Avoid Shorter Telomeres: Eat More Fruits and Vegetables
How many times have you been told to eat more fruits and vegetables? Probably more than you can count. Have you ever been told to eat more fruits and vegetables because they will protect the length of your telomeres? Â Probably never, but that’s the real reason why you should eat them.
This study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that diets low in fruits and vegetables, and high in fat were associated with shorter telomeres.  Shorter telomeres are associated with coronary heart disease, heart failure, high blood pressure, diabetes, and some cancers. All good reasons to avoid short telomeres.
What are Telomeres?
Telomeres are biological markers of aging. They are repetitive strands of DNA at each end of our chromosomes. As we age telomeres become shorter. At some point they become critically short and when that happens the cell dies or becomes non-functional.
Telomeres are greatly affected by our lifestyle choices – by what we eat, by our activity level, by our ability to manage stress, by our body composition, by whether or not we drink or smoke, by whether or not our hormone levels are optimal, and so on. The more bad choices we make the shorter telomeres we will have.
When it comes to eating, the authors of The Immortality Edge (a book devoted to telomere health) recommend 2 to 3 servings of fruit a day and 5 to 7 servings of vegetables a day. To make that easier they recommend two your snacks be fruit or vegetable based.
The fats the The Immortality Edge recommend we avoid are the saturated fats found in animal and dairy products, and hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fats also known as trans fats. We should also limit consumption of omega-6 fatty acids found in vegetables oils (corn, sunflower, safflower) and alpha-linolenic acid found in flax see. These fats will lead to shorter telomeres.
The good fats we have no reason to fear are the monounsaturated fats found olive oil and grapeseed oil and in almonds, cashews, avocados, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds. These fats will help preserve telomere length.
Telomeres – the Key to Longevity
Telomeres are the key to longevity. In a nutshell our website emphasizes actions you can take to optimize your telomere length, and thus the quality and quanity of your life. TA-65 is a supplement that has been shown to increase telomere length and positively affect other biologic markers of aging. To learn more about TA-65 and telomere science go to TA Sciences.
Stay long my friend – telomeres that is.
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