Endurance Exercise Slows Aging
Researchers reported online in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association on Monday that exercise (specifically endurance exercise) may slow telomere shortening. Telomeres are little DNA structures found on the end of chromosomes. Think of them like the caps at the end of shoelaces. They protect the ends of the chromosomes from genetically unraveling, which could lead to disease. As we get older, cells divide, telomeres shorten with each division, and eventually cells die. Some research has linked shortened telomeres to higher rates of death from heart disease and infections, cognitive dysfunction, and certain cancers.
This study compared telomere length in white blood cells of middle-aged lifelong runners, healthy middle-aged people who did not exercise, and younger distance runners. There’s no surprise, the researchers found the exercisers had less loss of telomere length than the non-exercisers. The exercisers also had substantially higher amounts of proteins that help preserve telomeres.
This information reaffirms a study published last year that involved 2,400 twins. Researchers split the twins up, one group exercised, one group was sedentary. The twins that exercised had longer telomeres. One the flip side, a couple of other studies have shown an association between smoking and obesity and shorter telomeres.
My first thought when reading these studies was how much exercise do I have to do in order to gain this benefit. The short answer is they don’t know. The subjects in the most recent study were endurance runners averaging 50 miles a week since they were young. That discourages me a bit because I’m not much of a runner. I doubt I run 50 miles a year. No worries though. I’m sure other forms of endurance exercise should have similar benefits…I hope.
In relation to diet, preliminary research has shown resveratrol increased the life span of the animals in the studies, likely due to its affect on telomeres. Resveratrol is found in the skin of red grapes and is a constituent of red wine. It’s produced by the plant in response to attack by bacteria or fungi. Note: bromelain enhances resveratrol absorption, while quercitin competes with it (and wins).
Maybe the French are onto something. Ride your bike and drink lots of wine. Cut out the cheese, coffee, and pastries though, of course.
In pursuit of health,
Dr. May
