How Long Are Your Telomeres?

You may recall the word telomere from high school biology class. Telomeres are part of the chromosome. Located at the end of the chromosome, telomeres help to protect it from damage. When a cell divides the telomeres shorten because they are essentially divided in half-one telomore half for each new cell. This may all seem irrelevant except for the fact that telomere length can actually be predictive of health and longevity and recent studies have found that certain controllable factors affect telomere length.
Generally speaking, shorter telomeres are unfavorable as they are a sign that your cells are getting old and have divided many times. Telomere shortening has been associated with increased cancer risk, heart disease, and premature aging. Some shortening is inevitable with age but excessive alcohol consumption has also been associated with telomere shortening. One study found that participants who consumed 4 or more drinks per day had drastically shorter telomeres than non-drinkers (almost half the length). Researchers know that excessive alcohol consumption leads to increased inflammation and oxidative stress and this is what is believed to accelerate telomere shortening.
On the bright side, another study on people with heart disease found that those who consumed the highest amounts of EPA and DHA (omega-3 fats found in fish) over a 5 year period had the least telomere shortening and those who consumed the lowest amounts of EPA and DHA had the most shortening. Although more research is needed, it appears that omega-3 fats may be protective against telomere shortening.



Bottom Line: There is no way to know the length of your telomeres without stepping into a laboratory, but you can keep them as long as possible by keeping alcohol consumption moderate (no more than 1-2 drinks/day) and eating fish at least 2 times per week (for 500-1,000 mg EPA and DHA a day).