Age Healthier by
Maintaining Healthy Telomere Length
As we age, most of us want to:
1. Live a long and healthy
life
2. Avoid the
diseases and ailments that come with aging
Fortunately, the latest
scientific research shows that you can age healthier
by maintaining longer telomere
length.
With a growing understanding of telomeres and
the enzyme called telomerase, many studies reveal
natural ways to maintain healthy telomere length.
Let's first explore what telomeres are, how they
affect aging and how you can naturally maintain
telomere length to reduce the effects of aging.
WHAT ARE TELOMERES?
Never heard of telomeres before?
That's ok, most of us haven't The simplest way to
describe telomeres is the shoelace analogy:
telomeres are similar to the caps at the end of a
shoelace. Its primary function is to protect the DNA
within your 23 pairs of chromosomes. It prevents one
end of a chromosome from fusing into another
chromosome.
HOW DO TELOMERES
AFFECT AGING?
Telomeres naturally shorten as
you age. This is because telomeres get shorter every
time a cell divides. Once a cell gets to the point
when its telomeres get so short and can no longer
divide, it stops replicating altogether and enters
into a state called senescence. Cells that reach
this state are considered old, dying cells. Cells
within shorter telomere length as well as cells that
become damaged due to aging may cause an increased
risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain
cancers.
Increasing Telomerase Activity is Key to Slowing
Down Effects of Aging
THE CONNECTION
BETWEEN TELOMERE LENGTH AND TELOMERASE
Telomerase is an enzyme that
activates the growth of telomeres and extends the
lifespan of a cell. This enzyme is what helps cells
repair and maintain telomere length as they divide.
With an increase understanding of what this enzyme
looks like, supplements and drugs can one day be
designed to increase telomerase activity. If
targeted telomerase activity can be increased with
the help of drugs or nutritional supplements, then
it'll eventually be possible to drastically lower
the occurrence of age-related disease and ailments.
There's still a lot of work to be
done to design drugs that can target activating
telomerase activity in specific cells. Significant
progress appears to be on the horizon thanks to
recent high-resolution photos of telomerase, which
helps researchers identify parts of telomerase they
could target with drugs.
NATURAL WAYS TO
MAINTAIN TELOMERE LENGTH
Believe it or not, the way you
live your life has a direct impact on how you age.
By adopting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, you
can improve how good you feel today and how good
you'll feel as you get older.
We've put together a list of the
top
3 natural ways that are
scientifically proven to maintain healthy telomere
length. Check them out below:
1. Take
Supplements
Research shows that supplements
can help lengthen your telomeres. When LifePharm
launched 8 years ago, LAMININE was the very first
nutritional supplement offered to consumers. Dr.
Rafael Gonzalez and his team at the DaVinci
Biosciences labs in Loma Linda, California conducted
studies to determine the benefits and effectiveness
of LAMININE. the 90-day study revealed that LAMININE
supports telomerase activity and can lengthen your
telomere length. It's important to note that the
subjects who took LAMININE did not change their
diets or lifestyle habits, but still showed evidence
of telomere lengthening. LAMININE's ingredients
include Fertilized Avian Egg Extract, marine
proteins and phyto proteins. The protein bio-factors
such as FGF-2 can only be found in the egg extract
used in this supplement. It's the primary ingredient
credited with supporting healthy cell development.
2. Eat a Healthy
Balanced Diet
You might want to consider trying
the Mediterranean Diet. One study called the Nurses'
Health Study concluded that the Mediterranean Diet
was associated with longer telomere length. The
Mediterranean Diet is considered effective because
of its impact on oxidative stress levels in your
body. Oxidative stress is caused by an imbalance of
free radicals in your body. They can cause damage to
your fatty tissue, DNA and proteins. Over time, this
damage can lead to many different diseases. The
Mediterranean Diet was found to be effective in
protecting your DNA (and protecting the health of
your telomeres) from oxidative stress because it
offers foods rich in antioxidants which keep free
radicals from overpopulating your body.
According to Elissa Epel,
co-author of a study exploring the link between diet
and telomere length, any diet that is rich in
antioxidants creates a biochemical environment
favorable to telomeres. The four diets reviewed in
the study were the Mediterranean Diet (mentioned
above), the DASh diet, the Healthy Eating Index and
the Alternative Healthy Eating Index. Each diet
emphasizes eating plenty of fruits, vegetables,
whole grains and plant-based proteins.
3. Exercise
Regularly
It's universally accepted that
exercise is good for your health. It helps reduce
stress, improves rest, helps you maintain a healthy
weight and can help maintain healthy telomere
length. According to findings from a study conducted
by NHANES (the National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey), adults who exercised regularly
had a benefit of 9 years less cellular aging than
those who had moderate to low exercise. They
concluded it was clear adults who had high levels of
physical activity had longer telomeres than those
who didn't exercise very much, if at all.
START IMPROVING
YOUR CELLULAR HEALTH TODAY
As you can see, there are ways
today you can improve your health and better manage
the effects of aging. Now that you know more about
telomeres, their role in your health as you age and
how you can keep them healthy longer, will you take
the next step to protect the health of your
telomeres? The increased risk of illness that comes
with aging is a natural occurrence everyone has to
confront. Without a doubt, the best way to combat
aging is through prevention by living a healthy
lifestyle that includes eating a balanced diet. So
put our list of ways to maintain and improve
telomere health to good use and start your healthy
aging journey today!
