Scientifically, humans should be able to live to the age of 120 years. But how many people do you know that lived to see 120 or, for that matter, even 90 years old? Studies have found that Humans are not living as long as we possibly could because of poor diet and over-exposure to excessive toxins, carcinogens and stress.
Biologists are able to determine “biological” results from looking at an individual’s telomere. The telomere acts as a cap that holds the DNA strands together in our cells. Each time a cell reproduces, the telomere gets shorter, and when it gets too short, the DNA strands fall apart and the cell dies. By measuring the length of the telomere, doctors can figure out how much time the cells have left before they die, and thus how much you have aged.
While looking at the telomere of a specific cell cannot accurately determine the precise age of all cells in your body, it does provide a relative indication of how fast you are aging overall. If your telomeres are shorter than the average length for your age group, you are more pre-disposed toward age-related illness, like cancer or heart disease. The presence of short telomeres should act as a warning sign, prompting you to make some lifestyle changes, including a better diet, more exercise, more sleep and an increase of vitamin supplements.
Do you think your biological age matches your chronological age? If not, you should consider making some lifestyle changes to prevent pre-mature aging and lower your risk of age-related disease.