The Telomere Effect: A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier, Longer

by Elizabeth Blackburn

Here’s how type 2 diabetes develops: in a healthy person, the digestive system breaks food down into glucose. The beta cells in the pancreas make a hormone, insulin, which is released into the bloodstream and allows glucose to enter the body’s cells to be used as fuel. In a wonderfully tidy system, insulin binds to receptors on the cells, like a key fitting into a lock. The lock turns, the door opens, and glucose can enter the body’s cells. But too much belly or liver fat can cause your body to become insulin resistant, meaning that cells don’t respond to insulin the way they should. Their “locks”—the insulin receptors—gum up and stick; the key no longer fits as well. It’s harder for glucose to enter the cells. The glucose that can’t get in through the door remains in the bloodstream. Glucose builds up in the blood even as your pancreas churns out more and more insulin.

Poor nutrition, inactivity, and stress are all associated with belly fat and higher levels of blood sugar.

People afflicted with inherited short telomere syndromes are much more likely to develop diabetes than the rest of the population. Their diabetes comes on early and strong.

Abdominal fat is more inflammatory than, say, thigh fat.

In at least some breeds of mice on restricted diets, telomeres appear to lengthen. They also have fewer senescent cells in the liver, an organ that is one of the first places senescent cells will build up.

Caloric restriction can improve insulin sensitivity, too, and reduce oxidative stress. But it’s harder to pinpoint the effects of caloric restriction on larger animals.

For now, it looks as if caloric restriction has no positive effect on human telomeres.

Cutting back on sugar may be the single most beneficial change you can make to your diet. The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugar to nine teaspoons a day for men and six teaspoons for women, but the average American has almost twenty teaspoons a day. A high-sugar diet is associated with more belly fat and insulin resistance, and three studies have found a link between shorter telomeres and drinking sugared beverages.

SURF YOUR CRAVINGS Sit comfortably and close your eyes. Picture the snack or treat you’re craving: Conjure up its texture, its color, its smell. As the image becomes vivid, let yourself feel your craving. Let your attention wander throughout your body to observe the nature of this craving. Describe this craving to yourself. What are its sensations and its qualities? What are the shapes, sensations, and any thoughts or feelings associated with it? Where is it located in your body? Does it change as you notice it, or as you exhale? Feel any discomfort. Remind yourself this is not an itch that needs to be scratched. This is a feeling that changes and will pass. Perhaps imagine it as a wave that builds, crests, and dissipates back into the ocean. Breathe into the sensation, and let it release tension, as you notice the waves falling back gently. You might put your attention and your hand on your heart, imagining a sense of warmth and kindness flowing outward from your heart. Let this sense of warmth spread throughout your body, enveloping the sense of craving with loving-kindness. Take a moment just breathing in this feeling of compassion for yourself. Now look at the image of the food again. What has changed? What are you aware of? You can experience the craving without acting on it. Just notice it, breathe, and envelope it with a sense of loving-kindness.

the most empowering choice we can make is to eat fresh, whole foods instead of processed ones.

One of the best ways for you to protect yourself against inflammation is to stop feeding it. The glucose absorbed from French fries or from refined carbohydrates (white bread, white rice, pasta), and from sugary candies, sodas, juices, and most baked goods, hits your bloodstream fast and hard. That uptick of blood glucose also causes an increase in cytokines, which are inflammatory messengers.

Alcohol acts as a kind of carb as well, and too much alcohol consumption appears to increase C-reactive protein (CRP), a substance that is produced in the liver and rises when there is more inflammation in the body.2 Alcohol is also converted to a chemical (acetaldehyde, which is a carcinogen) that can damage DNA and in high doses could also harm telomeres.

there are no consistent relationships between light alcohol intake and telomeres.3 It is okay to enjoy your occasional drink!

red, purple, and blue berries; red and purple grapes; apples; kale; broccoli; yellow onions; juicy red tomatoes; and green scallions. All these foods contain flavonoids and/or carotenoids, a broad class of chemicals that gives plants pigment. They are also especially high in anthocyanins and flavonols, subclasses of flavonoids that are related to lower levels of inflammation and oxidative stress.

Other anti-inflammatory foods include oily fish, nuts, flaxseed, flax oil, and leafy vegetables—because all these items are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Your body requires omega-3s to reduce inflammation and keep telomeres healthy. Omega-3s help form cell membranes throughout the body, keeping the cell structure fluid and stable. In addition, the cell can convert omega-3s into hormones that regulate inflammation and blood clotting; they help determine whether artery walls are rigid or relaxed.

It’s been known for a while that people with highe...

omega-3s have lower cardiovas...

She found that people who took fish-oil supplements for four months did not have longer telomeres than people who took a placebo. However, across all the groups, the greater the increases in omega-3s in the blood relative to their levels of omega-6 fatty acids, the greater the telomere lengthening over that period.8 The omega supplementation also reduced inflammation, and the greater decreases in inflammation were associated with increases in telomere length.

those taking the supplements had other significant telomere-friendly changes: reduced levels of oxidative stress and inflammation.

A general consensus seem to be a daily dosage of at least 1,000 milligrams of a mixture of EPA and DHA,

For sustainability reasons, we strongly suggest the vegetarian alternative, which is made from algae.

