Telomeres and Living Longer

Our company, Isagenix, is at the right place at the right time.  We are working with Dr. Bill Andrews, Sierra Labs, and John Anderson, founder of Isagenix, who are working on life extending natural supplement that will keep the teleomeres from shortening with age.  This article is from The TODAY Show interview with Dr. Andrews.  [Just a note:  Since Tom and I started using Product B, we have an abundance of energy and we feel so much better ... it is amazing!!  We love it!!!]

Science Behind “Living Forever”

On the TODAY Show, Dr. Andrews and his father, Ralph, exemplify what it means to defy aging through exercise and supplementation.

“Could people soon be living forever?” A story by Linda Carroll posted on MSN.com, based on TODAY Show reporting by Michelle Kosinski, brings more attention to this captivating question and to the scientists researching all aspects approaching it, including telomere biologist Bill Andrews, Ph.D.

In the story, Dr. Andrews is credited for his work in the development of a supplement that is said to help keep “telomeres from shortening with age.” The supplement, created by Isagenix Founder John Anderson in collaboration with Dr. Andrews, is Isagenix Product B™.

Carrol’s report describes telomeres, the complex non-coding DNA structures at the tips of chromosomes that act as protective caps, and how as they “become shorter, we deteriorate.”
Dr. Andrews is quoted as saying, “The literature is, I would say, 95 percent certain or better that if we can find ways to lengthen the telomeres, we are going to reverse aging.”

Telomeres? Tell Me More
As noted by Kosinski and Carrol, it’s hard to believe the day will soon come when people can live in perpetual youth. Skeptics are inclined to ask, What is the literature that Dr. Andrews speaks of? and What can we do now to make the most of the science behind healthy aging?
The facts are that the scientific literature on telomeres and their influence in aging that Dr. Andrews speaks of is as exciting and promising as it sounds, even leading to the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009.

Recent research at Harvard Medical School in Boston showed reversing telomere shortening in mice also reversed their aging (1). The lab also found a connection between telomere shortening and other known factors of aging—dysfunctional mitochondria and oxidative stress—adding evidence of a core pathway of aging that starts with telomere shortening (2).
In the video segment, Dr. Andrews and his father, Ralph, are seen following precisely the kind of lifestyle, according to data gleaned by recent studies, that best supports the length of their telomeres—namely, by performing daily exercise and taking Ageless Essentials Daily Pack with Product B.

Regular exercise is associated with telomere length, as is receiving optimal dosages of vitamins, minerals, and long-chain omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA (3-11). The nutrients are all needed, acting in concert, to maintain DNA and telomere integrity with age.
Evidence continues to mount showing that diet and lifestyle does greatly influence the speed of telomere shortening with age. Other behaviors that can help preserve telomeres are managing stress and maintaining a healthy weight (4, 12).

Isagenix System for “Youthful Aging”
At a time when Baby Boomers are reaching retirement age, Isagenix is investing heavily in telomere research and developing products that allow its customers to age more gracefully. The company’s Pillars of Health products—Cleanse for Life, IsaLean Shake, Ionix Supreme, and Ageless Essentials Daily Pack with Product B—are each intended to help address the problems of more rapid aging (caused by factors including obesity, toxicity, stress, and poor nutrition).
Product B is only the latest of Isagenix products to assist in defying aging, going a step beyond, and targeting underlying mechanisms that lead to telomere shortening. Specifically, the product acts to protect telomeres from an overabundance of free radicals with a combination of ingredients that promote antioxidant enzyme efficiency.

Experiments on cells performed in Dr. Andrews’s lab show Product B is capable of turning on expression of the enzyme telomerase, which restores telomere length. The research is fascinating for anyone interested in a longer, healthier life. More research in 2012 is set to find out what to expect of Product B in the future.
References

1. Sahin E, Colla S, Liesa M et al. Telomere dysfunction induces metabolic and mitochondrial compromise. Nature 2011;470:359-65.
2. Jaskelioff M, Muller FL, Paik JH et al. Telomerase reactivation reverses tissue degeneration in aged telomerase-deficient mice. Nature 2011;469:102-6.
3. Bendix L et al. Leukocyte telomere length and physical ability among Danish Twins age 70+. Mech Ageing Dev. 2011 Oct 12. doi: 10.1016/j.mad.2011.10.003
4. Puterman E, et al. The power of exercise: buffering the effect of chronic stress on telomere length. PLos One 2010 May 26;5(5):e1083.
5. Cherkas L, et al. The Association Between Physical Activity in Leisure Time and Leukocyte Telomere Length. Arch Intern Med 2008;168(2):154-158.
6. Paul L. Diet, nutrition and telomere length. J Nutr Biochem 2011. doi: 10.1016/j.jnutbio.2010.12.001
7. Cassidy A, De V, I, Liu Y et al. Associations between diet, lifestyle factors, and telomere length in women. Am J Clin Nutr 2010;91:1273-80.
8. Xu Q, Parks CG, DeRoo LA, Cawthon RM, Sandler DP, Chen H. Multivitamin use and telomere length in women. Am J Clin Nutr 2009;89:1857-63.
9. Richards JB et al. Homocysteine levels and leukocyte telomere length. Atherosclerosis 2008;200: 271-77.
10. Richards JB et al. Higher serum vitamin D concentrations are associated with longer leukocyte telomere length in women. Am J Clin Nutr 2007; 86: 1420-5.
11. Farzaneh-Far R et al. Associations of Marine Omega-3 Fatty Acid Levels with Telomeric Aging in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease. JAMA 2010; 303(3):250-7.
12. Kim S et al. Obesity and weight gain in adulthood and telomere length. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention 2009; 18: 816-20.