HEALTH NEWS

What’s Your Cellular Age? How Telomeres and Mitochondria Impact Aging

By Dr. Linda J. Dobberstein, DC, Board Certified in Clinical Nutrition

October 30, 2023

Do you feel like you are aging fast? Do you lack the stamina, recovery capacity, muscle strength, or immune resilience that you once had in your youth? Or have gray hair before your time? These quality of life and longevity predictors are directly impacted by the effects of oxidative stress on telomeres and mitochondria. While you can’t stop the calendar from turning, you can help your body biologically age well by supporting your telomeres and mitochondria!

Healthy Aging

Healthy aging affects your whole body. It’s not just wrinkles, gray hair, or moving about a little slower. Aging well and longevity affects everything about you. Memory and cognitive function, joints, bones and muscle, body composition, blood sugar and blood pressure, gastrointestinal, liver, kidney, and immune function and other tissues are affected by cell division and telomeres.

Cell Division and Telomeres

Whether it is healing a scrape on your skin or changes of your intestinal lining, or with bones, blood, hair, reproductive organs, or other tissues, cellular division is going on in your body all the time. It is an energy intensive complex process involving telomeres and mitochondria amongst other things.

Inside your cells is the nucleus. It contains genes arranged along twisted, double-stranded molecules of DNA called chromosomes. At the ends of the chromosomes are sections of DNA sequences called telomeres. They are like the aglet or plastic tip at the end of your shoelace.

Telomeres play three major roles in health. They help organize each of your 46 chromosomes in the nucleus of cells. They protect the ends of chromosomes from becoming frayed or tangled and losing genetic material. They are protective of the chromosome during cell division.

Telomeres, however, are sensitive to oxidative stress from cell division, unhealthy diet, lifestyle, and stress which causes the tips of the telomeres to shorten. Shortening of telomeres is part of the aging process. Slowing down this process and even lengthening telomeres is possible.

Causes of Telomere Shortening

Factors known to cause shorter telomeres include obesity, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular issues. Furthermore, an unhealthy diet, smoking, air pollution, sedentary activity, stress, instant coffee, gut flora imbalances, chronic low-grade inflammation, mitochondrial stress, age, drugs, and other factors cause increased oxidative stress and shortening of telomeres.

Telomeres and Mitochondrial Health

Mitochondrial health also impacts telomere length. Things that contribute to mitochondrial dysfunction cause telomere stress. Stressed mitochondria produce increased amounts of highly damaging reactive oxygen species (ROS). This triggers breakage of DNA strands, increased production of hydrogen peroxide and other pro-inflammatory compounds inside cells. As a result, telomeres shorten at a faster rate.

Simultaneously, when telomeres are damaged, it stresses and reprograms mitochondria so they age faster. Energy levels, cell membrane electrical activity, signaling mechanisms, immune vitality, and other cellular energetic changes decline. Ongoing oxidative stress damages mitochondrial function and shortens telomeres leading to age-related decline and changes in health.

More information about mitochondria may be found in the article Mitochondria – Drugs that Injure and What Mitochondria Injury Looks Like

Hydrogen Peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide, the same compound you might use for killing germs or bleaching color from fabrics, is also produced by mitochondria undergoing oxidative stress. Increased production of hydrogen peroxide and ROS from mitochondrial oxidative stress leads to loss of pigment in your hair and other age-related changes.

Perhaps you have noticed someone’s hair turn gray quickly after a period of stress. This natural change reflects increased hydrogen peroxide and ROS free radicals affecting the telomeres and mitochondria in the hair follicles.

More information may be found in the article Premature Gray Hair? Check Your Nutrition

Longevity Biomarkers

In addition to gray hair, there are several biomarkers for health and wellbeing that can help you measure your longevity and general cellular health. These include grip strength, walking speed, standing balance test, speed and ability to get up from a chair, bone mass, muscle mass, waist circumference, body composition, and systolic blood pressure.

Other commonly used laboratory markers to evaluate longevity include Lipoprotein (a)/LP(a) and cholesterol lipids, Vo2 Max, zonulin, homocysteine, C-reactive protein, hemoglobin A1C, LPS (lipopolysaccharides), IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-alpha, APOE-4 and others.

Children, Diet, and Telomeres

Everyone knows that children need good nutrition for growth and development. Their diet impacts their telomere health too! A recent review article in children and adolescents ages 2-18 years showed the effects of dietary choices and telomere length.

Results showed that “a higher intake of dairy products, simple sugar, sugar-sweetened beverages, cereals, especially white bread, and a diet high in glycemic load were factors associated with telomere shortening.”

