Have you ever heard people say that age is just a number? This is a way of thinking that is often adopted by those who do not wish to look or feel their real age. When age becomes a number, it matters a lot as to what a person could be consuming to either remain young or what the person is not taken to age faster.
If you know what Telomeres are, then you know what aging is all about. Most researchers have adopted the telomeres approach to explaining slow aging or fast aging. They say that you are as old as your short telomeres. This means that telomeres could be the factor behind aging. The telomeres are found on chromosomes and they attach at the extreme ends.
Telomeres have also been linked to other conditions such as cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and other conditions. However, the main link has been the aging question and therefore, as scientists carry out their research, they focus on the telomeres and their impact.
Telomeres link to aging is a factor individuals are only recently becoming fully aware of. With their effectiveness in shielding unnecessary division in cells, telomeres are considered essential aspects in human life.
In the following article, we have considered various aspects of telomeres as we try to understand them better. The focus is on the basics about telomeres, what they are, and why they are important. We will also focus on the reason why you need longer telomeres and the dangers associated with shorter telomeres.
Consequently, we will also discuss a few things you can do to improve your telomere length. We will define for you the simple exercises you can undertake to lengthen your telomeres. With all the critical areas addressed, you can then make a decision on whether you want to maintain a healthy life through enabling your telomeres to work for you.
This article is meant for all ages and is suitable for health reconstruction and building a life full of energy and longevity. You will learn more as you continue reading.
About Telomeres
This is an important question designed to give us more details about telomeres and how they work to enhance the aging process. The Telomeres are found at the end of the chromosomes. Mostly, they are segments of DNA.
The telomeres have often been compared to the plastic tips that are on the top of the shoe laces. The plastic tips always play a pivotal role in preventing the lace from dismantling. Telomeres have been found to play a similar role in putting the chromosomes together by preventing dismantling and mixing.
Because of the DNA aspect, if the mixing would occur, then the genetic makeup would be destroyed, and this can easily translate to many negative body conditions. This can easily shorten the lifespan of an individual. Additionally, the mixing can lead to malfunctioning of the cells, and this will make it much easier for diseases to attack the body.
When cell division occurs, the telomeres become short. Further division leads to shorter telomeres. Thereafter, the telomeres become very short and this brings challenges when a further division is scheduled to take place.
What happens is the cells lose the ability to divide and become inactive. Some die while others continue dividing abnormally. The abnormal division is dangerous and poses threats to the individual’s health.
This is a simple explanation for how aging occurs in that as the body loses more telomeres, there are no others to take their place. The body will thereafter start to slow down and aging takes over.
This is a clear explanation brought about by shorter telomeres. Therefore, the aging is determined by the length of the telomeres. The longer the telomeres, the more active and vibrant a person will be, and this will see them retain their youthful heath and appearance.
With our biological clock ticking every day, the continued cell division causes shorter and shorter telomeres until eventually the aging process overtakes the system and body stops.
The Impact Of Telomeres On Health And Aging
Many people don’t know what the telomeres have to do with aging and health. It is observed that individuals do not really understand the explanation behind not only dying old, but also dying young with an old age and appearance. The telomeres have a great influence on the entire wellness and the aging aspect.
Some researchers carried out studies by taking saliva samples of 10,000 people. They noted that the individuals who had longer telomeres after the research had the ability to live longer lives as compared to those who were found to have shorter telomeres.
A confusing aspect about the telomeres age is about its length and whether it affects other aspects of life. For instance, researchers have found it hard to conclude that the length of telomeres greatly influences the Alzheimer’s condition. Some argue that individuals with shorter telomeres will be prone to such conditions with ease.
Another key area of focus as far as the study of telomeres is the telomerase. This is an enzyme that boosts the development of telomeres. This enzyme plays a big role in ensuring that the telomeres continue to grow and become longer.
However, when cell division happens, the telomerase becomes depleted and this leads to the development of shorter telomeres. It is observed that if scientists came up with a way of increasing telomerase, then the production of telomeres would be impacted and this would result in the development of longer telomeres.
This would mean that the lifespan of individuals would be lengthened and some of the dangerous diseases will not have an opportunity to attack the body. Their risks would become very low.
This has left scientists working on the ways to enhance more production of this enzyme to encourage youthfulness and promote the proper functioning of cells, preventing attacks by diseases.
In the endeavor to increase the body’s production of telomerase, here is a study that was done using mice. The mice were left without telomerase enzyme for a while and they become thin and almost dying. They bounced back to life when the enzyme was replaced.
This reawakening is a confirmation that human beings are likely to benefit from the reawakening of the telomerase enzyme, hence promoting telomeres. This will automatically lead to a new development that promotes slow aging and higher resistance to some diseases. Therefore, the telomerase has been viewed as a potential anti-aging intervention.
The discovery about the impact of this enzyme in the development of more and longer telomeres is wonderful. However, this enzyme features a great threat to individuals suffering from cancer. Their cells are active and since this enzyme promotes the development of telomeres, the existing tumors are likely to grow faster with patients of cancer.
