• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

    To become a member, simply click the Register button at the top right.

Do you look markedly younger than your age?

BEG

Senior Member
Messages
1,032
Location
Southeast US
I'm English, Irish, Scots and Welsh, which is probably why I argue with myself so much.

Martlet. You are too hysterical! I'm Scots/Irish and Italian. I get mad and then get even, or so I've been told.

It's funny that I am often mistaken as the mother of my 8 year old granddaughter, and she tells me how old I look. And she means OLD.

Victoria, where did you find those emoticons?
 

Victoria

Senior Member
Messages
1,377
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Brown-eyed Girl,
the emoticoms are under the "go advanced" reply mode box.
There are the old emoticoms as well as the new yellow emoticoms - a good selection to help your writing along.
Have a good day............
 

Victoria

Senior Member
Messages
1,377
Location
Melbourne, Australia
As to aging.............

1. Good genes help
2. Plenty of fresh filtered water daily to keep the skin hydrated.
3. Lots of fresh vegies & fruit (a variety of foods that are high in anti-oxidants also)
4. Minimal coffee/tea or other caffiene based drinks that dehydrate
5. Keep out of the direct sun (especially here in Australia where there is a big hole in the ozone layer)
6. A brisk walk every day gets plenty of oxygen into the cells
7. Fish oil capsules for smooth velvety skin (which I have) vitamin E capsules for your heart & skin.
8. Bring lots of joy & laughter into your life
9. Try to be optimistic (hard when you've got a chronic illness).
10. Spend time with happy positive people & good supportive friends & family (this one is also hard to do when you're chronically ill).
11. Try to keep away from heavy drugs that place stress on your liver & kidneys.
12. Avoid stress (this is even harder to achieve).

And so on.........(otherwise you'll end up like a wrinkled prune).
 

Sunday

Senior Member
Messages
733
Victoria, how lovely to have pictures of you at last. I was relieved to hear that you have been visiting the dentist whilst you have insurance from work; I certainly think those two front teeth need more work. But your hair is lovely, very few signs of grey. And this picture has caught a very engaging expression. :Retro wink:

I've got another theory about CFS/ME and aging. Freddd, over at the b12 thread, had/has had it for 26 years. When b12 started pulling him out, he noticed that his male-pattern baldness - which had frozen in place when he went under with the severe form of illness - started up again; he started losing hair.

So maybe hormonal weirdness can work in our favor; maybe we're Sleeping Beauties (feel better, Dr. Yes?) In my own case, I'm one of those people who looked older when I was young, and now look younger when I'm old. Not just my opinion; I'm 53, and one of my neighbors finally asked me my age because she thought I looked as if I were in my early forties but obviously some of my info militates against this. She's 35, so it's not a case of someone calling me a young thing. Also, my day was made a year ago when volunteers, looking to pass out info on mammograms, asked me if I was over 40! Well, that could have been a case of needing glasses (they weren't young things), but I must say it made my day.

I think a lot of my skin preservation can be attributed to good bones and wearing hats and sunscreen devotedly since my late 20s, when I got heat exhaustion. And, truthfully, if you look closely, the skin on my hands and neck would give you a true indication of age, I think. I think I would not get the highest score on your list of items, Victoria, but definitely fish oil works!
 

liverock

Senior Member
Messages
748
Location
UK
Fish oil essential if you want to keep your telemores from shortening.:D

http://www.drpressman.com/omega-3-linked-to-younger-biological-age/
Omega-3 linked to younger biological age
Fri, Jan 22, 2010
In the News

High blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids may slow cellular ageing in people with coronary heart disease, suggests a new study.

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco looked at the length of telomeres, DNA sequences at the end of chromosomes that shorten as cells replicate and age.

The ageing and lifespan of normal, healthy cells are linked to the so-called telomerase shortening mechanism, which limits cells to a fixed number of divisions. During cell replication, the telomeres function by ensuring the cells chromosomes do not fuse with each other or rearrange, which can lead to cancer. Elizabeth Blackburn, a telomere pioneer at the University of California San Francisco, likened telomeres to the ends of shoelaces, without which the lace would unravel.

With each replication the telomeres shorten, and when the telomeres are totally consumed, the cells are destroyed (apoptosis). Previous studies have also reported that telomeres are highly susceptible to oxidative stress. Some experts have noted that telomere length may be a marker of biological ageing.

Among patients with stable coronary artery disease, there was an inverse relationship between baseline blood levels of marine omega-3 fatty acids and the rate of telomere shortening over 5 years, wrote the researchers, led by Ramin Farzaneh-Far.

These findings raise the possibility that omega-3 fatty acids may protect against cellular aging in patients with coronary heart disease, they added.

The research adds to a large body of science supporting the potential health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, particularly in relation to heart health.

Study details

Several studies have shown increased survival rates among individuals with high dietary intake of marine omega-3 fatty acids and established cardiovascular disease. The mechanisms underlying this protective effect are not well understood, according to background information in the article.

