Myths and facts about telomeres and telomerase activation

First off, if you need a quick update on what we are talking about in plain language,  click on the media link on the Telonauts.com site and the very first video is me being interviewed on TV for a short segment on anti-aging and telomeres.

I am famous for debunking myths and in the process upsetting lots of people. So, why stop now?

Here are a few things you hear a lot, that are either way over-simplifications or simply not true.

1)  Telomeres protect the DNA from unraveling and as they shorten, the DNA unravels and this causes the cell to die or mutate.

While this is theoretically possible, it is probably not a real phenomenon in humans.  The length of the telomere is, however, intimately tied to a series of structural proteins that turn cell regulation on and off. In addition, the length of the telomere is directly related to certain cell signaling features that cause the cell’s mitochondria to behave like a nuclear reactor on overload (melt down) and autolyse, or explode, from the inside out.  The mitochondria release free radicals that are normally kept inside its own double walled membrane.  These free radicals go out into the rest of the cell and the cell dies.

This mechanism is the same, or very similar, to what happens when the cell experiences a double strand DNA break.

Thus, we see ties from “regular “ cell cycle regulation and the mitochondria to the telomere.  For the scientist and non scientist alike, this means the telomere tends to fit nicely in the center of several other “theories of aging.”

Remember free radicals, stress, and sleep deprivation are all related to shortening of the telomeres.

For more information on how you can help keep your telomeres longer remember this:

The “Immortality Edge” the definitive (and only) book on how to preserve and lengthen your telomeres will be out via John Wiley and Sons in January of 2011. Since I had a major hand in writing it, I can promise you there is almost no scientific jargon or confusing language.  There is just straightforward, no nonsense things you can do right this minute, to help keep your biologic time clocks ticking for a long, long time.

Please note my co-authors Greta Blackburn and Mike Fossel MD PhD are recognized experts in the field of anti-aging and longevity medicine.  Please note, there are a lot of people claiming to have expertise who are not authors of the book for the simple reason that they are not experts!

2)  Supplements can lengthen your telomeres.

There is only one supplement that turns on telomerase and has been shown to lengthen critically short telomeres (the exact way your natural telomerase works, if and when it is turned on!).

That supplement is TA-65 and I am one of the few distributors.  If you have a serious interest in the only supplement that does what it says it does, then do this: contact our Customer Support Line at 866-654-7670 or send an email to doc@drdavesbest.com with a Subject line of “TA-65″. Serious inquires only please and let’s stick to the topic because there are tons of people calling already!

OK, what else works?

Fish Oil: this is proven in a study of heart patients.  The higher the dose of Fish Oil, the longer the telomeres, with the highest dose group having the longest telomeres. Please note, no other form of Omega 3 was tested: specifically not krill, flax, chia, lyprinol or salba.

Vitamin D3 appears to have some action, but is not quantifiable yet.

There are other supplements that, by virtue of their anti-oxidant power, are reported to either slow down loss of telomeres, or actually lengthen them, but this has not been repeatable yet.

What does not work?

I personally sent samples of a product called ASTRAGALOSIDE IV for testing at Sierra Sciences lab in Reno, NV.  It did nothing. (Please note this was one brand. There are a couple on the market).

Protein powder.  A large, well read internet organization is touting protein powder as a way to lengthen your telomeres, via glutathione. There is no proof that this powder  a) increases glutathione in the body b) does anything to telomerase or to telomeres. None whatsoever, but by virtue of “who” is saying “what”, people are not applying critical thinking.  Or, they’re not thinking at all!

Once again these and more claims and issues and myths and facts are all going to be revealed in our upcoming book “The Immortality Edge” – so make sure you put Jan 2011 on your calendar right now and listen to anyone, or anything else, with a jaundiced eye and a critical ear!

If someone claims to have a supplement that turns on telomerase, or lengthens telomeres, then they should be able to produce data from a reputable independent lab experienced in running these tests to prove it.

Sierra Sciences head scientist, Bill Andrews, has tested thousands of compounds for activity.  If you are interested in supporting his work contact him at Sierra Sciences.  When Bill wins humanity wins!

