What is a Telomere?

To put perspective on the important role of telomeres, let’s take a look at the chromosomes they protect.

Chromosomes are long, organized strands of DNA and proteins found in cells. These strands are in charge of all the processes that occur inside cells. The proper placement and functioning of chromosomes can predispose people to a normal, healthy body. Chromosomes also contain hereditary indicators that play very important roles in the development of an individual.

At both ends of every chromosome strand is a telomere. Telomeres act like bookends. Much like bookends are used to hold a row of books upright and organized on a shelf, telomeres keep chromosomes protected and intact. Telomeres prevent our chromosomes from becoming frayed, from fusing into rings, or binding with other DNA.

Cellular Aging

Cells are key to keeping our body going. They supply energy, regenerate to heal wounds, and are the foundation of our organs. With such an important role, it’s easy to see how keeping cells functioning in top form as long as possible is vital to healthy living. When cells are no longer able to replicate, the body’s ability to defend and repair itself, this leaves you susceptible to the complications of aging.

To understand the aging process, it’s important to take a look at the cellular level to discover how our cells age, and what impacts the aging process.

Cellular Aging Process & Telomere Shortening

Increased Free Radicals

Each day, free radicals are created inside our bodies through normal, necessary chemical reactions. We also are exposed to and absorb free radicals that exists in our environments through pollution, UV radiation, x-rays, and second hand smoke and through our own actions from stress, smoking, and weight gain.

Over-exposure to free radicals damages not only our cells’ ability to function, but also the integrity of our cells’ overall composition. This results in a next generation of cells that is less healthy and less productive than the cells they came from. As we grow older, the number of mistakes incurred by daily cellular reproduction increases. The body actually creates nonfunctional cells, leading to more rapid deterioration of the body’s functions. As this process continues, it creates an increase in oxidative stress.

Increased Oxidative Stress

Our bodies constantly react with the air we breathe. We breathe in oxygen, as well as many other pollutants and toxins in our environment. As we breathe and eat, our body uses the oxygen and food to help create energy. The energy creating process, as well as the pollutants in our environment, create highly reactive molecules. These molecules are called free radicals. When free radicals interact with other molecules within the cellular structure, damage to proteins, membranes and DNA can occur.

Oxidative stress occurs when there is an imbalance in a cell’s production and handling of free radicals and its natural ability to repair the damage caused by the exposure. Telomere shortening is accelerated by oxidative stress and inflammation. Both of these processes are affected by diet and lifestyle.

Telomere Shortening

With a few exceptions, the natural process for human growth and healing involves cells dividing. Cells divide primarily to grow or heal the body by replacing worn out cells with new cells.

Telomeres play an important role in cell division. Each time a cell divides, the DNA unwraps and the information in the DNA is copied. When the cell is finished dividing, the DNA comes back together and telomeres re-assume their protective roles at the ends of the chromosomes. Unfortunately, the telomeres lose a little bit of length each time this happens, like a pencil eraser gets shorter each time it’s used.

Scientists have noticed that cells stop replicating when telomeres become too short. Without adequate telomere protection, essential parts of the DNA can be damaged in the replication process. In humans, a cell replicates approximately 40-60 times before the telomeres become too short. This limit is called the Hayflick Phenomenon (or limit). Research has shown the more a cell divides, the shorter the telomeres get, and the less time the cell will be productive and able to divide.

Diminished Antioxidant Defenses

Free radicals are highly reactive, unstable molecules that are thought to oxidize molecules, causing oxidative and cellular damage and thus putting the body in a state of imbalance. Antioxidants are nature’s defense against the harmful effects of free radicals. They guard cellular structures and DNA against electron-scavenging free radicals. Antioxidants can donate or receive electrons to neutralize free radicals, stopping the cascading effect of oxidation.

The majority of the work is done by the body’s own master antioxidant, glutathione, and antioxidant enzymes including glutathione peroxidase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase. When telomeres shorten and fray, recent research suggests that these antioxidant defenses diminish and protection against free radicals goes unchecked.

Mitochondrial Dysfunction

Every cell in the human body, except red blood cells, is packed with tiny organelles called mitochondria. Mitochondria are often referred to as “powerhouses” because they produce the energy required for cells to function, and ultimately the body. Cells with a high metabolic rate, such as heart muscle cells, may be equipped with thousands of mitochondria, while other cells may only contain a few dozen.

Mitochondrial energy production is an absolute necessity for physical strength, energy, stamina, and life itself. Even the slightest drop in mitochondrial energy output, no matter how subtle, can lead to weakness, fatigue, and cognitive difficulties. Unfortunately, during a cells aging process, mitochondrial function becomes less efficient.

Recent research indicates as telomeres shorten the result is a signaling that causes mitochondria to become dysfunctional. Mitochondria in our cells create energy we can’t live without. As mitochondrial efficiency decreases, cell function declines and its natural defenses against free radicals is impacted, leading to an increase in oxidative stress.

Good News!

Fortunately, emerging research reveals we may be able to influence cellular aging processes in positive ways. This may affect how efficiently cells repair and replicate themselves, which affects your health, well-being and the aging process in various ways.

