Cellular Health and Longevity
Protect Telomere Lengths with 2 Healthy Lifestyle Choices
I introduce telomeres and the telomerase enzyme, why they matter, and how we can lower the telomere attrition rate based on scientific studies
This article, leveraging credible sources, introduces telomeres in simple terms and provides practical ways to protect them. The size of telomeres indicates our health and lifespan. Studies indicate that we can favorably impact telomere length with healthy lifestyle choices.
I decided to write this piece based on some inquiries from subscribers who read my stories about longevity, genetics, and epigenetics.
Since I mentioned telomeres in my articles, they wanted to learn more about this topic and requested my perspectives on protecting genes and improving epigenetic health.
Without going too much into scientific details, I provide a high-level perspective of my findings about the effects of telomeres from credible sources focusing on healthy lifestyle choices.
This story is not health advice. It is for information, inspiration, and awareness purposes.
What are telomeres, and why do they matter?
Telomeres have a long history. They were discovered in the late 1930s in flies by Herman Muller and then in corn by Barbara McClintock.
These investigators “inferred from the behavior of broken chromosomes that the natural ends of chromosomes were distinguishable from induced DNA breaks and must therefore be a unique structure, dubbed the telomere.”
Since 2009 when three researchers, Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider, and Jack Szostak awarded with Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase, the research in the field skyrocketed.
This paper in the National Library of Medicine defined telomeres as “the specific DNA–protein structures found at both ends of each chromosome that protect the genome from nucleolytic degradation, unnecessary recombination, repair, and interchromosomal fusion.”
As the paper informs, “telomeres play a vital role in preserving the information in our genome. A normal cellular process loses a small portion of telomeric DNA with each cell division.”
When a telomere length reaches a specific limit with aging, the cell undergoes senescence or apoptosis. Senescence means that cells cannot divide and grow anymore. Apoptosis refers to biologically programmed cell death. The length of telomeric DNA determines the lifespan of a cell.
As documented in this review paper:
“Although telomere length, and its attrition over time, are highly variable among individuals, it is thought to be stable from childhood through young adulthood but begins to decrease in older adulthood. Moreover, leukocyte telomere length is positively associated with several years of healthy living, indicating that leukocyte telomere length is a biomarker for healthy aging.”
The critical point is that an enzyme called telomerase can prevent the shortening of telomere length. In simple terms, this enzyme repairs the telomeres of the chromosomes during the replication process.
This paper states that “from the age of 4 to 39 years, there is a progressive decrease in both telomere length and telomerase activity. However, in individuals aged 40 or over, where telomere length continued to progressively decrease, 65% of individuals had stable, but low telomerase activity, and the remaining 35% of individuals had no telomerase activity.”
Telomeres matter because they indicate our biological age. The shorter our telomeres get, the shorter our lives become. We also become prone to health issues. Therefore, finding practical ways to delay the shortening can expand our lifespan and enhance our health.
This review paper informs:
“Recent evidence supports that telomere length of leukocytes and skeletal muscle cells may be positively associated with healthy living and inversely correlated with the risk of several age-related diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, chronic pain, and stress.”
Because of these compelling reasons, the focus of longevity experts is on improving telomerase to repair the damage. Pharmacologists also work on designing new drugs to prevent the shortening and increasing of telomeres' size.
Many scientists investigate ways to increase the length of telomeres using various methods. Their goal is to find treatment methods for age-related and genetic disorders.
Two Critical Factors Shortening Telomere Length
When reviewing the literature, I found two factors impacting telomere length that were frequently mentioned.
As you might guess, they are oxidative stress and chronic inflammation that I touched on in my previous metabolic and mental health articles.
1 — Excessive reactive oxygen species
Multiple studies cited in this review paper indicate that “Excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) production can cause oxidative stress in cells, tissues or organs, leading to DNA damage and senescence or apoptosis. Several oxidative-stress genes are linked with both telomere attrition and biological aging.
The authors of the review paper commented that “telomere length has been put forth as a potential marker of chronic oxidative stress because constant oxidative stress can compromise the repair mechanisms of telomeric DNA.”
2 — Chronic Systemic Inflammation
The second critical factor in shortening telomere length is chronic inflammation. This paper states that “the attenuation of chronic inflammation provides another potential mechanism for the protective effects of exercise and physical activity on telomeres.”
The paper informs that “chronic systemic inflammation elevates white blood cell (WBC) turnover, which increases telomere attrition rate. With increased WBC turnover, the division of hematopoietic stem cells is activated, increasing cellular replication and subsequently leading to telomere shortening.”
So, any lifestyle changes reducing excessive reactive oxygen species and chronic systemic inflammation can contribute to lowering the risks of telomere shortening, as I introduce in the next section.
Practical Ways to Prevent Telomere Length Shortening with Healthy Lifestyle Choices
In this section, I provide an overview of practical approaches (lifestyle choices) to prevent the shortening of telomere lengths based on my reviews of the relevant literature since 2009.
This 2018 review paper on MDPI, summarizing data from recently published studies looking at the effect of lifestyle variables on telomere dynamics, points out that “physical activity and nutrition are two promising strategies for telomere maintenance.”
As informed by this review paper on Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care titled “Telomeres, lifestyle, cancer, and aging”:
“There has been growing evidence that lifestyle factors may affect the health and lifespan of an individual by affecting telomere length.
