aka having a boyfriend, fiance, it just blew up in my face so with that said, nevermind!

[TenderFantasy]

Scratch that, FOUR years younger lol.

[Vesuvius87]

@TenderFantasy
I'm on the same boat on the childless issue. I'm really an Insing woman, which stands for involuntarily single, unmarried not out of choice. My last boyfriend wouldn't open his gate. I would've wanted to already be married and at least have one child. If I can't find a man, I'm opting for a sperm donor as last resort.
Yeah I was bigger than my mother in practically everything (shoe sizes, hands, breasts, body, etc) at the early age of 11; slightly taller than the average woman in the US. I developed too fast at the time. Then again, I had my period at age 11. That's the interesting part. I looked developed and older as an 11-12 year-old but younger nowadays.

[loveslongnails]

Both are important, to what extent your genes play a part vs your environment is unknown, but they both play a role.

[Vesuvius87]

Yeah. I feel terrible for the singer Britney Spears. She aged so badly when she wasn't even 30. Talk about bad life. Then again, it seems white women age fast than us latina women.
This is an interesting article about our ethnic group:
www.allure.com/.../latina-women-may-age-more-slowly-study

[Faith18letsgo]

You look really cool. I’d say mostly lifestyle. I recommend the movie “what the health” because one damaging thing we do to ourselves that we don’t know we’re doing is eating meat and dairy.

[Vesuvius87]

Dairy products such as milk (some morning I drink lactose-free milk, I'm lactose intolerant), cheese or yogurt is actually recommended too.

[Anonymous]

It plays a part. But a hard stressful life makes a difference as well. I've see women who were 25 and looked 45.

[Vesuvius87]

One example is Britney Spears. She started out good in her younger years but when she wasn't even 30, she looked bad.

[Opinion Owner]

If you say so. I think most people would disagree with you on that one. Plus she's had a couple kids. I was meaning more like wrinkles and leathery skin from like overtanning and such.

[Jerre]

You look great! I think both genes and a healthy lifestyle helps a person to age well.

[Jerre]

Thank you for the Like

[Vesuvius87]

you're welcome

[HighValue]

Mostly good Gene's, but lifestyle choices has about 1/4 to 1/3 impact too. Same goes with how long someone lives, strength and intelligence potential, etc. Gene's has the majority impact, but other things do affect it some too.

[DaveJord]

Both obviously no doubt. One or other are good to have and can of set the effects of aging, but having both is the most effective.

[Vesuvius87]

True, both play some role. I have absolutely no make-up in any of those pictures. I read long ago that too much make-up can be a bad chemical substance that ages our face quickly. I drink water every day too.

[ariadneR]

I think it's a little bit of both. I know I don't look my age at alll

[FilmGuy93]

genes seem to be more important, honestly. But you should always try to take care of your health

[Vesuvius87]

True. While being a latin woman can help out (I was reading articles that said we age slower than other groups), I do my best to avoid sweets, sodas or greasy things. I've just started stepping out (long walks in the park or just walking long distance) in the weekends again.

[Gummy_Cluster]

It sure helps. And most centenarians were/are coffee drinkers. And throw in some hot spices.

[analgesicgal]

it's both.

good gene isn't enough to cover for an unhealthy lifestyle. healthy lifestyle can't beat someone who has both good genes and healthy lifestyle.

[annabananna]

I think genetics play a part but it’s mostly due to self care. Alcohol sun and cigarettes will age you like no other.

[Cristinaissweet]

Good genes play a huge part but living and eating right can counteract a lot of bad genes.

[Vesuvius87]

True, both play a role. This is an interesting article about my ethnic group; latin women:
hnmagazine.com/.../
According to Horvath, the UCLA research points to an epigenetic explanation for Latinos’ longer life spans. For example, the biological clock measured Latino women’s age as 2.4 years younger than non-Latino women of the same age after menopause.