Clean living 'slows cell ageing'

Taking more exercise and eating the right foods may help increase levels of an enzyme vital for guarding against age-related cell damage, work suggests.

Among 24 men asked to adopt healthy lifestyle changes for a US study in The Lancet Oncology, levels of telomerase increased by 29% on average. Telomerase repairs and lengthens telomeres, which cap and protect the ends of chromosomes housing DNA. As people age, telomeres shorten and cells become more susceptible to dying.  It is the damage and death of cells that causes ageing and disease in people. ...

They asked 30 men, all with low-risk prostate cancers, to take part in a three-month trial of comprehensive lifestyle changes.

These consisted of a diet high in fruit and vegetables, supplements of vitamins and fish oils, an exercise regimen and classes in stress management, relaxation techniques and breathing exercises. Telomerase activity was measured at the beginning of the trial and again at the end.

Among the 24 men who had sufficient data for analysis, blood levels of telomerase increased by 29% on average. Increases in telomerase activity were linked with decreases in "bad" LDL cholesterol and decreases in one measure of stress - intrusive thoughts. The researchers say it is too early to tell if the boost in telomerase levels will translate to a change in telomere length.  - whyhealth

Telomerase is an enzyme that adds specific DNA sequence repeats ("TTAGGG" in all vertebrates) to the 3' ("three prime") end of DNA strands in the telomere regions, which are found at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes. - wiki

You may wonder if you could just take telomerase and live forever. The answer is, no, you have enough already.

activity of telomerase and the length of the telomeres were intricately tied to programmed cell death (apoptosis), in so far as cells monitor their telomere lengths and commit suicide if they sense that they've replicated too many times. As it happens, this is very important in tissues like the skin and the lining of the gut, where new cells are constantly made as older cells slough off and die. If the older cells don't die but keep dividing instead, the result is more cells in the area than you want in a structure commonly called a tumor. If these cells find a way out of their tumor, they can become cancerous. In fact, "immortalization" was one of the first hallmarks described for cancerous cells, and is vital for tumor formation. The body normally prevents this by shutting off the telomerase gene in cells that are destined to be sloughed.

So, giving someone activated telomerase, or altering their endogenous telomerase genes to make them constitutively active would be a really bad idea. In fact, all of the cells in your body that are supposed to be proliferative express sufficient telomerase to last you throughout your lifetime.

It is worth noting then that aging is not caused by your cells wearing out (since they don't), but is caused by the connective matrices (mostly collagen and elastin) around the cells wearing out. - madsci.org

Collagen is "A fibrous protein found in skin, bone, cartilage, tendon, and other connective tissues."  How do you protect or regrow collagen and elastin?  In addition to vitamin C, amino acids, the right growth factors and hormones, there are many claims...

Phytessence Wakame is an exotic kelp, native to the Japanese Sea. It works by blocking a harmful enzyme in your body called hyaluronidase. Hyaluronidase breaks down hyaluronic acid in your skin.... without hyaluronic acid, the elastin and collagen fibers lose their "glue," which leads to a loss of youthful appearance and dark eye circles.... "Hyaluronan is also a major component of skin, where it is involved in tissue repair."

Cynergy TK actually stimulates your own collagen to grow again. In fact, it is proven in clinical trials to stimulate not only the regrowth of collagen but also elastin, thereby promoting firmness and elasticity. In short, fewer wrinkles, and more youthful, healthier looking skin. It may help improve your skin's ability to retain its needed natural moisture. Indeed, studies show a sustained 14% improvement in skin moisture retention over 18 days. Studies on Cynergy TK also show a sustained improvement in skin elasticity of 42% over 18 days.

Haloxyl - This new, patented ingredient improves skin around the eye area by stimulating natural enzymes that help strengthen under-eye area capillaries. Studies demonstrate the effectiveness of Haloxyl™ and its ability to increase skin density to better support the microvascular network in eye area skin and alleviate inflammation.

Manuka honey is from bees who feed on the flowers of the Manuka bush, also known as the "Tea Tree" to produce a honey that has anti-bacterial properties. Tea tree oil is commonly from the related Melaleuca tree native to Australia and is used as a topical antibiotic and antifungal for wounds that fail to close.

Avocado Oil Unrefined.... will have a strong, green aroma and is rich in Vitamin A and D as well as lecithin, potassium, and chlorophyll. It is a very moisturizing oil and especially beneficial for rash, eczema, mature skin, parched skin, and aging skin. -colose

Recall that proteins are made of amino acids.

What is a protein? Our bodies can make about 100,000 different kinds of
proteins, each one having a special role to play. All proteins in our
bodies are made up of small molecules, called amino acids, linked
together in coiled chains.

Can our bodies make more elastin to keep from aging?

Normally the body stops making elastin once the body reaches maturity soon after puberty. A geneticist would say ..."the gene for elastin is turned off just
after puberty." In other words, once the body has made its elastin, it
will not make that protein any more. - wsf

Not usually, but some adults with lung damage do produce new elastin. Gene therapy may one day allow us to turn our elastin genes back on and repair our bodies.