It Turns Out We Can Slow Down Aging!
Author: Alexander Bruni
Time for reading: ~2
minutes
Last Updated:
August 08, 2022
The source of youth is not in pills and ointments, but in proper nutrition and physical activity.
For the first time, research demonstrates with accurate data how changes in daily life, such as eating more fresh fruits and vegetables, exercise and yoga, slow down aging at the cellular level.
Maintaining a diet consisting primarily of unprocessed foods, combined with moderate physical activity and stress management, are the only changes in the lives of 35 men over a five-year period that are undertaken for the purpose of the study. Their research after this five-year regimen is unexpected: areas of DNA directly related to cellular aging - telomeres , increased significantly.
This is the first study of its kind to focus on the impact of daily life on telomere length.
The team leader, Dan Ornish, became popular with another of his studies, which was successful not only in the treatment but also in the treatment of heart disease, by changing the daily routine and diet for five consecutive years.
According to Ornish, the misconception that true and effective medicine can only be in the form of tablets, lasers or new technologies must be overcome.
Elizabeth Blackburn, who received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for her work on the " enzyme of immortality " - telomerase, also worked on both projects . It is this enzyme that protects telomeres from shortening. The faster the telomeres shorten, the faster the cells progress to apoptosis - programmed cell death.
The study included 35 men with low-risk benign prostate cancer. Between 2003 and 2007, some participants underwent drastic lifestyle changes and were closely monitored for compliance with the new regime. Some of them did not have to change their habits and remained a control group for the experiment.
Their new diet was not strictly vegetarian, but included mostly whole grains , fresh fruits and vegetables with an emphasis on legumes and a minimal amount of refined carbohydrates .
In addition to diet, the regimen included mandatory 30-minute walks , 6 days a week; 60 minutes of daily stress control , mainly in the form of yoga and meditation ; and 60 minutes of group therapy per week.
The results after 5 years of adherence to this regimen show that the telomeres in the control group shortened according to their expected aging. The scientists' assumptions about the length of the telomeres in the active group were that they would be longer. However, the results exceeded expectations - the researchers noted a significant preservation of their length, ie they were much longer.
According to science, the shorter the telomeres, the faster the cells age and die, but the opposite is also true - longer telomeres determine cell longevity and health. For the five years of the study, the active participants showed no signs of normal telomere shortening - their telomeres were longer than 5 years ago. According to these unexpected results, scientists believe that it is possible not only to slow down aging , but even rejuvenate by following a proper diet and exercise.