How Isagenix Can Help You Live Healthier

Isagenix is dedicated to continuously providing natural products that support a healthy lifestyle through proper nutrition. Countless research programs have identified key factors in living healthier and with more vitality for longer. Some factors can be self-controlled, such as exercise and diet. Others are often out of our direct reach, such as pollution and other toxins in our environment. Isagenix understands that there is not one key factor in healthier living, but many that are inter-related. With this knowledge, Isagenix continues to develop products that help across the spectrum of factors to support health for the whole body and mind.

The Factors that Contribute to Aging

Aging is a fact of life, but how quickly we age is not just a function of genetic disposition. How we choose to live, as much as who we are, can determine how we age and whether we will live a longer and healthier life. Factors that tend to accelerate the aging process-factors that we cancontrol-include:

Lack of regular exercise
Poor dietary habits
Failing to consume an optimal level of vitamins and nutrients
Being overweight
Failing to get enough sleep
Failing to drink sufficient amounts of water
Exposure to excessive amounts of stress
Exposure to toxins
Engaging in unhealthy habits (smoking, excessive drinking)

To increase your odds of living longer and living a better quality of life as you age, take control of your life and counter the factors that contribute to premature aging by adopting the following nine steps to a healthier life.

Exercise Regularly - Regular exercise and physical activity are key factors in maintaining health. Particularly with older adults, regular physical activity increases the chances of continuing to be able to do the things we enjoy and to remain independent. Studies show that regular exercise can benefit people with arthritis, heart disease, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and diabetes. And exercise doesn’t have to be intense; find the right level of physical activity for you and do it regularly.

Adopt a Healthy Diet – Consuming a lower calorie diet rich in nutrients and fiber but low in fat and sugar is a key factor in maintaining a healthy weight and enhancing your quality of life. Eat a nutritious breakfast every day. Avoid sodas and drink lots of water. Eat lean foods low in fat and sugar and get lots of fiber and protein. Enjoy healthy snacks between meals.

Supplement Your Diet with Essential Vitamins, Minerals and Nutrients – As a consequence of current food processing techniques and mineral deficient soil, many of us are not getting the proper amount of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients essential to optimal health. And an optimal dose of essential vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients decrease the risk of chronic degenerative diseases linked to nutritional deficiencies. The combination of a healthy diet with daily supplements provides the best opportunity for optimal nutrition and health.

Maintain a Healthy Weight – Being overweight may put you at increased risk for heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, some types of cancer, arthritis, and other chronic diseases. If you don’t know it already, you should know your BMI, or Body Mass Index, which measures your weight relative to your height. You should strive to maintain a BMI below 25, which is generally considered healthy. If your BMI is above 25, you may be considered overweight or even obese, conditions that increase your risk of health problems. Although we cannot control all of the factors that lead to weight gain, regular exercise and a healthy diet are key factors in maintaining a healthy weight.

Get the Proper Amount of Sleep – Adequate sleep in an essential factor in our well-being. Cell regeneration and cell growth occur primarily during periods of rest. Certain hormones critical to the proper functioning of the body are produced only during certain phases of deep sleep. If you have problems sleeping, or getting the proper amount of sleep, address them.

Drink Lots of Water - It is no secret that water is a key essential to life. What is less well known is that most of us don’t drink enough water on a daily basis. Every system in your body depends on water. Water flushes toxins out of vital organs, helps to carry nutrients to your cells, and provides fluids essential to bodily functions. Water also has no calories and is sugar free. How much water you should drink varies depending on a number of factors, including your health, how much you exercise, and where you live. But make sure you drink enough water every day.

Avoid Stress – Stress is a natural reaction to external factors, but failing to deal with excessive amounts of stress can lead to stomach disorders, shortness of breath, back pain, headaches and insomnia and, indirectly an increased risk of chronic degenerative disease that can lead to premature aging. The best approach to coping with stress, in addition to exercising stress management skills, is to exercise regularly, eat properly, and obtain proper amounts of sleep.

Reduce Exposure to Toxins – Exposure to toxins and chemicals in today’s world is unavoidable, but you can reduce your exposure to unhealthy levels of toxins and maintain a healthy lifestyle that supports the body’s natural ability to cleanse itself of toxins. Eating the right foods, particularly organic foods, avoiding excessive amounts of processed foods, and drinking purified water can help to reduce the amount of toxins your body takes in. And exercising regularly, staying hydrated, and getting the proper amount of sleep will help your body cleanse itself of toxins and chemicals harmful to your health.

Don’t Smoke; Only Consume Alcohol in Moderation - Smoking not only contributes to increased risk of chronic, life shortening degenerative diseases such as heart related illnesses, stroke, and cancer, but also is a key factor in premature aging and is associated with shorter lifespans. If you don’t smoke, don’t start. If you do smoke, stop.

Research indicates that excessive alcohol consumption can lead not only to an increased risk of degenerative disease that may shorten your lifespan, but also to an increased risk of premature aging, where the symptoms of aging appear earlier than normal or where the symptoms of aging are more pronounced than would otherwise be the case. If you drink, drink in moderation.

Research shows that aging is due to the cumulative effect of a number of factors; no single factor is the sole or even primary factor in how we age and how long we will live. Accordingly, there is no single product or magic bullet that can guarantee longer life. But you can-and should-take steps to increase your odds of living longer and healthier by taking charge of your life and following the nine steps summarized above.