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Take one look at the way a toddler can put her feet behind her head, and you’ll see the full capability of our joints in action. Somehow evolution knew that we needed to reach the top shelf, make a quick cut away from the linebacker, and do the Electric Slide at our cousin’s wedding. In response, evolution rewarded us with joints that can move in an infinite number of ways. As one of the more amazing parts of our bodies, all joints have the same overriding physiology, but they’re also all unique because they’re customized for their special function, depending on what part of the body they form.
The simple physiology of almost all of our joints is this: They link one bone to another to allow us to move at the point of connection—the way a hinge connects a door to a wall. Made up of ligaments and cartilage, joints are well lubed to keep your bones moving smoothly. They’re also unique in that they don’t all function like door hinges—swinging back and forth in a two-dimensional motion. Also, they all must balance two opposing forces—stability versus mobility. Three joints—the knee, hip, and shoulder—are typically considered our body’s most important joints, and they’re all constructed differently to customize the relationship between mobility and stability. While the shoulder joint is the most mobile joint in the body (look how many ways you can turn and swing your arms), the hip joint is the most stable (for good reason, to carry you everywhere). Let’s take a more detailed look.

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OSTEOPOROSIS If that decrease in bone density is significant enough, it can lead to osteoporosis—a condition in which the bones have thinned and weakened to the point where they can break very easily. In people with osteoporosis, those two processes of recycling old bone cells and depositing calcium are thrown out of whack, and the deterioration of old bone cells outpaces the formation of new bone cells.
When you think of osteoporosis, you probably think of bone breaks. Surely that’s the danger of having thin bones. But it’s not the break itself that makes osteoporosis so bad. It’s what happens afterward. The fracture triggers a chain of aging-related events. When you’re bedridden, you become weaker and more susceptible to infections. With less exercise, your arteries become less elastic and more prone to injury. And finally, your immune system becomes more vulnerable to dangerous diseases and infections.

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The trio of bones, joints, and muscles is a little like the Three Stooges. They’re all different individually, but any one is virtually useless without the support of the others. Here’s how they work:
Your Bones
On the surface, bones seem easy: They’re white and hard, and they’re great for fetching and Halloween parties. But in reality, bones are more misunderstood than Bob Dylan’s lyrics. The primary functions of bone are as follows:
•To act as a suit of armor for our other vital organs
•To store minerals like calcium and magnesium
•To act as a series of lever arms needed for movement
•To act as a factory for the production of blood and similar elements

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A house’s wood beams define its shape, anchor heavy wall hangings, and shield the inside from the outside. Nailed together, these two-by-fours frame everything inside. If those beams weaken or those nails rust, the result would threaten not only that particular part of the house but the entire structure. Without a strong structure to hold up the drywall and siding, our valuables would be susceptible to damage by weather, looters, and hungry bears. In many ways, your 206 bones (as well as the joints that hold them together) serve the same purpose in your body. Your skeletal system gives you the shape that allows you to stand up straight, and it protects your internal organs from potentially destructive falls, accidents, and knife-throwing magicians.
Chances are, you’ve been brought up to believe that your bones are much like two-by-fours—solid and generally unchanging. They grow in size as we change from kids to adults, but besides that, they’re static structures, right? Not exactly. The molecular elements in each of our bones right now are actually different than the ones composing the bones that held you up even a decade ago. The individual molecules in your bones rotate in response to what your bones need—and how well you nourish them. Just as you can take control of how efficient your heart pumps or how thick your waist becomes, you can also take control of the way your bones age.
Together, bones, joints, and muscles make up the human machine of movement; they help you walk your dog, play golf, and outrun the paparazzi. Even if your bones feel more like steel girders than toothpicks, your musculoskeletal system does some surprising things as it develops. Maybe you’re not terribly worried about your bones, joints, and muscles right now, but they’re hugely important to the way we age, if for no other reason than this: Having Lance Armstrong’s heart or Albert Einstein’s brain doesn’t mean a darn thing if you can’t lift yourself off the toilet.
Of course, many things can put your skeletal system at risk—falling off a bike, slipping on a patch of ice, being on the receiving end of a machete. But what has the most potential for damaging your skeletal system is a factor so important to your overall health: physical activity. Though we can generally identify things good for us in extraordinary amounts (vegetables, $100 bills) and the things that aren’t (corn dogs, overdue bills), physical activity is one of those things that’s a little less clear. Certainly, physical activity helps our entire body—our heart, brain, and bones—but the catch is that when it comes to your bones, joints, and muscles, excessive physical activity can be just as destructive to your body as Mike Tyson’s right hand.