So far, it appears the DHA from algae promotes similar benefits to cardiovascular health as the DHA from fish.

Telomere research suggests that you should make consumption of omega-3s a priority.

B vitamins (folate or B12) appear to reduce homocysteine.

But if you pump up the cells’ medium (the liquid soup that supports a cell’s life when it’s sitting in a lab flask) with vitamin C, the telomere is protected from the free radicals.

Vitamin C and other antioxidants (like vitamin E) are scavengers that gobble up free radicals, preventing them from harming your telomeres and cells. People with higher blood levels of vitamins C and E have longer telomeres, but only when they also have lower levels of a molecule known as F2-isoprostane, which is an indicator of oxidative stress. The higher this ratio between blood antioxidants and F2-isoprostane, the less oxidative stress there is in the body. This is just one of the many reasons you should eat fruits and vegetables every day; they offer some of the best sources of antioxidant protection.

To get sufficient antioxidants in your diet, eat plenty of produce, especially citrus, berries, apples, plums, carrots, green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, and, in smaller portions, potatoes (red or white, with the skin on). Other plant-based sources o...

high antioxidant levels even provoked laboratory-grown human cells to take on certain cancerous properties,

children who were breast-fed only (no formula or solid foods) in the first six weeks of life have longer telomeres.

Here’s a frame-by-frame shot of what happens when you swallow sugary soda, or “liquid candy”: Almost instantaneously, the pancreas releases more insulin, to help the glucose (sugar) enter cells. Within twenty minutes, glucose has built up in the bloodstream and you have high blood sugar. The liver starts to turn sugar into fat. In about sixty minutes, your blood sugar falls, and you start thinking about having more sugar to pick you back up after the “crash.” When this happens often enough, you can end up with insulin resistance.

people who drink twenty ounces of sugary soda daily have the equivalent of 4.6 extra years of biological aging, as measured by telomere shortness.17 That, astonishingly, is about the same level of telomere shortness caused by smoking. When people drink eight ounces of soda, their telomeres are the equivalent of two years older.

To prevent insulin spikes that can eventually lead to insulin resistance, focus on foods that are higher in fiber: Whole-wheat bread, whole-wheat pasta, brown rice, barley, seeds, vegetables, and fruits are all excellent sources.

(Fruits, although they contain simple carbohydrates, are healthy because of their fiber content and overall nutritional value; fruit juices, from which the fiber has been extracted, are generally not.)

Some studies find that vitamin D is related to longer telomere length, more so in women than men,

2,000 IU a day of vitamin D (in the form of vitamin D3) for four months led to increased telomerase by around 20

percent compared to a placebo group.

In 2015, the World Health Organization identified red meat as a probable cause of cancer and processed meat as a cause.

Meta-analyses show coffee reduces the risk of cognitive decline, liver disease, and melanoma,

After the period of drinking coffee, the patients had significantly longer telomeres and lowered oxidative stress in their blood than the control group.27 Further, in a sample of over four thousand women, those who drank caffeinated coffee (but not decaffeinated) were likely to have longer telomeres.

Associated with Shorter Telomeres: Red meat, processed meat29

Associated with Longer Telomeres: Fiber (whole grains)36 Vegetables37 Nuts, legumes38 Seaweed39 Fruits40 Omega-3s (e.g., salmon, arctic char, mackerel, tuna, or sardines)41 Dietary antioxidants, including fruits, vegetables, but also beans, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and green tea42

Coffee43

Associated with Longer Telomeres: Vitamin D45 (mixed evidence) Vitamin B (folate), C, and E Multivitamin supplements (mixed evidence)

TELOMERE TIPS Inflammation, insulin resistance, and oxidative stress are your enemies. To fight them, follow what’s been called a “prudent” pattern of eating: Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, legumes, nuts, and seeds, along with low-fat, high-quality sources of protein. This pattern is also known as the Mediterranean diet. Consume sources of omega-3s: salmon and tuna, leafy vegetables, and flax oil and flaxseeds. Consider supplementation with an algae-based omega-3 supplement. Minimize red meat (especially processed meat). You might try to go vegetarian for at least a few days each week. Eliminating meat can benefit your cells as well as the environment. Avoid sugary foods and drinks, and processed foods.

Homemade chia pudding. Chia seeds are high in antioxidants, calcium, and fiber. These unassuming little seeds from South America also house 28 grams of omega-3s in every ounce. Chia pudding is a great snack, but it makes a tasty part of breakfast, too. Combine: ¼ cup chia seeds 1 cup unsweetened almond or coconut milk ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon ½ teaspoon vanilla extract After stirring the ingredients together, let the mixture sit for five minutes. Stir the pudding again and place in the fridge for 20 minutes, or until thick, or overnight. Optional garnishes: dried coconut flakes goji berries cacao nibs sliced apple honey

Many of us engage in behaviors we’d like to change, but we feel stuck or ambivalent. Find one small behavior you feel ready to focus on now.

Time: Waking up

Set an intention for the day. Look forward to any positive aspects.

Practice the three-minute breathing break

Notice your thoughts. Take a self-compassion break (here) or manage your eager assistant (here). Focus on one task at a time. (Can you turn off your e-mail and ringer for an hour?)