- Dr Dave and the Telonauts

Cancer risk and telomere length

For those of us in the field, the recent slew of articles that show an age-independent link between telomere length and cancer comes as no surprise.

When I say age-independent I mean your age, not the age of your individual cells.

Cells age independently of the organism in some cases and the oldest cells have the shortest telomeres and are at the greatest risk of cancerous transformation.

As Dr Dave has said in talks at the A4M and the AMMG “cancer is a disease of short telomeres.”

So it would be wise for this and many other reasons to keep your telomeres longer.

Again to review, slowing down shortening and lengthening telomeres are two very different things.

You can slow them down with the right kinds of exercise (come to www.fitcamp.com to learn all about this) proper sleep, a good diet (Paleolithic), and supplements like fish oil, Vitamin D, and others.

The only way we know to lengthen them at this point is TA-65 a telomerase activator which you should contact us directly about if you are interested.

As more research is done, more and more disease will be linked to short telomeres.  Keep in mind the shortest telomere is the weakest link and that is exactly where TA-65 seems to work.

P.S., Be on the lookout for the first and only book on how YOU can do all the right things to keep those telomeres as healthy as possible.  It’s called “The Immortality Edge” by Greta Blackburn  Mike Fossel and Dave Woynarowski and is due out in January of 2011, but you’ll be able to get advanced reserved copies here soon!

Telomeres and the Paleolithic Diet

The last iteration of our genome with regards to the foods we eat seems to have taken place about 50,000 years ago.  At that time we were unquestionably small bands of hunter gatherers who did not cultivate dairy animals or grains.  History tells us these later “adaptations”  did not take place until about 10,000 years ago.

So we are still adapted genetically to the “hunter gatherer” diet, also commonly known as the Paleolithic Diet after this formative time of man’s ascendance.  Genetic anthropology has provided us with the gene structures to prove this.  In point of fact the last 50,000 years have led to very little known genetic changes compared to our Paleolithic ancestors.  Things like eye color and the occasional low level persistence of the lactose gene into post infancy do not change the fact that the bulk of what we eat now is actually not suitable for our genetic make up.  Diary and grin products provide the large mass of protein and carbohydrates that many cultures consume with potentially detrimental results to our telomere length.

Lactose intolerance is a common problem and ranges from mild discomfort to out and out “allergic” type reactions with malabsorption of nutrients and leaky gut syndromes as a result.

Grain intolerance (specifically to gluten) has become a modern day mini-epidemic as the sensitivity of testing procedures for these intolerances improves to the point where fully half of our population may have some variation- minor or more – of gluten sensitivity.

The telomere is pretty much the end arbiter of what we do to ourselves in all forms of stress, whether that stress comes from eating the wrong things, exposing ourselves to excess environmental toxins, sleep deprivation, too little or too much exercise, and so on. While specific dietary information and telomere length is to this point extremely limited, the authors of this book predict it will truly be the “next big frontier” by which people can modify and improve their telomere length in a meaningful fashion.

Currently we know that fiber intake is positively associated with longer telomeres.  WE also know that excess inflammatory Omega 6 fatty acids are bad for telomere length and that Omega 3 fish oils are good.

We know that the complex web of insulin signaling and glucose excess directly affects inflammation, free radical generation, and cell death.  We know that Vitamin D positively affects telomere length, as do tea-based catechins.  But these are singular piecemeal findings that do not equate to a specific diet pattern

We strongly believe that the Paleolithic Diet is the most likely to provide this benefit, since our genetic make up fits this type of diet to a tee.  Studies have supported its positive effects on insulin signaling, oxidative stress. and endogenous acid load.

We are confident the end result will not only be longer telomeres, but better health and potentially longer life.

Another Take: Can exercise really help you live longer?

Just a few short weeks ago our host Greta Blackburn held one of her fabulous FTICAMP events in Cancun Mexico.  If you missed it you missed a great one!

At that event several presenters, including top Scientist Bill Andrews — co-discoverer of the HTERT gene and leading scientist at Sierra Sciences LLC — and top trainer Phil Campbell  (whose book “Ready Set Go Synergy Fitness” revolutionized the field of high intensity interval training over a decade ago) both gave phenomenal presentations on the how’s and why’s of everything from sprint training to ultra running.

