What’s Your Biological Age?
Telomere Testing is one of the most important measures of your overall health status, as it tells how fast your cells are aging through a DNA analysis. So your age might be 30, yet your true biological age is 50 (or vice versa if your are doing things right).
Telomere Testing Reveals Health Risks
A telomere is a region of repetitive DNA at the end of a chromosome, which protects the end of the chromosome from deterioration. Telomeres are longer in youth and progressively shorten with each cell division until a critical shortening has occurred, which signals cell senescence or cell death. Shorter telomeres imply a shorter lifespan for the cell.
Shorter telomere length has been associated with an increased risk for a number of chronic diseases, including metabolic abnormalities, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, dementia and premature death. This association has been theorized to be an effect of inflammation and oxidative stress or a combination of both. It has been found that telomeres are significantly shorter in people with aging-associated diseases such as coronary artery disease and chronic heart failure.
Healthy Lifestyle Changes Raise Telomerase
Numerous studies have shown that a healthy lifestyle increases activity of the enzyme (telomerase) that builds and repairs telomeres, which is beneficial in controlling the aging process. These healthy lifestyle changes include increased physical activity, eating a plant-based diet, omega-3 fish oils, anti-oxidants, vitamins C, D, E and green tree extract, among others.