WELLNESS

A “Tail” of Aging

Aging is a personalized tale that often includes stories of wrinkles and “silver” hair. Here is another unfolding tale of aging you may not have heard before and a few insights on ways to thwart it.

Cells in the body divide every second to constantly renew and rebuild you. As they divide, there is an end or “tail” on the cell called a telomere. Telomeres are small segments of DNA at the end of our replicating chromosomes that bind the end like a “cap” on a good set of bootlaces. They hold the genetic information together as it goes to the new cell.

With each replicating event, however, the telomere shortens and the “cap” eventually becomes too short to be effective, causing the original cell to age and ultimately die out of use.

In 2012, Catherine Schaefer, a director at Kaiser Permanente, studied 100,000 individuals and compared telomere length. “We found that individuals whose telomeres were in the shortest 10% were about 23% more likely to die in the three years following measurement of their telomeres, when compared with individuals whose telomeres were longer.”

Joseph Lee, a geneticist at Columbia University, also found that “the shortening of telomeres is associated with a lot of diseases, including heart disease, Alzheimer’s and diabetes. Even mothers with children who have certain disabilities have been shown to, themselves, have shorter telomeres.”

One study published in December 2004 in the National Academy of Sciences showed the relationship between stress and shortened telomere length. “Women with the highest levels of perceived stress have telomeres shorter on average by the equivalent of at least one decade of additional aging compared to low stress women,” said the study.

Research sheds light into events that shorten and grow telomeres. Here are a few bits of information from this wide body of writings.

Stress decreases telomere length,

exercise can rebuild it. Stress can reduce cellular function and shorten telomere tails. Tactics to reduce stress as we age may reduce the effects of aging.

Meditation is always a good option and covered extensively in past columns, but classic sitting styles can be a struggle. Mindful walking, yoga, sports play, dog petting, and activities such as coloring can all be used as stress reducing techniques.

While not studied as extensively as meditation for evidence-based stress reduction, participating in activities that bring you joy is a stress reducer. Exercising your way to reduced stress has a research-based benefit.

In November 2017, the European Heart Journal published research from Germany examining telomere length during endurance and high intensity training. Both exercise types slowed or even reversed cellular aging—telomere tails grew longer.

Sugar shortens telomeres, sugar ages

you. An analysis published in the American Journal of Public Health (November 2014) of 5,309 adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that people who drank more sugary soda had shorter telomeres.

Drinking an 8 ounce daily serving of soda brought on an additional 1.9 years of aging and drinking a daily 20-ounce serving was linked to 4.6 more years of aging. The study concluded, “Regular consumption of sugar-sweetened sodas might influence metabolic disease development through accelerated cell aging.”

Eat like you’re aging. As we age our need for calories goes down while our need for nutrients goes up. This makes it critical to evaluate food for nutritional need and balance. Sticking with whole/non-processed foods and using vitamin supplementation where deficiencies exist can help assure nutritional balances are achieved.

Food insecurity (due to finances, access, etc.) and nutritional malabsorption effect large populations of the aging. According to a University of Manchester study published in Cambridge Journal, an aging population can be subject to low stomach acids causing a failure to absorb essential vitamins, like vitamin B12, iron, calcium and magnesium, and can even affect medication efficiency. Increased doses of these nutrients may warrant evaluation.

Protein loss with age is also a concern. After age 30, humans lose 3% to 5% per decade of muscle with men losing about 30% of their muscle mass during their lifetime. Increasing protein to help muscles thrive as we age is also a component of maintaining healthy and ageless cells.

The correlation between the tail of a telomere and aging appears to grow stronger with the passing of time.

Focus on eating to maximize nutritional intake, reducing stress, and adding some mindful exercise are all great aspects of an aging tale to tell as the telomere “tail” continues to unfold.

Nothing in this article constitutes medical advice. All medical advice should be sought from a medical professional.

EMILY REIBLEIN

Director-Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) Crowley Logistics