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Action 5: Go Natural
These are the leading vitamins and supplements that can help elevate your brain function by improving mood, memory, or other aspects of your mind, and keeping it young.

FOLATE, B6 AND B12 As we covered in the heart chapter, elevated homocysteine levels are dangerous. They double the risk of stroke. We believe that homocysteine causes small openings between the endothelial cells that make up the inner lining of your arteries, leading to deterioration of the arterial wall, buildup of plaque, and inflammation. Taking 800 micrograms of folate a day in supplements, or 1,400 micrograms through your diet, can reduce homocysteine levels dramatically, essentially removing any excess homocysteine from your bloodstream and stopping its aging effects. It’s important because as you age, you tend to take in less folate from food, and the concentration of folate in your body drops; in fact, lack of folate is the most common vitamin deficiency among older people. Foods like asparagus, artichokes, Brussels sprouts, black-eyed peas, and sunflower seeds contain folate. Most of us also don’t have high enough levels of B6 and B12 (B6 foods include chicken, bananas, and tomato paste, while B12 foods include salmon, tuna, hamburger, lamb, bran, and wheat flakes). By consistently taking 800 micrograms of folate a day, 6 milligrams of B6, and 800 micrograms of B12 in food or 25 micrograms as a supplement (supplemental B12 is easier to absorb), you can make your RealAge 1.2 years younger in just three months, and probably 3.7 years younger in three years.

COENZYME Q10 Coenzyme Q10 has gained more attention than a celebrity wedding because of its alleged ability to prevent cardiovascular aging (as well as for helping critically ill patients awaiting heart transplants). We believe that it does help your heart, and that it may also help prevent your brain from aging. Found naturally in the body’s organs, coenzyme Q10 helps stimulate energy pathways at a cellular level, notably in muscle tissue and in all brain and nervous tissue cells. Our bodies naturally produce Q10—but only when we’re not lacking vitamin C or any of the B-complex vitamins, such as B12, B6, and folate. In studies of Parkinson’s disease and hypertension, high doses of coenzyme Q10 ranging up to 1,200 milligrams a day seem to decrease symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, as well as decrease high blood pressure. According to these studies, this large group of potential patients would receive a benefit from taking coenzyme Q10: those who use statins (for example, Zocor, Pravachol, Lipitor, or Crestor)—that’s more than 15 million people in the United States alone—will benefit; those with severe and life-threatening heart failure, Parkinson’s symptoms, diabetes, and hypertension would also benefit from Q10.

ALPHA LIPOIC ACID AND L-CARNITINE These two substances have been shown to improve cognitive function in mice. When old mice are injected with the substances, they find food at the end of the maze as fast as young mice—and faster than old mice that have not had them. L-carnitine is an amino acid that helps transfer energy between our cells; and in animal studies, it’s been shown to decrease arterial aging and improve memory. For people over sixty, we recommend 1,500 milligrams daily of L-carnitine. Alpha lipoic acid (ALA), which also helps our bodies produce energy, is thought to help reduce the aging of our DNA caused by glucose and oxygen and to facilitate the movement of these materials to our body’s power sources.

RESVERATROL This is a flavonoid found in red wine that seems to decrease the aging of the DNA in mitochondria—the cell’s energy plant. Those flavonoids act as an antioxidant, which helps reduce aging of the arteries and the immune system. Red wine especially has this benefit because it’s the grape’s skin that contains resveratrol, and red wine has been in contact with the skin of the grape for a longer time than has white wine (which is why it’s red). To get the maximum RealAge benefits (up to 1.9 years younger), drink alcohol in moderate amounts—one to two glasses a day if you’re a man, one half to one glass a day if you’re a woman.

SAME A natural amino acid, S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe), treats depression by altering the chemical reaction of neurotransmitters associated with depression. Some authorities worry antidepressants with serious side effects are overprescribed. This one seems to have fewer side effects. If you feel you need an antidepressant, get help. Usual dose for SAMe: 800 to 1,200 milligrams daily (on an empty stomach). While many studies have focused on St. John’s wort as an antidepressant, it has interactions with many other medications. For example, it increases the metabolism of substances in birth control pills, essentially making them useless for 25 percent of the people who take both birth control pills and St. John’s wort. SAMe is just as effective for mild depression, without the interactions with other medications.

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