Telomeros
Los telómeros son estructuras especializadas situadas en los extremos de los cromosomas, que los protegen de posibles fusiones y de su degradación, con lo que se garantiza la estabilidad de los cromosomas y viabilidad de las células. No obstante, los telómeros se van acortando progresivamente asociado al proceso de división celular ya que el ADN que forma los telómeros no es replicado de manera completa.
- Los telómeros protegen a los cromosomas de actividades de degradación y de la fusión de cromosomas
Los telómeros protegen la integridad de los cromosomas permitiendo la generación de una réplica completa de los extremos del ADN cromosómico gracias a la actividad de una enzima: la telomerasa, que es capaz de sintetizar telómeros de novo
Asimismo, los telómeros hacen posible una ubicación correcta de los cromosomas en el núcleo celular
El azúcar y el tabaco acortan los telomeros:
Epel and her team analyzed data from 5,309 adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from about 14 years ago. They found that people who drank more sugary soda tended to have shorter telomeres. Drinking an 8-ounce daily serving of soda corresponded to 1.9 years of additional aging, and drinking a daily 20-ounce serving was linked to 4.6 more years of aging. The latter, the authors point out, is exactly the same association found between telomere length and smoking.
Or more specifically:
After adjustment for sociodemographic and health-related characteristics, sugar-sweetened soda consumption was associated with shorter telomeres (b = –0.010; 95% confidence interval [CI] = −0.020, −0.001; P = .04).
Regular consumption of sugar-sweetened sodas might influence metabolic disease development through accelerated cell aging.
Ejercicio + Meditacion/Yoga + Dieta rica en vegetales baja en grasas (Con mucho O3) y baja en harinas y azucares = Telomeros mas largos!
As most of you that read Vince Giuliano’s blogs know, there has been a great deal of interest in telomere lengthening as a way of living longer. In 2013, a landmark study was published that unfortunately went largely unnoticed (Ornish, 2013). In a paper published in August, 2013, Dean Ornish and Elizabeth Blackburn showed that you can lengthen telomeres by 10% over 5 years without pills by merely altering your diet, exercising, and managing your stress. (Even the expensive astragalus supplement made by TA Sciences has been unable to lengthen telomeres. It only reduces the rate of telomere shortening). Elizabeth Blackburn won the 2009 Nobel Prize with Carol Greider and Jack Szostack for discovering telomerease in tetrahymena.
I think she is a much more credible source of information than the astragalus supplement industry. In this small study, Dean Ornish put a group of elderly males with low grade prostate cancer on a diet that was low in fat (10% of calories), was plant-based (vegan), was high in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and was low in refined carbohydrates. (They also had to take one serving of tofu per day and a soy protein powder drink, a selenium supplement, Vitamin C, fish oil, and Vitamin E). They also walked for 30 minutes a day, 6 days per week. The stress management, program including 60 minutes of yoga-based stretching, breathing, meditation, imagery, and progressive relaxation 6 days a week. They also participated in a one hour support group once a week. The study was a 5-year prospective clinical trial with a control group who did not do the above. At the end of the clinical trial, telomere lengths were measured in blood leukocytes and noted to be 10% longer than at the beginning of the trial. On the other hand, the control group had telomeres that were 3% shorter than at the beginning of the trial. This is a remarkable study, considering that no prior study and no supplements have been shown to lengthen telomeres (only reduce the rate of shortening). None of the above interventions are expensive and are not supplement based, except for the selenium, Vitamin C, fish oil, and Vitamin E. (Although it has been shown that exercise and fish oil can affect telomere length, the results of this trial cannot be explained by the fish oil supplements or exercise alone). The conclusion of this study is consistent with the scientific data that supports the idea that telomere length is NOT a biological clock that keeps accurate “biological age” but instead, telomere length is another measure of oxidative stress and that oxidative stress can be managed with lifestyle.