The UCSF researchers looked at telomere length in blood cells of 608 outpatients with stable coronary artery disease. The length of telomeres was measured in leukocytes at the start of the study and again after 5 years.

Comparing levels of omega-3 fatty acids, EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) with subsequent change in telomere length, the researchers found that individuals with the lowest average levels of DHA and EPA experienced the most rapid rate of telomere shortening, while people with the highest average blood levels experienced the slowest rate of telomere shortening.

Each 1-standard deviation increase in DHA plus EPA levels was associated with a 32 per cent reduction in the odds of telomere shortening, wrote the authors.

Commenting on the potential mechanism, Dr Farzaneh-Far and his co-workers noted that this may be linked to oxidative stress, known to drive telomere shortening. Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to reduce levels of F2-isoprostanes, a marker of systemic oxidative stress, as well as increasing levels of the antioxidant enzymes catalase and superoxide dismutase, thereby reducing oxidative stress.

Another possible mechanism may involve the enzyme telomerase. The enzyme works to maintain telomere length, and omega-3 may increase its activity.

The researchers added that a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial would be necessary to definitively confirm the link between omega-3 fatty acids and cellular ageing.

Multivitamins and green tea, too?

The work of the UCSF scientists was limited to people with CHD, thereby limiting how general the results may be. Other studies in healthy people have already linked specific nutrients to telomere length, and subsequently a younger biological age.

Recently, researchers from the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences reported that telomere length was longer in regular multivitamin users in their cohort of 586 women aged between 35 and 74. The subjects did not have coronary heart disease.

Writing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the US-based researchers noted that theirs was the first epidemiologic study of multivitamin use and telomere length.

Regular multivitamin users tend to follow a healthy lifestyle and have a higher intake of micronutrients, which sometimes makes it difficult to interpret epidemiologic observations on multivitamin use, they said.

An association between green tea drinkers and telomere length was also reported by scientists from the Chinese University of Hong Kong last year. The telomeres of people who drank an average of three cups of tea per day were about 4.6 kilobases longer than people who drank an average of a quarter of a cup a day, reported the researchers in the British Journal of Nutrition..

This average difference in the telomere length corresponds to approximately a difference of 5 years of life, wrote the researchers, led by Ruth Chan.

Dr Chan told NutraIngredients in August 2009 that Chinese tea in their study refers to both black and green tea, but added: Our data showed that majority of Chinese tea consumed by our subjects were of green tea.


Author: Stephen Daniells
Source: NutraIngredients.com
Original Date: January 20th, 2010
 

Navid

Senior Member
Messages
564
i'd rather feel younger!!!!!!

My grandmother lived to 110! She won a golf tournament at 95.:victory:
Sushi

that is sooooooo awesome!!!! love it.

i am always thought to be much younger by people around my age and older....but people in their twenties know what a 20 something should look like and usually guess my age on the backside of 40 correctly.

funny story: the other day i went to our city rec center to sign my kid up for a class...i had on a northface down jkt, messenger cap and uggs...so dressed like a younger person...the man surprised-like said to me "honey why aren't you in school"...he thought i was a high schooler...hysterical...then i took off my hat and he saw my graying hair and said well you still look great for your age : )


ladies in our family live into their hundreds, my maternal grampy lived til 85...but he broke his hip while working in his woodshop...trying to do things he shouldn't have been doing at his age...once in the hospital he went down fast...if that didnt happen he probably wouldv'e lived a good 10 more years....men on my dad's side go young....my dad 62, his dad-my grandpa 62....

so it's a toss-up.
 

faith.hope.love

Senior Member
Messages
118
Very interesting! I have always been told I look very young. I'm 33, most people say I look around 21-25. When I was at the salon getting my hair done, someone asked if I was getting ready for prom. LOL :) My patients always assume I'm a nursing student, and ask when I'll graduate. They about fall over when I tell them I have a teenager myself!
 

jace

Off the fence
Messages
856
Location
England
Interesting. I was last asked if I wanted child's ticket (under 14) on a bus when I was 22. Now, nearly 60, I sure feel my age (darn the ME/CFS) and maybe I look it too. My youngest regularly gets asked for ID to prove she is over 18, she's 24 and a mother of two. I have a nephew who looks to be in his early twenties, who is 37 now. We have joked for years about a youth gene.
 

kat0465

Senior Member
Messages
230
Location
Texas
Younger right up till the big crash at 43, I'm 47 now and look it. These last three and a half years have really taken a toll! However, from age 15 to age 43 people guessed 20 something! It was a nice run.

