Is Telomere Lengthening the Secret To Long Life?
The Galapogos island turtle lives around 150 years. The greenland shark has an outstanding lifespan of 500 years or more. The average dog lives only 7 to 10 years; the avgerage fruit fly lives a meger 24hrs. Humans worldwide have a livespan according to Dr. Google of 71.5 years. So why the vast differences in biological lifespan? More or less we are all eating the same types of things, breath the same air, live with others in the same areas, yet we can live right next to a man who lives easily to be 100, then a neighbhor two doors down who only lives to be in thier late 20’s. So what is the secret to longevity? Turns out science now has zeroed in on a thing called telomeres and they just might have found the answer to living to extreme old age.
What is a Telomere?
Telomeres (tel-uh-meer) are from the Greek telos (end) and meros (part). Telomeres are the caps at the end of each strand of DNA which protect our chromosomes, like the plastic tips at the end of shoelaces and are found to be an essential part of human cells that affect how our cells age.
Without the coating, shoelaces become frayed until they can no longer do their job, just as without telomeres, DNA strands become damaged and our cells can’t do their job. So is long lifespan as simple as those with short telomeres live shorter lives than those with long or healthy telomeres. It might just be and TA- Sciences believes they have found a natural substance called cycloastragenol that lengthens telomeres naturally. Whats even more fascinating is that research is proving this to be true. Watch this segment from ABC News.
The Science Behind This Theory
DNA makes up all of the cells in our body. It is the genetic material that makes us who we are. And every organ in our body (skin, liver, heart, etc.) is made up of cells. So, telomeres are vital to our health.
Our cells replenish by copying themselves. This happens constantly throughout our lives. Telomeres get shorter each time a cell copies itself, but the important DNA stays intact. Same effect as coping a master in a copy machine, then replacing it with what was just copied and then copy that until all your left with is something unrecognizable. (Which is why we look different at 90 then we do at 25.)
Eventually, telomeres get too short to do their job, causing our cells to stop functioning properly. Therefore, telomeres act as the aging clock in every cell. They also can shorten through stress, smoking, obesity, lack of exercise, and poor diet.(Do these sound familiar?)
So What can Lengthen Telomeres naturally?
Turns out the answer as mentioned above is a substance called Cycloastragenol. Cycloastragenol is a molcule isolated from various species in the genus of Astragalus that is purported to have telomerase activation activity. Cycloastragenol was studied by Geron Corporation and sold to T.A. Sciences in early 2013 who are developing it as a product named TA-65.
In late 2013, dietary supplement company RevGenetics released their conclusions on TA-65 that showed it is the single molecule cycloastragenol used in TA-65. More recently, TA Sciences state (among other things) that the active ingredient in TA-65 is cycloastragenol.
