I wrote about them in my report Lengthen Your Life and Your Telomeres explaining that ‘at the end of the chromosome is something called a telomere, which is a bit like the hard bit at the end of a shoelace. This becomes shorter with each cell copy, until it is too short and the DNA is no longer protected’.
One of the hottest and fastest growing areas of research is exploring what is associated with lengthening (good) or shortening (bad) telomere length. You can get yours measured, as I have done (more on this later).
For example, the latest issue of the Journal of Nutrition, Health and Ageing publishes research showing that the higher your intake of nuts and seeds, the longer your telomeres. If 5% of your calorieCalories are a measure of the amount of energy in food. Knowing how many calories are in the food we eat allows us to balance… intake comes from these foods you’ll live 1.5 years longer, the research proposes.
In a very short period of time almost 20,000 studies have been published on telomeres, confirming that risk of so many diseases increases with shorter telomeres. For example, women with the BRCA2 gene who develop breast cancer have much shorter telomeres than those who don’t. So do people with celiacs disease and other auto-immune diseases. (If you are one of them, doing all you can to reverse auto-immunity and, in the case of celiacs, avoiding all glutenGluten is a protein found in the cereals wheat, rye and barley. Obvious sources of gluten in the diet are bread, pasta, breakfast cereals and…, may mitigate that risk.) Stress also plays a part. A study of people who have had a recent severe, stressful event appear to have an associated shortening in telomere length, suggesting that lengthening and shortening is something you can change for the better.
Yet another study, published in February in the Polish Archives of Internal Medicine, finds that the higher your intake of vitamins and minerals the longer your telomere length. This confirms other studies that show that supplement takers have longer telomeres.
Here’s a summary of the findings so far on what nutrition and lifestyle measures are most likely to mean longer telomeres, a longer life and less risk for disease:
Longer Telomeres
- Higher B12
- Higher folate
- Higher vitamin CWhat it does: Strengthens immune system – fights infections. Makes collagen, keeping bones, skin and joints firm and strong. Antioxidant, detoxifying pollutants and protecting against…
- Higher vitamin DWhat it does: Helps maintain strong and healthy bones by retaining calcium. Deficiency Signs: Joint pain or stiffness, backache, tooth decay, muscle cramps, hair loss….
- Higher vitamins generally
- Higher minerals generally
- Taking supplements
- Lower homocysteineHomocysteine is an amino acid found in the blood. Elevated levels of homocysteine have been associated with narrowing and hardening of the arteries, an increased… level
- Regular exercise
Shorter Telomeres
- Stress and early life traumas
- Lack of sleep
- High homocysteine
- Inflammation
- Exposure to pollution
This new layer of understanding of what ‘100% health’ means is very encouraging because it matches exactly the advice I’ve been recommending for decades and precisely why I take the 100% Health Pack every day giving:
- 2 x Optimum Nutrition Formula (optimal levels of all essential vitamins & minerals)
- 2 x ImmuneC (2,000mg of vitamin C, plus extras, with the above multivitamin)
- 2 x Essential Omegas (optimal levels of omega-3(EPA&DHADHA is short for Docosahexaenoic Acid. It is an essential omega-3 fatty acid found in fish such as salmon, mackerel and herring, and is often…) and omega-6(GLAGamma Linolenic Acid (GLA) is an essential fatty acid within the omega-6 family. It is found primarily in plant based oils such as evening primrose…)
- 1 x AGE antioxidantAntioxidants are substances that protect cells within the body from damage caused by free radicals. They help to strengthen the body’s ability to fight infection…
- 1 x Brain Food (phospholipids)
I just tested my telomeres through Regenerus labs and at the age of 59, I have the average telomere length of a 29 year old! You can too. This test is available in the UK via www.regeneruslabs.com in London who have many centres around the UK for taking a blood sample. They send you a collection kit. The test costs £413. 100% Health Club members receive a 10% discount, saving over £40. To claim your discount call 0203 750 0870 and quote the promotion code PH17-10%.
You can buy my 100% Health Pack at www.holfordirect.com
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