Mind, Body, Spirit - March 2017

Is Longevity Tied to Telomeres?

New science shows that the keys to aging well and preventing cancer are found in a recently discovered part of each cell's chromosomes. 
- story by Christina Richardson, PhD.  

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I don’t think I need to cite any statistics to prove that people are paying more attention than ever to their health. We eat organic, we join gyms, we take special supplements and we read books on dieting, health, exercise and meditation.

We do care and so we look for answers, usually the shortcuts – and I am not excluding myself. Once I go on a diet to shed a few pounds I expect immediate results and the constant vigilance usually results in a major off-my-diet binge.

​Here is how that works for us nationally and look at Mississippi – 35% of us are too fat.  These are 2015 numbers. In Mississippi, diabetes is an epidemic.

What if I just treated my body, mind and soul as a working unit with all parts in balance acting as one? 

​As a life and business coach I talk to clients about the wheel of life.  

What I have just given you is a preface to new information on what happens to our bodies when we are not in balance. Science is helping us put these pieces together.

So more about telomeres.  Remember when you were little and the first time you tied your shoes? You had to thread that little plastic thing on the shoelaces, an aglet, through the holes. If the aglet is missing, the laces could fray and get shorter. Eventually you would have to get new shoelaces.
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Now we know that there are aglets on the ends of our chromosome DNA, except that they are called telomeres.

These telomeres protect the chromosomes against deterioration. These telomeres do wear down and have to be rebuilt by an enzyme discovered by the Salk Institute called telomerase.

Elizabeth Blackburn is a Noble Prize winner and the President of the Salk Institute. Her work showed that when the chromosomes start fraying and tangling, genetic information is degraded, increasing the potential for disease.
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In an article from the Salk Institute entitled “the Goldilocks Effect in Aging Research,” the length of telomeres is explored. It appears that too short is not good and too long may also not be too good. Not too short, not too long, but just right as Goldilocks would say. Here is the link for that article. 

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There has been growing evidence that lifestyle factors may affect the health and lifespan of an individual by affecting telomere length. This in turn affects the pace of aging and the onset on age-associated diseases. Prevention Magazine has somesuggestions for protecting telomeres.

The key to this research is that our bodies are really fine tuned instruments that we can impact in a positive or a negative way. What we can do is help our very own unique body perform to its highest levels.

Key factors in helping are to exercise, eat the right foods in the right amounts, don’t overdo anything, keep your mind engaged by doing interesting things and reduce stress.

Health and wellness is about balance and the quality of your own life. Knowing what a telomere is and what it does is a tiny but significant part of you being in charge. Read more about telomeres and take advantage of research that will help you live well as you gracefully get older.