Telomere Protection

Telomeres are repetitive DNA caps that shorten with each cell division until replicative senescence. Shortening correlates with age and disease risk, but the causal direction is disputed — much of the association reflects inflammation, oxidative stress and cell turnover rather than telomere length driving disease. Consumer telomere tests have poor reproducibility and limited clinical value. Telomerase activation is not obviously desirable: most cancers upregulate telomerase to achieve replicative immortality, so products promising activation are making a claim they should be more cautious about.

1) Do not smoke — smoking has among the strongest associations with accelerated telomere shortening. 2) Exercise regularly, consistently associated with longer telomeres in observational data across large cohorts. 3) Reduce chronic psychological stress, linked to shortening in caregiver and chronic-stress cohorts. 4) Maintain a healthy weight, since obesity and insulin resistance associate with faster attrition. 5) Eat a Mediterranean-pattern diet, associated with longer telomeres in cohort studies. 6) Sleep adequately, with short sleep duration linked to shorter telomeres. 7) Treat chronic inflammation and infection, which drive the cell turnover that consumes telomere length. 8) Be sceptical of telomerase-activating supplements and consumer telomere tests — the former raise theoretical cancer concerns, the latter are poorly reproducible.

• •Not smoking
• •Regular exercise
• •Chronic stress reduction
• •Healthy body composition
• •Mediterranean dietary pattern
• •Adequate sleep
• •Inflammation control