Stress Kills Right?
Ever since the emergence of the so-called Type A personality some 50 years ago, scientists have struggled to understand the relationship between stress, disease, and aging. We all kinda knew there had to be a relationship, but the data did not always bear it out. All kinds of statistical machinations were needed to make things
Fish oil and Telomeres – it’s all about length
I want to believe; I really do! I want to believe that fish oil, specifically MY fish oil, is a telomerase activator! But there is this little thing called lying that I am not willing to do. So here is the truth: I sent my fish oil to Sierra Sciences for telomerase evaluation and it did not
Fat from conception – stacking the deck against little Johnny!
We spend a lot of time looking for reasons why we are fat. There has to be some other answer besides too much sitting and too much eating. While personally I don’t believe there are a lot of other meaningful answers to this ever-growing problem, there is a recent study that is quite interesting. A
Food for life – Broccoli and Telomeres
Many herbal and plant-derived compounds show anti-cancer activity. Sadly, until someone figures out how to make the big drug pay day by changing them just enough to patent them, no one listens. This is especially true of doctors who forget that 90% of drugs come from “refinement” of natural sources and the other 10% that
Telomere maintenance – We who are about to die Salute You
In my most recent blog, The Monster is Not Born Immortal, I discussed in real time the results of Dr Maria Blasco’s most recent paper using both telomerase over expression and Calorie Restriction. As usual, I got a bevy of comments, many of which were nasty grams and did not get published for that reason,
Hard as Nails versus Tough as Nails – more than a name!
I had an interesting discussion with a friend of mine the other day about character, specifically strength of character. The phrase “Hard as nails” came up over and over again in almost every imaginable context: business, physicality, relationships, dealing with people, friends, family members and so on. My friend then said to me, “Doc, you
The monster is not born immortal: When telomerase drives cancer
A recent German study has found an association between familial and non familial malignant melanoma and the telomerase gene. I think we should talk about this because it shows where the seemingly unending association with telomerase and cancer came/comes from. First concept: Cancer cells are not normal. They are the result not only of loss
Rat empathy, stress and telomere shortening
It may seem strange to tie all of these seemingly dissimilar things together but bear with me and all will be revealed. As you probably know by now rats share many things in common with people. Some people more than others! There are similarities in biochemistry, structure and yes, behavior – all of which makes
Life without Twinkies – Calorie restriction and Telomerase
Bottom line of this whole blog: Supplemental Telomerase Activation is Required for increases in Longevity whether you calorie restrict or not. There are probably three or four studies now that show one simple irrefutable fact: you must turn on and increase telomerase expression to improve longevity. Most of them have come from Maria Blasco’s lab in
Lengthen Telomeres With Your Food Choices
One of the most vexing problems I face as an expert on telomeres and telomerase activation is the issue of diet and telomere length. The problems come in many forms such as using vaguely related or truly unrelated studies to support an eating agenda, using poorly designed studies with inadequate measurements to claim positive results,
Planning for Fido’s future- telomere length and doggie longevity
We sure do love our pets! For some people a pet is the culmination of everything they seem to want and need in a companion. As a matter of fact some people spend a life time searching for a partner that has the qualities of their pet. With unquestioning love, unflinching loyalty and total obedience
TA-65 demonstrates superiority in a head to head trial
I have said at least a dozen times, you need human studies to document the effect of something in humans! While I freely admit there are probably a dozen or so compounds that turn on telomerase in the lab, TA-65 is the only one with human studies. Recently an actual head to head study was
What Kind of Exercise is Best for Telomere Health?
There has been a lot of focus on “Long slow distance” (LSD) exercise and telomere health. I have oft quoted the “German Runners Study” which was actually a paper presentation and not a fully published work at the time that it got so much press. That study showed that men who ran at high levels (50 miles
Measuring Telomere Length – The Long and Short of It – Featuring “The truths, lies and drama in the slam dunk world of Your Longevity Markers!”
Warning: this blog is long, somewhat complicated, very controversial, likely to make me enemies, likely to be 100% true and an honest reflection of my personal experience and likely to alienate anyone with a different agenda! So be it. Try to focus long enough to read it all, because it will do your telomeres a
The Truth about Telomerase activation and Resveratrol – The Long and Winding Road
I find myself saying the same thing over and over again and I still see the same baseless assumptions all over the internet. So, with my usual cut-through-the-BS attitude, I feel compelled to do what is necessary to protect the truth – YET AGAIN! There are several misconceptions that continue to float around in the
Why you may have short telomeres
Note the abbreviation “kb” means kilobases as in thousands of base pairs. So 3 kb = 3000 base pairs. At a conference I spoke at recently, I was asked why telomerase does not replicate the “full DNA duplex of telomeres”. I was not sure if they were asking why telomeres shorten, if there is an
Does being a fitness fanatic make you live longer?
I will use the standard marketing style — “Yes, but it’s not what you think!” In order to effectively answer your question, I think we’d need to define fanatic and that of course is subject to interpretation. The obituaries are peppered with athletic superstars dying before their age. Grete Waitz died at 57 of cancer.
The sad failure of calorie restriction
I can’t say it’s a surprise that calorie restriction has failed to extend life in higher primates. It was at least successful in flies, worms and some lower mammals. I understand it has not led to mass gorging on the part of the CR society, who bravely soldier on in the face of this recent
How do telomeres protect the ends of the chromosome?
Telomeres protect the genetic information by multiple methods. First, as cited below, DNA polymerase cannot replicate the ends of the chromosome. DNA polymerase is actually “too large” to stay on the single-stranded overhang of DNA that is left and literally falls off the end of the chromosome. There are biochemical and electromagnetic reasons it separates.
Don’t Swallow It!
This has been a gigantic week, for people like me at least. In the face of so much controversy about what I do and what I say and have in most cases said for years, I have never been more clear that I am on the right path. As a very brief recap, here are the
The problem with freedom of speech
We have an election coming up and I am all for freedom, but in response to an article sent to me for evaluation on a widely read internet site, I wrote the piece below. The central theme of the article was, just because there were two well-publicized “fish oil no good for your heart” reports