Are telomeres the key to a long life?
The search for the Peter Pan molecule that might miraculously allow us to prolong our lifespan in a healthy fashion has long been the Holy Grail of the anti-ageing community. Telomeres might just be that substance.
Chromosomes are the structures inside your cells that house your genes. To stay in the game, your chromosomes via your genes need to be able to tell your cells to continue replicating. This is essentially what keeps you functioning and, once this process ceases to become viable, your demise is not far off. Over time, a relentless barrage of chemical insults stretches to the limit the repair mechanisms that are constantly involved in salvaging your DNA.
Telomeres perched like guardian angels atop your chromosomes stand in the way of your genes crumbling and capitulating. They stabilise your chromosomes and prevent them from degrading. Without telomeres, your cells would not be able to continue multiplying and you would wither and die. Simply put, telomeres are the essence of the life force.
However, telomeres cannot continue burning brightly forever. They are, in fact, much more fragile and vulnerable than the genes they so readily protect and do not enjoy the same rescue procedures, unflinchingly reinvigorating your DNA. With the passage of time, they shorten and lose their mojo, exposing your chromosomes to a chemical pummelling. Rather than replicate defective DNA and germinate cells that are distorted and dysfunctional, your body’s protective instincts are immediately activated to rid you of these malformed specimens.
A substantial collection of research now connects the shortening of telomeres with your decline and eventual demise. Heart disease, dementia, immune dysfunction and cancers have all been associated with truncated telomeres. Scientists are increasingly looking to the fading away of telomeres as the primary instigator of ageing and all the diseases that go with it. If we can find out what sets off this process, we can step in and switch it off — before it extinguishes us.
Telomere preservation
Telomeres can be hardwired to shorten even before we are born. Research shows that exposure to an impoverished psychological environment in the womb — ie when a mother doesn’t provide her gestating baby with the nutrients needed to grow and thrive — as well as ongoing salvos of cortisol, a hormone connected with raised stress levels, leads to diminished telomeres that are maintained into adulthood. Low socioeconomic status, mental illness and post-traumatic stress disorder are associated with contracting telomeres. Even emotional states like hostility and pessimism can shrink telomeres, as can social isolation. Insomnia impacts on telomeres, as does obsessing with dieting. Hordes of free radicals, too much weight and inflammation connected with an overactive and misguided immune system all have decimating effects on telomeres. Deficiencies of B vitamins, antioxidants and the mineral zinc can also compromise the integrity of telomeres. Red meat diminishes telomeres.
Telomere shortening can be a beacon pointing to an immune system that is compromised and weakened and blood vessels that are blocked, leading to heart attacks. Measuring your telomeres can be another way of gauging how much your body is under threat without you knowing it. It can highlight the need to have investigations to find out if you are indeed heading for a heart attack or you have an immune system that is incapable of mounting a defence against marauding microbes.
Just as a number of lifestyle factors compromise telomeres, altering these factors can have a telomere-lengthening outcome. Simple measures such as regular exercise, which mitigates the negative effects of elevated cortisol, and weight loss can have profoundly beneficial effects on telomeres. In middle-aged Americans, research demonstrates that healthy eating habits — including higher intakes of vegetables, fruit, nuts, soy and cereal fibre; higher ratios of chicken and fish to red meat and polyunsaturated to saturated fat; lower intake of trans fats — and multivitamin use for more than five years, combined with regular exercise, maintenance of optimal weight and a moderate alcohol intake of less than two drinks per day significantly increase telomere length.
It gets more complicated when we examine the upside of supplementing with individual nutrients. While low folic acid, found in green vegetables and breads that use wheat as their base, is not good for telomere health, just about everyone I assess has more than enough of this nutrient. Too much folic acid can make cancer cells grow, so the statement on the Food Standards Australia website that “based on all available scientific evidence, adding folic acid to bread is safe” is not entirely correct in my opinion.
Vitamin B12, a nutrient found exclusively in animal-based foods, partners with folic acid to recycle a substance called homocysteine, which is involved in the preservation of DNA. When vitamin B12 is low, homocysteine escalates and telomeres suffer. Supplementing with vitamin B12 has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, which would explain the research showing why women who take extra vitamin B12 have longer telomeres. Niacin (vitamin B3) protects telomeres, but recent research linking this vitamin with a host of cancers, especially breast cancer in postmenopausal women who are overweight, as well as prostate cancer, suggests caution before taking extra amounts of this nutrient.
Zinc and magnesium deficiency endanger telomeres, while vitamins C and E, omega-3 fatty acids, grapeseed, tea and curcumin are beneficial. The one limitation in all this evidence is that at least some of it is based on research done on animals and in the test tube, and we have yet to determine how much we humans need to take to safeguard our DNA.
I’ve gone ahead and measured my telomeres despite some experts demurring that we don’t yet have normal standards with which to compare them. Unlike Narcissus, I’m trusting that staring at my own immortality doesn’t have a downside.
Dr Michael Elstein is a Sydney-based anti-ageing physician and writer. He is the author of two books, Eternal Health: The Comprehensive Guide to Anti-Ageing for the New Millennium and You Have the Power: Why didn’t my doctor tell me about this?