1 — The Impact of Exercise on Telomere Length
During my longevity reviews, I discovered numerous studies indicating that exercise significantly impacts telomere length. Rather than going into each study, I’d like to cite an analysis of multiple studies in a review paper.
This 2017 review paper on Onco Target titled “Physical activity and telomere length: Impact of aging and potential mechanisms of action” state that:
“In observational studies, higher levels of physical activity or exercise are related to longer telomere lengths in various populations, and athletes tend to have longer telomere lengths than non-athletes.” Source
The source mentions that this exercise/telomere length relationship is particularly evident in older individuals, suggesting a role of physical activity in combating the typical age-induced decrements in telomere length.
This review paper informs that:
“In observational studies, higher levels of physical activity or exercise are related to longer telomere lengths in various populations, and athletes tend to have longer telomere lengths than non-athletes. This relationship is particularly evident in older individuals, suggesting a role of physical activity in combating the typical age-induced decrements in telomere length.”
This 2013 study in the Journal of Obesity informs that:
“In addition to physical activity, weight loss itself may reverse telomere attrition. Since age 50, women who were overweight or obese and later lost weight to be normal, or women who sustained a constant weight within 5%, have shown greater leukocyte telomere length than those who gained weight after age 50.”
Exercise is a powerful non-pharmacological tool inducing the renewal of the satellite cell pool in skeletal muscles, as mentioned in this paper published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports. The paper concludes that:
“Both resistance and aerobic training have been shown to increase the number of satellite cells, which may be necessary for regulating skeletal muscle telomere length.”
2 — The Impact of Diet and Nutrients on Telomere Length
Diet also plays a role in preventing telomere length.
For example, this paper informs that a “Better choice of diet and activities has great potential to reduce the rate of telomere shortening or at least prevent excessive telomere attrition, leading to delayed onset of age-associated diseases and increased lifespan.”
Apart from master antioxidants such as glutathione, one of the exciting nutrients is omega-3 fatty acids. The review paper mentioned that “omega-3 fatty acids have emerged as a promising-but-understudied strategy to combat telomere attrition over time.”
There is significant evidence of the benefits of vitamin D in protecting DNA and preventing the shortening of telomere lengths. For example, this 2021 study published in the Journal of Frailty & Aging informs that:
“Vitamin D may reduce telomere shortening through anti-inflammatory and anti-cell proliferation mechanisms. Significant low levels of telomerase activity create short telomeres, which in turn signal exit from the cell cycle resulting in cell senescence and apoptosis.”
The study concluded:
“In follow-up examination, the patients who remained vitamin D deficient tended to have shorter telomeres than those patients whose 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were depleted. Increasing 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in patients with SLE may be beneficial in maintaining telomere length and preventing cellular aging.”
As documented by Tufts University, in a 2009 study, researcher Ligi Paul Pottenplackel found that people with adequate folate in their blood had long telomeres. I haven’t seen the research.
However, the resource mentions that Pottenplackel and her colleagues looked at telomere length and folate in about 1,000 men and women more recently. Contrary to what the researchers expected, they found that the people with the highest folate levels had shorter telomeres than those with lower folate.
Later Pottenplackel and her colleagues published their research, informing that “the shorter telomeres result from folic acid intake beyond what is optimal for cellular functions.”
Since then, a review paper in the Journal of Nutrition has provided more information about folate. So I understand that more vitamins might not necessarily be a good thing for DNA health. Finding the sweet spot is vital.
Conclusions and Takeaways
Insights into our genes gave us valuable clues about the aging process. One of the most promising studies is related to telomeres and the associated enzyme telomerase.
Even though scientists learned about telomeres in the 1930s, the studies intensified after the 2009 Nobel Prize. Then, science and longevity communities embraced the concepts and invested time in further exploring them.
These preliminary studies indicate that two crucial factors affecting the length of telomeres are excessive reactive oxygen species and chronic systemic inflammation.
Therefore, lifestyle choices reducing excessive reactive oxygen species and chronic systemic inflammation might reduce telomere shortening risks, improve health, and enhance lifespan.
Even though numerous factors might impact our DNA and telomeres, recently published studies indicate that physical activity and nutrition are two promising strategies for telomere maintenance and improvement.
In terms of nutrition, so far, antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, and optimal folate levels (not folic acid) look promising nutrients to prevent telomere shortening.
When I looked at overall genetic studies, stress seems to be one of the most critical lifestyle factors for the health of our genes. I documented my findings in an article titled Here’s How Stress Impacts Us at a Genetic Level and How to Address It with Lifestyle Changes.
Another culprit for aging is a chronic inflammation known as “inflammaging” as described in this paper on MDPI. As researchers conclude, “inflammaging is not only related with age-associated chronic systemic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, but also skin aging.”
I documented my experience with this critical health factor in an article titled Here Is How I Defeated Chronic Inflammation via 9 Lifestyle Habits.
With this intensified research focus by scientific, longevity, and pharmacology communities, I optimistically believe that within a decade, we might have tailored medication, supplements, and therapies to slow the shortening of telomeres.
In the meantime, let’s focus on fundamentals such as nutrient-dense food, restorative sleep, regular exercise, rest, and fun that are well-known to contribute to our overall health and longevity.
There is also evidence of the effects of meditation on protecting telomeres, as I documented in an article titled Here’s How Meditation Can Impact Our Genes and Neurotransmitters.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
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