Searching for the Fountain of Youth

Photo:  A bakery in Paris.  

Eating the pastries there may not extend your life, but will make you smile.

On the day we submitted our last blog on Steps for Successful Aging, a new article appeared in the the New York Times.  It described a well-constructed study to look at the effects of running.  A sample of middle-aged men and women who did not exercise regularly were randomly assigned either to a control group or to one of three exercise conditions: endurance training, interval training or resistance training.  So unlike much of the literature, this study was a true experiment.  Findings would not likely be affected by prior differences in people who exercised and those who did not or any other artifacts.

The main outcome measure was telomerase activity.  For those of you who do not know about telomeres, they are ends of chromosomes that make cell division possible.  Each time a cell divides, telomeres become shorter.  The shortening process can lead eventually to cell death and are risk factors for certain types of illness and death.  Over the past several years, research has looked at factors associated with shorter telomeres (e.g., smoking, obesity, stress, and lack of exercise) and with lengthening telomeres, like diets high in antioxidants (e.g., omega-3 fatty acids), drinking green tea or red wine and exercise.

Exercise and maybe a little red wine now and then are good for us, but will they alter the aging process?  Scientists have long searched for single mechanisms—a single gene, a single substance, and now telomeres—that would slow the negative effects of aging. That is, of course, a worthwhile goal, but what the history of Gerontology suggests is that aging represents changes in multiple systems in the body that are not likely to be affected to a substantial degree by a single magic bullet.  Increases in one factor (length of telomeres) may have some positive effect, but other processes may over time limit benefits due to telomeres alone. There may also be individual differences in how we each respond to substances or activities that might affect the aging process, as well.  Think of the differences in how people respond to medications.  

There may also be unintended consequences of interventions.  In the exercise study, the results showed that endurance training and interval training led to increases in length in telomeres.  But intensive training can also contribute over time to damage to joints and other injuries. We could be adding days at the end of life when we are ill and disabled, but not extending the time when we are healthy and active.

So what is the take-home message.  We think it is to do the practical things that are likely to have benefits for our everyday functioning: moderate exercise and a reasonable but not austere diet.  Those are things that will contribute to the quality of our life, and that is what matters.

Oh, by the way, dark chocolate also contributes to telomere length.

Here is the article on exercise and telomeres in the New York Times:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/12/well/move/is-aerobic-exercise-the-key-to-successful-aging.html

For a primer on telomeres, see:    https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/basics/telomeres/

Here is an article that summarizes how lifestyle may affect telomeres: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3370421/