Dr. Joy Kong explains why we lose stem cells as we age. At birth, 1 in 10,000 of your cells are mesenchymal stem cells. By your 80s, that drops to 1 in 2 million. Oxidative damage accumulates faster than your body can replace them.
Great question. I'm Dr. Joy Kong, a triple board certified doctor and a stem cell specialist. We're all born with a set number of stem cells. While they do replicate and replenish themselves, the number of stem cells do decline sharply as we age. This is because we gradually lose them due to oxidative damages from just being alive. For example, when we were born, every 1 in 10,000 cells is a mesenchymal stem cell. This is a very important cell type, but when we reach our teenage years, it's already declined to 1 in 100,000. And when we reach our 40s, it become hundred thousand. And when we reach our 80s, it becomes 1 in 2 million. I hope that makes sense. And drop any questions about stem cells below and I'll do my best to answer.