A diet with higher consumption of fish, seeds and nuts, fruits, vegetables, especially green leafy and cruciferous vegetables, olives, legumes, and polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3s) protected telomere length.

Working Recipe for a Long and Healthy Life

The research publication entitled, “Nutrition and lifestyle in healthy aging: the telomerase challenge” describes core principles for longevity. Their summary stated, “Follow a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts, olive oil, fish, a small amount of red wine and exercise at least 20 minutes a day three times a week, avoiding obesity, smoke and alcohol, represents the working recipe for long and healthy life.”

Important Foods and Nutrients for Telomeres and Mitochondria

Several food groups and nutrients positively impact and protect telomeres and mitochondria. Critical nutrients include omega-3 fatty acids (DHA, EPA, ALA) and polyphenols and phytochemicals from plants.

Plant polyphenols and phytochemicals are made up of different categories such as flavonoids and non-flavonoids.

Flavonoid groups and examples:

• Catechins: apple, barley, cacao, green tea, peaches

• Quercetin: capers, cranberry, chokeberry, radicchio, red onion

• Naringin, hespertin: grapefruit, orange, other citrus

• Apigenin, luteolin: broccoli, celery, chamomile tea, green pepper, parsley, peppermint, rosemary

• Daidzein, genistein: fava beans, lupin, soybeans

• Anthocyanidins: blackberry, black raspberry, blueberry, black grape, cherry, plum, raspberry, strawberry

Non-flavonoid groups and examples:

• Lignans: brassica vegetables (turnips, rutabaga, radish, wasabi, horseradish, kohlrabi, kale, cabbage, Bok choy, collard greens, watercress, arugula, mustard, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts), whole grains, sesame seeds

• Stilbenes: resveratrol/pterostilbene from grapes, blueberry, raspberry, mulberries

• Phenolic acids: berries, coffee, horseradish, olive oil, onions, peaches, pomegranate, prunes

• Coumarin: turmeric/curcumin

Additional Nutrients and Telomeres

Telomeres, benefit by numerous nutrients. Notable nutrients include vitamin A and carotenoids, lutein, zeaxanthin, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E tocotrienols, and B vitamins especially folate, thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), B12, selenium, zinc, copper, magnesium, and others. Mitochondria also require these nutrients and others for their function and protection.

You Can Change Telomere Length!

Even a small amount of dietary improvement can change your body and support healthy aging. Outcomes of a recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) showed that for each 20 mcg increase of dietary selenium intake, there was 0.42 % longer telomere length in middle-aged and older adults in America. Other results showed that for every 1 mg increase in dietary magnesium intake, it was associated with a 0.20 % longer telomere length in all participants.

However, eating one broccoli floret or an apple each day is simply not enough to fulfill your nutritional needs and protect your telomeres and mitochondria for lifelong health. Strive for 5-13 servings of colorful fruits and vegetables each day. Make sure to consume omega-3 rich foods in your diet. Daily Protector Eye & Immune and Daily DHA are helpful supplements to boost your antioxidant and omega-3 intake.

More detailed information about omega-3 rich foods and dietary needs may be found in the article Omega-3s DHA and EPA Needed for Lung and Muscle Health.

Do you look young or old for your age? Have you noticed your gray hair or perhaps even in your adolescent or young adult? Do you have dry, flaky skin or noticed an increase in wrinkles? If you have been under stress or have watched someone age rapidly under stress and/or has a nutritionally poor diet, mitochondria and telomeres are under oxidative stress.

Longevity, quality of life and health, telomeres, and mitochondria are deeply affected by lifelong habits. In addition to your diet, lifestyle, and exercise routine, supplementation is highly supportive when you need or desire optimal support.

Wellness Resources offers many of the above plant polyphenols, nutrients, and omega-3s in nutritionally relevant amounts. Customer favorites include:

• Leptinal – Omega-3 DHA, tocotrienol vitamin E, and pomegranate

• Daily Protector Eye & Immune – Broad spectrum antioxidant formula

• Cardio Helper – Anthocyanidins, polyphenols, resveratrol

• Green Tea Extract, – Catechins, EGCG

• Repair Plus – Turmeric, quercetin

• Daily Energy Multiple Vitamin – Coenzyme B vitamins, selenium, and more

• RelaxaMag – High absorption magnesium

• Skin Rejuvenator– Polyphenols, green tea extract.

Additional resources:

Hair Loss and Skin Wrinkles Reflect Mitochondrial Aging

Dry, Flaky Skin? Nourish from Within