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!