Telomere length is a marker of aging well and decreased susceptibility to chronic illness.

Like little caps on the ends of chromosomes to keep them strong and vital, telomeres preserve health.

You needn’t be a Buddhist monk or practice yoga asanas all day to benefit from these “new” life extenders.

They’re kind of like super glue. They work great and keep just about anything together for a long time if you take care of them. But if you leave the cap off? The magic glue dries up quickly and the entire bottle dies, with no way to revive it. Only the trash lies in its future.

It’s similar with telomeres and telomerase. At the tip of our chromosomes are telomeres, little “caps” that keep cells functioning well. The longer the telomere “caps,” the healthier the cells. Telomerase? Closely related, this enzyme is associated with keeping telomeres long and healthy. If telomerase decreases, and telomeres on cells shorten with age (basically fraying), this is associated with cellular........

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