By Paddy Kamen, Publisher, BetterBrainBetterLife.com
Telomeres are all over the news these days. Those pesky little caps of DNA on our chromosomes shorten as we age and research shows that some cancers, osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, depression, diabetes, obesity and heart disease are all more likely to arise in people with shorter telomeres. So it is fair to say that longer telomeres equal longevity.
Telomeres are all over the news these days. Those pesky little caps of DNA on our chromosomes shorten as we age and research shows that some cancers, osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, depression, diabetes, obesity and heart disease are all more likely to arise in people with shorter telomeres. So it is fair to say that longer telomeres equal longevity.
The good news is that telomeres have been found to lengthen in response to lifestyle changes. Dean Ornish, noted author of plant-based diet books, and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), has lead a small pilot study that showed telomere lengthening in cancer patients as a result of adherence to lifestyle changes over five years.
Ten of 35 patients followed a plant-based diet which was also low in fat and refined carbohydrates, while also exercising moderately, practicing yoga and meditation, and belonging to a weekly support group. The telomeres of these participants lengthened by 10 percent, while the control group who made no changes found their telomeres shortened by three percent. Within the change group it was found that the more heartily they engaged in the program the more their telomeres grew.
Ten of 35 patients followed a plant-based diet which was also low in fat and refined carbohydrates, while also exercising moderately, practicing yoga and meditation, and belonging to a weekly support group. The telomeres of these participants lengthened by 10 percent, while the control group who made no changes found their telomeres shortened by three percent. Within the change group it was found that the more heartily they engaged in the program the more their telomeres grew.
Ornish’s study doesn’t tease out what exact factors made the telomeres lengthen, but we do know from research by Clifford Saron at the University of California Davis that mindfulness meditation training increases the enzyme telomerase, which helps telomeres to grow. Saron’s research is one of the first long-term, detailed, matched control-group studies of the effects of intensive meditation training on mind and body.
You can read more about telomeres and Clifford Saron’s research in my new book, Better Brain Better Life: Tips and Tales from the Tantalizing World of Brain Science.
Two articles on telomeres you might enjoy include one in The Globe and Mail, and another in Maclean’s magazine.
You can read more about telomeres and Clifford Saron’s research in my new book, Better Brain Better Life: Tips and Tales from the Tantalizing World of Brain Science.
Two articles on telomeres you might enjoy include one in The Globe and Mail, and another in Maclean’s magazine.