Do you watch the Biggest Loser? If so, you have seen each contestant visit a doctor at the start of the season and many times they’ll learn their actual ‘biological’ age. This usually ends up being a shocker, such as a 28 year-old whose physical condition is that of a 55 year-old or something drastic like that. Telomeres are a tool that can be used to fairly accurately identify your biological age.
I recently participated in a webinar hosted by Spectra Cell Laboratories and lead by Dr. Mark Houston discussing telomeres.
What is a telomere?
Telomeres are a DNA sequence that appears at the end of each chromosome. Chromosomes comprised of DNA are in each cell of our body. Our DNA is protected at each end by telomeres. Dr. Houston describes a telomere as a safety cap or ball cap on the end of each chromosome. They protect the chromosome and DNA from things like oxidative stress. As the telomere becomes damaged the chromosome and cell function ineffectively the cell begins to die.
Telomere Shortening
As a normal part of aging, telomeres become shorter. Once a telomere becomes shortened there is no way to lengthen the telomere.
There are many factors that influence how quickly telomeres shorten. Here are some of the factors that impact telomere length:
On September 13, 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services launched Million Hearts. Million Hearts is aimed to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes over the next five years.
You are at greater risk of heart disease if you were overweight as a teen, compared to those who gained weight later in life. However, it was never clarified if this was because overweight teens become overweight adults OR does being overweight during your teen years cause irreversible damage.
The holidays are here again, so let’s review some tips so you stick with your diet to lower cholesterol levels AND still enjoy a satisfying Thanksgiving meal.
Are you someone that has followed a heart healthy diet “to the letter” and still struggled to lower blood pressure or cholesterol levels? If so, it’s possible the diet didn’t work for you due to your specific genetic makeup.
Shouldn’t you be the “picture of health” as a young adult? Guess it shouldn’t come as a surprise that looks are deceiving.
