The Telomere Effect: A Revolutionary Way to Live Long, Youthful, and Healthy

We know from the Old Testament that Methuselah and the early patriarchs lived for centuries. With each new generation, however, life expectancy shortened until it reached today's level. Longevity has fascinated mankind since ancient times. How can we stay young and exceed normal life expectancy? What should we do to live longer and healthier?

These questions are addressed in their book “The effect of telomeres” The answer is also provided by Drs. Elizabeth Blackburn and Elissa Epel. Elizabeth has also received the Nobel Prize for her research on telomeres.

The rate of aging depends on the specific cell structure

Many people today fear aging, but does this fear come from the youth-worshipping culture we live in, or is it a serious concern stemming from the signs of aging on our bodies?

For many people, the reality is the opposite: our bodies are showing signs of aging. A quick look at the aging process will show why this is the case.

The cells that make up our bodies must constantly renew themselves to keep us healthy. But some cells can only renew themselves a limited number of times. When they are damaged and can no longer renew themselves, they send inflammatory signals to other cells and parts of the body, damaging healthy tissues, causing aging, and impairing body function.

A similar process occurs with a basket of apples, where one rotten apple can ruin all of its healthy neighbors.

In addition, how an elderly person looks and feels also depends on the length of the telomeres in their cells. Telomeres are attached structures at the ends of chromosomes that help protect the cell. They shorten every time the cell divides. In general, people with shorter telomeres are sicker and weaker.

Telomeres protect cells during division and are able to regrow themselves.

Just as a goal in football is easy prey for an attacker without a goalkeeper, cells are easy prey without a goalkeeper. For cells, the role of goalkeeper is played by telomeres, which protect the chromosome during cell division. But what happens when the telomeres themselves are damaged during this process?

Telomeres can regenerate thanks to a simple enzyme, telomerase. Telomerase builds new telomeres, restoring DNA that is lost during cell division. Telomerase also has the ability to slow, stop, or even reverse the shortening of telomeres.

But humans only produce this enzyme in small amounts, and the limited supply we have decreases as we age. So it's important to protect our telomeres as well.

Stress shortens telomeres – how to protect the body?

Have you ever been stuck in a terrible traffic jam and noticed your heart beating like crazy? These stressful situations put your body on high alert. If you experience these situations over a long period of time, your telomeres will get shorter and shorter.

Small amounts of normal stress pose no threat to telomeres. In fact, moderate stress improves the body's ability to cope with stress and improves cellular health. Even high levels of stress that last for a short period of time—such as a month-long job crisis—may not cause much harm in the long run.

But long-term stress is definitely harmful. A good example of such harmful stress is the caregiving profession. Caregivers often have to wake up at night, they have unstable work schedules. This is a sure recipe for premature shortening of telomeres.

The second variable in this formula is whether we see stressful situations as challenges or threats. In other words, there is good stress and bad stress. One way to protect your telomeres, and thus your health, is to view stressful situations as challenges.

Similar to stress, our attitudes affect telomere length. Negative thought patterns are harmful to our telomeres. A pessimistic attitude shortens telomeres because when we encounter a stressful situation, we view it as a threat.

Depression and anxiety also shorten telomeres. Not only that, depression and anxiety also damage the function of mitochondria in cells and cause inflammatory processes in the body.

Rest and activity are important for lengthening and restoring telomeres

The next time you're hesitant to go to the gym, remember that it's not just your hip size that's at stake. Physical activity is also important for telomere health, but too much activity can also cause problems.

In other words, moderate activity is key to good telomere health. Proper exercise reduces the risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, and dementia. A study conducted at Saarland University in Germany showed that two of the three types of exercise studied, high-intensity interval training and moderate aerobic exercise, increased telomerase levels. The third type of exercise studied, endurance training, had virtually no effect on telomerase. You don't have to run a marathon to protect your telomeres.

It is also important not to overdo it with exercise, as overtraining causes oxidative stress in the body, which damages telomeres.

Poor sleep quality can also shorten telomeres. The brain, which is also the body's internal clock, needs a regular sleep rhythm. Cell repair processes occur during sleep. If these repair processes are disrupted, cells do not function as efficiently and are more susceptible to stress. Telomeres can be lengthened by ensuring that you get longer, better quality sleep. At least seven hours of sleep is necessary.

A healthy metabolism is more important than being overweight

Everyone knows that being overweight is bad for your health. But as long as you don't qualify as obese, a few extra pounds won't do anything to your telomeres. The real danger lies in poor metabolic health. This includes high cholesterol and blood pressure and insulin resistance. This increases your risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes, which are much more of a threat to your telomeres than a few extra pounds.

A safe neighborhood supports telomeres

Do you feel safe walking home at night? This is an important question for your health for many reasons, and may even affect the length of your telomeres.

This is because safety and social cohesion in the place where you live affect health. Feelings of safety affect stress levels and therefore telomeres.

Additionally, some places make it very difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Noise at night affects the quality of sleep, and unsafe or otherwise unsuitable environments discourage exercise.

A healthy lifestyle affects children from pregnancy onwards

Even before a child is born, it is important to think about how to take care of the health of their cells. Namely, cellular aging begins in the womb, because at the moment of conception, the parents' telomeres are passed on to the offspring. This means that it is quite possible that the baby will have to enter life with short telomeres.

Therefore, it is a good idea to quit smoking and increase your intake of folate and B vitamins before conception to give your future baby's telomeres the best possible start. Reducing stress, for example by taking walks in nature, is also a good strategy.

Taking such precautions is important because a child's life depends on the length of telomeres, and a difficult childhood, including emotionally absent parents, shortens telomeres, thus affecting life as an adult.

Summary

Telomeres have a major impact on aging, and the shorter they become, the older we feel. By maintaining telomere health with a healthy diet and lifestyle, it is possible to stay younger and healthier.