How Long Would You Like To Live?

By CK Wilde for 3GenFamily Blog

The scientific community is abuzz since the announcement that the 2009 Nobel Prize for Medicine has gone to Drs. Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider and Jack Szostak. In 1985, they discovered an enzyme call telomerase.

What’s Telomerase?

Our genes have ends on them called telomeres. They are like the plastic tips on a pair of shoelaces that keep the laces from unraveling. If you have ever had that little plastic piece come off your laces, you know what I’m talking about.

Now imagine what would happen if each time you tied your shoes the plastic cap got shorter. Eventually you would be left with no plastic tip. The shoelace would start to unravel. 

Something similar to that happens with cells.  Each time the cell divides, the telomeres get shorter until finally the cell can’t reproduce itself accurately and dies. Each cell has a fixed number of times it can divide.

Except in the case of cancer cells.

They become “immortal” and just don’t die. They keep reproducing more and more cells. 

Dr. Blackburn and her colleagues discovered that this enzyme, called telomerase, protects the telomeres. Their work, which began in the 1970’s, gives us a better understanding of the mechanism by which a cell ages. It offers tantalizing ideas that could become the basis for cures for diseases that cause premature aging and, of course, cancer.

Who Wants to Live Longer?

Blackburn’s research also hints that by manipulating telomerase in the human body, people can reduce aging to live longer, healthier lives. And, several companies have wasted no time in developing small molecule plant extracts that turn on the expression of telomerase in human cells.

Of course, this research is riddled with controversy. Some researchers believe that increasing telomerase in a person’s body could inadvertently encourage cancer cells to grow along with healthy cells.

I know of a very prominent businessman blogger who has chosen to participate  in the clinical trials of one of these molecules. TA-65 was developed by Geron from the Chinese medicinal herb astragalus.

The blogger has written that, although he has only been participating in the trial a short while, his tests indicate that he is getting younger based on his bio markers (telomeres). And, he has noticed he has more endurance and strength.

Natural Solutions

To me, other studies pursuing the connection between nutrients, lifestyle and telomere length are more interesting (and safer). A recent study by Richards and co-workers studied leukocytes (white blood cells). Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is a predictor of aging-related disease and decreases with each cell cycle and increased inflammation.

The researchers concluded that higher levels of Vitamin D were correlated with longer telomeres in women. We are just discovering all of the wonderful things that Vitamin D does in our bodies. These results suggest that a combination of sunshine, good nutrition and supplements can be instrumental in living a longer, healthier life.

Did you know that how you perceive a stressful situation is more important than the stressful situation itself?

Dr. Blackburn along with Elissa Espel conducted a breakthrough study of mothers caring for a child with a chronic illness.

“They found that the more stress the women reported experiencing, the shorter their telomeres. Women with the highest levels of perceived stress had telomeres shorter on average by the equivalent of at least one decade of additional aging compared to low-stress women.” Ten years older!

And, the key word here is “perceived”.

No matter what you may be experiencing, if you believe you are stressed out, your body is reacting to that perception. If you don’t react emotionally to the situation, your body doesn’t either.

Huge Implications For Caregivers

Are you caring for an ill parent, spouse or child? If you are feeling stressed, you need to get your stress under control. You could choose: exercise, sharing your feelings with someone who understands, meditation, prayer, or getting away from the situation for a short while.

That, in combination with healthy eating and supplements, will keep you living longer. Your loved one is counting on you. And, you deserve it!

Click the “Share This” link below to email this post to a friend or social networking site. Thanks for reading!  Feel free to comment.

 © 2009 CK Wilde. All Rights Reserved. Please feel free to link to this post but you must have prior written permission (please use the comments) to reproduce this post either whole or in part.