Just because you’re getting older, doesn’t mean you have to surrender to the signs of aging. Fatigue, wrinkles, and a bigger belly don’t need to be in your future. The reason is that you have a powerful enzyme known as telomerase already inside of you. Unlocking this enzyme could be exactly what you need to help keep you looking vibrant and youthful, no matter what your age.
The Relationship Between Telomeres and Telomerase
Before getting into what telomerase is and why it’s so critical to holding off the aging process, it’s important to first explain telomeres.
Telomeres are the caps at the ends of your DNA strands.
They help keep those strands intact – much like the plastic caps on the tips of shoelaces keep them from fraying. Telomeres keep your DNA strands healthy, and keep them working the way they should.1
The reason that telomeres are so important is that if your DNA becomes damaged, your cells become damaged, as well. And when your cells become damaged, health issues can crop up. For example, you might become fatigued more easily, and struggle with things like sore muscles and achy joints. You’re also at risk of suffering serious heart health issues when your cells are damaged.2
This is where telomerase comes in. When your telomeres are strong, your cells stay strong. But the telomeres that protect your DNA strands can wear out over time. And just like your shoelace become useless if the plastic tip disappears, your DNA strands become useless when their telomeres become shorter and eventually wear out.
However, an enzyme known as telomerase has been shown to not only preserve the length of telomeres, but also to keep them from degrading in the first place.3
How Your Cells Degrade Over Time
As your body ages, it gradually declines. These declines include weaker muscles and loss of memory, but they also include degradation of cells throughout your entire body. Not only do your muscles not function as well as they used to, but your metabolism slows down as well. In addition, your blood doesn’t do as good a job of circulating as before.4
When a telomere gets shorter, your cell can no longer divide and regenerate itself. If a telomere retains its length, on the other hand, that will allow the regeneration process to continue as normal. Cells with high levels of the telomerase enzyme are able to keep their telomeres at the correct length.5
The telomeres that protect your DNA provide us with a lot of information.
In fact, scientists have recently found that measuring the length of a telomere (which can be done through a blood sample) may even help predict how long you’ll live.6
One study involving more than 100,000 participants showed significant results. According to the findings, people who had shorter telomere length had a higher mortality risk. The people with the shortest length had a 23 percent higher risk of dying than those who had the longest telomeres. However, the researchers stated that they weren’t sure whether telomere length was an indicator that someone was more likely to have a serious disease, or if it is just a sign of aging, such as having wrinkles or grey hair.7
Can Telomere Length Predict Longevity?
Research into telomeres and telomere length is relatively new, so scientists don’t yet know why the length of your telomeres can help predict longevity. One theory holds that the length of a telomere is reflective of many different factors. These include the history of the cells being examined as well as the genetic makeup of the person from whom the sample is being taken.
It appears that some people are simply born with longer telomeres, or a greater supply of the enzyme telomerase. There could be other factors at play as well, however. For example, when cells are subjected to repetitive injuries or stress, they divide more often, shortening telomere length.8
Stress can play a major role in affecting the length of your telomeres.
Inflammation and production of cortisol, known as the “stress hormone,” can damage cells to the point where they can’t function correctly. The higher the level of stress, the earlier cells will show the signs of damage. It is thought that when your body replaces cells due to this damage, shorter telomeres is the result.9
Can You Lengthen Your Telomeres?
Again, scientists are still looking into exactly how the length of a telomere can affect your health and the way you age. But there are some indications that lifestyle can play a role in making sure your telomeres remain at a healthy length as the years go by. Here are a few things you can do that could keep your telomeres strong:
1. Get Regular Exercise
One study shows that exercise could have a significant impact on the length of telomeres. According to the results, a person who exercised at least once in a while was less likely to have short telomeres than someone who didn’t exercise at all. Researchers found that there was more of a relationship between exercise and telomere length in middle age.10
2. Keep Your Stress Under Control
Stress has been shown to cause damage to cells. One of the ways it does this is by shortening telomeres.11
To demonstrate this, researchers conducted a study involving two groups of mothers. One group had healthy children, while the other consisted of mothers who cared for chronically ill children. The results showed that the telomeres in mothers of the healthy children were substantially longer than the other group.12 Another study showed that telomeres of boys who grew up in stressful environments were about 40 percent shorter than those whose home environment was stable.13
Many people find that meditation and yoga are great ways to fight stress. According to one study, women who practiced one of those activities had longer telomeres than those who did not.14
3. Say No to Soda
Staying away from sugary foods could help keep your telomeres strong. According to one study, researchers found that people who consumed sugar-filled sodas on a regular basis had shorter telomeres than those who did not.15
Getting the Most Out of Your Telomerase Supply
Enzymes create chemical reactions that help make life possible. Not only do enzymes destroy toxins, they also make it possible for you to digest your food. Enzymes also help build muscle. Sometimes, however, enzymes need a little help in order for them to be able to do their jobs. Telomerase is no exception.
There are supplements available containing ingredients that help activate the telomerase already inside of you. One such ingredient is known as KSM-66, an extract from the Ashwagandha root. One study showed that KSM-66 increased telomerase activity by as much as 45 percent in cells treated with the extract.16
The Bottom Line
Telomerase might not be one of the best-known enzymes, but it’s one of the most important. It supports healthy telomeres – substances that help maintain the integrity of your DNA strands. By following some common sense measures, you can keep your supply of telomerase high and keep your telomeres strong in the process, and possibly maintain your vitality for years to come.
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Disclosure: The LCRHealth team creates these articles as a way to provide you with the latest information on health and nutrition. Unfortunately, we cannot make specific product recommendations for our website visitors, such as “Telogenesis” or “Pro Krill 1000” Please consult with your healthcare provider to determine the best products for you.
Sources
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2.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3370421
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4.http://jcb.rupress.org/content/192/4/547
5.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC120798
6.https://academic.oup.com/aje/article/165/1/14/232589
7.https://consumer.healthday.com/senior-citizen-information-31/misc-aging-news-10/dna-telomere-length-tied-to-aging-death-risk-670426.html
8.https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/aging-too-much-telomerase-can-be-as-bad-as-too-little/
9.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S088915911630023X
10.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25970659
11.http://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/10/chronic-stress.aspx
12.http://www.pnas.org/content/101/49/17312.long
13.http://www.pnas.org/content/111/16/5944.abstract
14.https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/cncr.29063
15.https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2014.302151
16.https://www.orthonat.es/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Estudio-Telomerasa.pdf