This is a big challenge and scientists wish to discover ways in which telomerase can be harnessed to promote the growth of telomeres only and to remove the aspect of stimulating cancer cells to grow.
This discovery will have saved the world from the fear of using this enzyme with the aim of having control over your age. Furthermore, it will get the right methods of working on a product that can reduce the effect of cancer and delay the development of the tumors as well as the cancer cells.
How Can Telomeres Be Lengthened To Slow Aging
The question about making your telomeres longer has been one of the most crucial inquiries throughout the many studies that have been conducted on the topic.
Many individuals, since realizing the magic behind telomeres, have inquired how they can successfully improve the content of telomeres in their bodies to slow down aging. Scientists are still working on ways in which this can happen without affecting other body parts and without promoting cells that could easily harm the body.
Science says that the longer our telomeres are the better, this gives us the opportunity to find out the ways in which this aspect can be improved for better health and vibrant living. There are simple lifestyle changes an individual can make to enhance the lengthening of the telomeres. Some of the ways discovered are as follows:
Controlling And Reducing Stress
Stress is a big contributor to a poor living standard. Stress affects the normal functioning of the body. The stress hormones release acids into the body which affect the functioning of the body. Since stress affects both the physical and psychological aspects of the human being, it has been the first in terms or bringing about lowered growth in telomeres.
Scientists carried out research on mothers with children who were healthy. This was compared to mothers who were taking care of ill children. The result showed that the healthy mothers had longer telomeres as compared to the other women who were taking care of the ill children.
It was realized that the caregiving mothers had telomeres that were ten years shorter than the healthy mothers. Their cells appeared to be one decade older. The second study was on Africa American children who came from poor families, and it showed that they had shorter telomeres. This was against those form rich families and stable lifestyles that showed longer telomeres.
This is a clear indication that stress can easily hamper the development of the telomeres. Therefore, reducing stress and living a healthy life is a notable way in which one can work on improving the length of the telomeres.
Chronic stress will put you in a bad mood. Consequently, it will contribute to aging. Therefore, one needs to identify healthcare activities that can get out the stress and leave you living a happier life. Some of the activities include swimming, singing, regular exercise, and some exciting activities designed to improve your mood.
Exercise Regularly
Exercising has many advantages. It is one of the activities one can engage into in order to keep the mind active. Exercising gives an individual the power to operate with a healthy body.
Some of the body’s functions require a warmed up environment to be carried out properly. Also, some body cells will work better when stimulated. Exercising boosts happiness and creates a sober mood. This encourages the cells to work faster in restoring the body’s form and encouraging the manufacture of other cells.
In a study, there was a discovery that individuals who actively participated in exercise were less likely to have shorter telomeres. Those who didn’t exercise were more likely to have shorter telomeres. This is a clear indicator that exercise has a lot of impact on the development of the telomeres. It’s therefore not too late to hit the gym or start any physical activity. Another study focused on middle-aged participants showed that there was a great improvement in the way their telomeres developed.
Another study carried out on middle aged intense runners revealed that the exercise assisted them to have longer telomeres, and this was different from the people who didn’t run. This doesn’t mean that you should start a running activity, specifically. Instead, find a simple exercise and be consistent. You will eventually get used to the system and the rewards will come in terms of longer telomeres. Regular workouts are encouraged and this will see you experience a happy life full of youthfulness.
Take Antioxidants And Vitamins
Foods with a lot of vitamins are highly regarded as they promote the body in the development of protective cells and telomeres. This prevents your cells from oxidative damage. Cell damage can be reduced by the consumption of antioxidant foods like berries and artichokes. This has greatly shown the ability to slow down aging and reduce cell damage.
You can also take a multivitamin supplements brand this has been proven to work well in the restoration of the cells that promote the lengthening of the telomeres. The multivitamin supplement is there to boost the vitamins that are not readily manufactured in the body but are equally important to the general health. Those who use the supplements will experience higher growth than the nonusers.
More so, individuals who consumed food with high vitamin C and E had the better aspect of having the longer telomeres. Oranges, kale, and peppers give you adequate vitamin C while sweet potatoes, almonds, and spinach provide vitamin E. You will realize that the named fruits and vegetable are easy to get from the market and that makes it much easier for you to include them in your daily diet.
Mediation And Yoga
Mindful meditation and yoga practices have been effectively used as the activities for relaxation and getting your mind to relax and focus. A study on cancer survivors showed that those who meditated and practiced yoga had longer telomeres, unlike their counterparts who didn’t do anything.
Meditation comes in different forms. Some people will find a prayer useful as they create time to reflect. Others will choose to attend a yoga class while others will opt to spend a day with loved ones without any distraction. Whatever the style of meditation you have, all in all, it’s designed to give your body and mind a safe place to relax.
Telomeres Review Summary
Telomeres plays a vital role when it comes to slowing down aging. There are many ways you can use to improve your telomere length. The more natural the methods you choose to use, the more highly they are preferred. This is because they don’t have any side effects.
The improvement of the length of the telomeres leads to a happier life and it is the easiest way to slow down the aging process.
