What is a telomere?
Telomeres Protect our Chromosomes
Like plastic ends of a shoelace. Without plastic ends the shoelaces become frayed until they fall apart. So, too without telomeres, DNA strands become frayed until they fall apart. Once this happens cells cannot operate correctly.
What we Loose with Age
We inherit telomeres from our parents, and our telomeres get shorter as we age.
Telomere shortening has a negative effect on our health.
Telomere shortening is the main cause of age-related break down of our cells
When telomeres get too short, our cells cannot operate correctly, which causes our cells to degenerate and die.
As cells divide Telomere shortening happens. All cells are effected by Telomere shortening, some more than others such as of skin, hair and the immune system. They are most affected by telomere shortening because they divide more often.
So, telomeres act like an aging clock in every cell.
Telomere shortening happens as we age, but telomeres can also be shortened by other factors such as stress, exposure to chemicals, smoking, obesity, lack of exercise and a poor diet