Telomeres Aging And Cancer Link

Telomeres is definitely still a new word to a lot of people, including me. But according to an article written by a medical doctor which I just recently read, it is big in the anti-aging world. A research on the subject was also last year's Nobel Prize awardee for Medicine.

Telomeres are the caps at the end of each DNA strands. Everytime a cell divides, the DNA copies itself, and the telomeres are shortened. When time comes that the telomeres are already too short and the DNAs can no longer copy itself correctly, the cells stop dividing and eventually die.


And so they say that the shorter your telomeres are, the older your body, though not necessarily your age. This explains why some people look older or younger than their age.

Recently, a new Italian study on telomeres  was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association which confirmed that people with the longest telomeres were 10 times least likely to develop cancer, and people with shorter telomeres are twice at risk to die from cancer.

This study also bolsters previous studies which include:

• findings that breast cancer cells have shorter telomeres than normal cells [Virginia study]
• discovery that shorter telomeres nearly doubled the risk of bladder cancers [Harvard research team]
• a Japanese research which concludes that cancer of the mouth begins in cells with short telomeres
• a study confirming that colon cancer cells have short telomeres

Now, how do we protect our telomeres to take advantage of its health benefits?

The recommendations are healthy diet and lifestyle changes:

• according to German researchers and a University of California [San Francisco] study, one of the best ways to protect and prolong telomeres is by vigorous exercise
• get plenty of Omega-3 from fish and nuts
• supplement your diet with resveratrol and nutrients rich in vitamins E, C, and D [get sunlight for your vit D]

Take note that smoking and obesity were found to shorten the telomeres.

Remember, prolonging your telomeres is double-bladed: you hold back the hands of time, and also protect yourselves from cancer risks.