Telomeres the Critical Link to Healthy Aging
The health of our cells is the driver of the aging process. Healthy cells let us feel younger than our real age. As my doctor said to me on my last check-up,”there are young 70 year olds and there are very old 70 year olds.” Healthy cells keeps us younger longer. Check out the pictures of our class 50th reunion and you can see the difference.
Why Telomeres?
If you remember your high school or college biology classes on DNA and chromosomes, you will remember that small packages of chromosomes are found in every cell of our body. Our genetic code is carried by our DNA and every cell carries 46 chromosomes arranged in 23 pairs. For our bodies to heal and function properly, our cells must divide and produce new cells as the old cells die–cells in our organs are changed in a prescribed manner and the schedule varies by organ. Research has identified that telomeres–the caps at both ends of the DNA strands–allow cells to divide without damaging or scrambling the cells genetic information.
So why is this important? If the cells do not divide properly, we have a major health problem. If they divide too quickly, cancer is often the outcome. If the cells are damaged or stop functioning (senescence) this triggers a DNA damage response, our cell division is impaired and our body starts to show signs of aging.
The length of our telomeres indicates the health of our cell structure. Young people with short telomeres, when compared to their age group population, are sicker than their peers who have average or longer telomeres. As we get older, our cells will suffer growth arrest and our health will be impacted–that is aging. For some the growth arrest is faster than others, and this is in part, a result of lifestyle habits. But there is good news in all of this! We can impact the health of our cells and increase, safely, the length of our telomeres through positive lifestyle habits. Unfortunately, there are no miracles–we cannot repair damaged cell DNA caused by excessive bad habits (smoking or drinking) by stopping our bad habits, but we hopefully slow down the acceleration of some of the resulting damage.
Our goal with these Telomere presentations, is to provide research based information that can have an impact on your health–of course, adopting these healthy choices, is up to you. We will review products and present relevant research studies that are concise and verified.
Future articles will focus on how to improve one’s lifestyle to impact the length of ones telomeres. Also, our recommended supplements, telomere testing resources, and scientific research reports will be featured.
The best Telomere resource book that we have found is Elizabeth Blackburn and Elissa Epal’s The Telomere Effect. Telomere book link
If you want more information on the Telomere test that will identify the length of your Telomeres, The video provides more information and directs you to order the Telomere test. “http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=962814&u=1556213&m=69772&urllink=&afftrack=”>TeloYear
Understanding how Telomeres impact our health and knowing what lifestyle habits can improve our health can be the foundation to improving and/or maintaining our health.
Recommended supplements that Support Telomere Health
Research provides evidence that three nutrients directly impact the length of telomeres and, therefore, your healthy aging process: Lutein, Zeaxanthis and Vitamin C. These nutrients are supplemented by Omega 3 Fatty Acids that directly benefit your health. Finally, a good multivitamin will provide benefits. The following Shaklee products contain the recommended nutrients and vitamins: click in the links to get more product and ordering information.
Carotomax has both Lutein and Zeaxanthin.
Omega Guard has quality Omega 3 Fatty Acids
Vitamin C is found in Shaklee’s Vita C
And a Good MultiVitamin is recommended. There are numerous multivitamin alternatives available, your choice should be considered as part of your overall supplementation plan and reflect your needs. We recommend Vita-Lea
There are many companies that provide supplements. It is important to know the quality of the products that you are buying. There have been a number of companies who have been in the news for “cheating” on the content of their products. Quality and reliability are primary reasons why we have chosen to represent Shaklee for supplements.