Telomeres
Some science today.
Telomeres are the tiny little hats that sit on the end of chromosomes (which are coils of our DNA). Over our lifespans, our cells divide, and as they do our telomeres naturally begin to shorten. This causes the coils of DNA they are protecting start to fray out & essentially: your cells start to become pro inflammatory or they die. Put simply, the signs of ageing (wrinkles, grey hair) form alongside illness, cancers and disease as a result. Various books have compared telomeres to the little plastic tips at the end of shoelaces, without them laces fray and get damaged. You cannot get lost telomeres back.
Telomere shortening has been coined as a marker for how healthy our cells/bodies are compared to our real age, because the rate of shortening in different people varies.
The aim is to sustain our telomeres or if we can, reverse the rate of shortening. Is this possible? Scientists found an enzyme that they coined telomerase that rebuilds telomeres. Perfect we can just take telomerase supplements and never age? No. Artificially high levels of this enzyme have also been linked to various cancers and disease. So we must naturally protect the telomerase we already have.
How do we do this?
Reduce stress: Cortisol (the stress hormone) in large doses depletes our telomerase and causes much more rapid telomere shortening. We know that chronic stress causes illness and disease - here is one very clear biological piece of evidence as to how. Studies actually found that small doses of mindfulness or meditation increase levels of telomerase and protects telomere shortening.
Stop smoking. There’s a million things showing that smoking is bad - here’s another one. Smoking cigarettes is associated with 3 x the rate of telomere loss.
Eat more veggies and fruits - this has been linked to longer more protective telomeres
Eat more unrefined, unprocessed grains. The consumption of refined food, and processed sugar has been linked to shortened telomeres
Reduce Meat and dairy intake - plant based diets have shown to boost telomerase activity.
By making these changes studies have actually shown that not only do you protect your precious stores of telomerase but you can make your telomeres grow longer - essentially reversing cellular ageing.