Strengthen your chromosomes with these four techniques.
There is no magic pill that keeps your skin soft, your biceps large, and your manhood lasts forever. But there are simple strategies to benefit your body in over 30 billion ways at once. Seriously: that’s the number of cells your body has, and each cell contains chromosomes.
At the end of each chromosome is a telomere, an extra layer of DNA that helps cells divide. But with each split, your telomeres tear, contributing to aging, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. You can take steps to protect your telomeres and slow down the clock.
Here are four tips from Nobel Prize winner Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, president of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, and Dr. Elissa Epel, professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco and author of The Telomere Effect: A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier, Longer.
NURTURE YOUR DNA
The anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids, found in blue fish such as salmon and tuna, protect telomeres from damage. Conversely, certain foods act as toxins for telomeres. “Processed red meat and sugar stand out for their powerful negative effects on telomere maintenance,” explains Epel.
Minimize your intake of these foods and eat free-range organic meat whenever possible. Finally, stay away from supplements that offer benefits for telomeres. These have not been shown to be safe or effective.
BE POSITIVE
“Daily stress is part of modern life,” says Epel. “What matters is how we deal with and recover from these situations.” By having negative thoughts, you release stress hormones, which sabotage the telomeres.
Try a strategy known as distancing: Imagine the stressful situation as a scene from a movie. You’re in the audience watching it go by.
STAY AWAY FROM AGING
Exercise is the most important tool to protect telomeres because it destroys two negative agents: inflammation and stress. “The time when you don’t want to exercise is when you should do it the most for your telomeres,” suggests Blackburn.
Doing moderate-intensity aerobic exercise three days a week for 45 minutes can even double the activity of an enzyme called telomerase that helps repair torn telomeres.
However, a word of warning to weekend warriors: Don’t save your exercise for a mega workout, as overtraining actually damages telomeres.
REDESIGN YOUR VACATION
Instead of throwing yourself on a beach, take a trip that refreshes you differently. Epel and Blackburn recently discovered that a six-day meditation retreat helped people defend themselves against damage to telomeres.
More and more travel companies offer wellness retreats, but you can also try to meditate on your next vacation, no matter what the destination is. Regardless of your daily obligations, you can use the holidays as a perfect opportunity to practice new stress resistance skills, says Epel.