A recurring theme emerged: exercise is not only good for you in terms of how you look and how you feel but it also is good for longevity, especially for telomere length.

Remember the telomeres are those biological time clocks AND health clocks that live at the end of your chromosomes.  Every time your cells divide to make a new set of cells the time clock ticks and your absolute life span gets shorter.

But a study in well conditioned German middle distance runners whose average age was about 45 showed you can indeed slow down those time clocks with exercise.

Researchers found that at age 25 most everyone had a free pass which equated to long telomeres although there were some outliers who had already started to age faster probably from too much partying!

But in the folks who did not exercise at all the telomere length shortened dramatically over the next 2 decades.  In the runners, however, there was almost no distinguishable difference between telomere length at 25 and at 45.

Now a couple of things are important here.  These runners were high level former collegiate athletes in most cases.  They had been running steadily for 2 decades and were putting in over 40 miles a week.  That is lot of miles for most people.

Also most high level runners don’t just run they strength train and do interval training programs similar to Phil Campbell’s Sprint 8 as their speed work.

So what is it about this kind of training that helps keep telomeres long?

Well most like it has to do with the body’s ability to handle oxidative stress.  Runners tend to develop the mechanisms needed to handle the increased oxidative load of exercise to a high degree.

Even ultra runners whose oxidative stress levels go through the roof in the first 24 hours after a long race return to baseline soon after.

We Telonauts are convinced that the best exercise is one that develops the ability to handle free radical oxidative stress without actually putting all that much long term oxidative stress on the body.  That is why we favor Phil Campbell’s Sprint 8 programs as detailed in his book “Ready set Go Synergy Fitness” as well as our book “The Immortality Edge” which is coming out in January 2011.

Using these programs you can really crank up you oxidative capacity (as measured by VO2 max and lactate threshold for you exercise buffs) without having a lot of damaging stuff hanging around for days on end.

Another study done in Canada showed you could reverse years of exercise neglect with just a year of high intensity training for a total of 9 hours a week and reverse the age related decline in your functional lung capacity by up to twelve years

Here’s a quick note on weight lifting. WE think strength training is absolutely essential for balanced physical being.  There is only one tiny study in weight lifters specifically power lifters.  In this group the average telomere length and the shortest telomere lengths both were longer than in non weight trained individuals suggesting at the very least that weight lifting may be good for your telomeres as well.

So what should you do?

Train hard and fast at least some of the time and take those anti-oxidants, specifically fish oil co Q 10 Carnosine Vitamin D and a good multi vite to keep those free radicals at bay.

Odds are you’ll live a longer and healthier life because of it. And make sure you get a copy of Phil Campbell’s great book “Ready Set Go Synergy” fitness and watch for our book “The Immortality Edge” coming soon.

The Telonauts

Obesity and telomere length, a study reveals all!

Once bitten twice shy: Telomere length and obesity

Recent research on the subcutaneous tissue of obese formerly obese and never obese patients revealed some fascinating findings.

In summary:  Obese patients had shorter telomeres in their subcutaneous fat.
Formerly fat people had shorter telomeres as well, suggesting that this may be an irreversible consequence of obesity.

The never obese had longer telomere length than either of the experimental groups.

While the study was small it is fascinating because it implies that once you lose telomere length you cannot get it back, or at least no one in this small group of study participants did!

This underscores the need for a telomerase activator like TA-65 as the only current way to lengthen your telomeres.  At this point TA 065 data is strongest in lengthening the most damage in critically short telomeres rather than mean telomere length. (MTL)

MTL is a very broad imprecise measure and may take well over a year to come up.  It is also possible that TA65 ONLY works on the shortest telomeres which are the ones most in need of repair and lengthening.  This is fine actually since normal length telomeres cause no problems and if they were to shorten they would presumably be repaired as well.

AS we clarify more to the science especially the science of measuring telomeres, we will undoubtedly get more positive data about the effects of telomerase activation.

But in the meantime watch your weight because once bitten twice shy!
The Telonauts



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