01 Aug New Podcast – The Telomere Effect
In their new podcast, Heather Wright and Luke Wright discuss the recent research on Telomeres, their proven effect on the ageing process, and how we can actively protect our Telomeres to slow down ageing.
So, who wants to live forever? Or, who wants advice on how to live a longer, healthier, and more active life?
In her book The Telomere Effect: A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier, Longer, Elizabeth Blackburn explains her Nobel Prize winning research on the importance of the cellular structure in protecting our healthy life span. Telomeres are the protective tips at the end of chromosomes, made of repeating short sequences of DNA sheathed in special proteins. During our lives, the telomeres wear down so that they cannot protect the chromosomes and the cells do not replenish. As they shorten, the telomeres are less effective. This cellular breakdown or ageing process is malleable as Blackburn and her team discovered. The enzyme telomerase adds DNA to the chromosome ends and this slows down and partially reverses the shortening.
Blackburn’s book explores the different lifestyle habits we can adopt which actively promote telomerase such as improving or diet, taking regular exercise, getting enough sleep, and also how we think.
In their podcast “Who wants to live forever?”, Heather and Luke discuss this area in particular. What kind of thinking directly affects the telomeres? And how can we actively change our thinking to improve our long term ageing process and maintain healthy cellular structure?
We discuss how our thinking, attitude, and beliefs all form habits which strengthen our dendrites in the brain is an integral part of the Advance courses. The form of a habit in thinking also strengthens the telomere and prevents it from wearing down. Our thinking genuinely can change our cellular structure.
Heather and Luke explore the three types of thinking which affect the telomeres in the podcast, and give practical advice on how we can alter our thinking process as identified by Blackburn and her team:
- cynical hostility
- pessimism
- rumination
As biological research highlights how our cellular structure is malleable in a direct result from our thinking and behaviour, we can take more responsibility and make positive choices to maintain a healthier mind and body, and slow down – even reverse – the ageing process. We have that power!