I can relate George, for most of all the sick 20 years, i looked great, my weight was good, i even got carded going to buy liquor or when i went anywhere. then WHAMO, at about 41 everything changed. especially my looks & body.im 44 now, am 60 lbs overweight,Look sick now:( and never ever get carded anymore :( like you said...It was a nice run!!
 

bakercape

Senior Member
Messages
210
Location
Cape Cod. Mass
Could it be that none of us smoke or drink much or at all. We all probably supplement with vitamins. We also as a group probably don't get much sun. These factors could make us look younger.
 

jace

Off the fence
Messages
856
Location
England
bakercape, that theory didn't work for me pre ME he he Though I used to say I moved too fast for the sunbeams to catch me, after a year or three in the mediterranean I did get a tan. Now I'm so pure and I look my age.
 
Messages
54
Interesting that this is common to so many people here. I looked young for my age for a long time (have had CFS for 25 yrs), but not anymore. I am 46 and have gray hair and an ashen look and dark circles, so if anything I look older. I have never worn make up.

But throughout my 30s people thought I was in my 20s. When I was 35 even an 18 yr old friend thought I was no older than 29. I did get carded at a liquor store recently, when I was wearing a wool cap (the clerk thought I was a guy though :D ).
 

Misfit Toy

Senior Member
Messages
4,178
Location
USA
I look a lot younger. I hear it all the time. I am 39 and look like I am 30. I am so sick so to me it makes no sense. My skin looks great thanks to makeup. But, I have dark circles under my eyes that can't be seen either. Thanks to makeup!
 

L'engle

moogle
Messages
3,196
Location
Canada
I agree with the no drinking, smoking, or eating junk food theory. I'm also very sensitive to light and sun so I always protect my skin. Overall it makes for a very low impact lifestyle. I don't seem to have any other health problems besides whatever this thing we have is. When I see people my own age who are still healthy enough to party I'm shocked by how ill they tend to look. My boyfriend also looks way healthier than the other people around here who are his age. I think before I got sick, when I was still a teenager, I was even more interested in keeping active and experiencing life than many of the other people I knew. When I was a kid I had tons of energy, was never sick and used to leap around at light speed. When I first started getting more tired around age 19, I assumed my personality was somehow changing and preventing me from having energy, even though my mind very much wanted to continue a busy life. ("Maybe it's because you're an introvert, or creative", etc...( despite that the other introverts could work all day and the other creative people could party till morning)) I gave up on partying around then anyway, simply because it was boring and felt unclean. So maybe I would look this healthy even if I was healthy... hmmm, does that make sense?

With exercise intolerance, too I get really focused on being able to exercise again as the most desirable thing in life. Eating junk food, drinking or doing sedentary group social activities just don't have much charm anymore. I would love to go with a best friend or small group and do a really good hiking trip... no alcohol, no noise, just nature and good friends. So I guess we tend to value our health more highly than people who take it for granted.
 

rebecca1995

Apple, anyone?
Messages
380
Location
Northeastern US
I look younger than my age, too. I credit years of enforced sun avoidance.

But if no one sees me, does it really count? You know, "If a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it..." :D
 

Forbin

Senior Member
Messages
966
I became ill at age 22.

When I was 42, I went to see an ENT for the first time for tinnitus. He walked into the room and stopped in his tracks. He checked my chart and asked my name to make sure that I was the right patient. Then he asked if I was really 42. When I said yes, he was kind of shocked and said, "Well, you are a very young man." He repeated that a couple of other times.

Around the same time I saw an ophthalmologist. After examining my eyes he seemed a bit surprised and said that my retinas were like those of a teenager.
 

serenity

Senior Member
Messages
571
Location
Austin
i'm not sure if i do or not. i'm 42. some say i do, but i'm short & i avoid the sun. i quit smoking & drinking & tanning long ago.
i'm eating better these days & i've always been fairly thin, but i dunno if i look young or not? many of my friends do, so it's hard to say.
 

Jerry S

Senior Member
Messages
422
Location
Chicago
I look younger than my age, too. I credit years of enforced sun avoidance.

But if no one sees me, does it really count? You know, "If a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it..." :D

I wonder about those trees, too, Rebecca. I really don't know how I look to other people anymore - it's been so long since I've seen anyone face to face.

The neighbors I pass in the lobby don't recoil in horror. I suppose that's a good sign. :worried:
 

HopingSince88

Senior Member
Messages
335
Location
Maine
I am 57 and have one wee line on my forehead and a couple of tiny crinkles at the edges of my eyes. Other than that my skin is flawless. If it were not for the dark circles under my eyes, (and my lack of energy) I could start a new life as a Cougar. (just kidding). ;)

My dentist tells me that my teeth and gums belong to a 30 year old.

As late as 40 years of age I was being carded in restaurants.

For those of you that missed it on another thread, you may want to look at the wiki on Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehlers-Danlos_syndrome

I fit all the requirements. Maybe the genetics that creates EDS makes us more susceptible to XMRV getting triggered? There are a lot more healthy people with XMRV than there are sick ones. Why us?

But while we are waiting for answers, I don't mind being mistaken for a younger woman. :rolleyes:

And if we find a fix for this thing, I will use it to my advantage! :D