4 ms·

Stress and Aging: a Question of Attitude

7 points by rfreytag 16y ago

xiaoma 16y ago
I was already familiar with this research in relation to distance athletes. For marathoners, the difference is extreme. They typically have telemeres the length of people many years younger. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/phys-ed-how-exercising-keeps-your-cells-young/ http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/phys-ed-how-exercis...
- adrianwaj 16y ago
  "Exercise may be affecting telomerase activity and not telomeres directly." Maybe exercise is affecting HGH and this is affecting telomerase. Do glands secrete telomerase? I'm not sure, but the pituitary gland secretes HGH and that could systemically affect telomerase. If so, then it stands to reason that rapidly decreasing HGH in somatopause in one's early 30's is the cause of aging because HGH is not as readily available to prop up telomeres with telomerase anymore, unless you're exercising... but: I was under the impression that many runners look haggard, and this was due to decreased levels of COQ10 and more oxidative stress. Perhaps increased physical activity can go both ways too. I've also read about runners having scarring on the heart. My approach to exercising and diet is simple. Eat healthy, continue learning about food and health (I started many years ago) and with any excess energy, go do some exercise but only to one's limit, maybe slightly over, if that. Keep eating moderately, and exercise again when it feels right. Listen to your body and respond to it with a palette of acquired responses (through learning and experimentation.)
  - xiaoma 16y ago
    It's almost certainly not due to HGH. Other forms of exercise, weightlifing in particular, lead to greater increases in HGH. But weight training hasn't been correlated with longer telomeres.
adrianwaj 16y ago
"The rapidly dividing cells in a tumour soon hit the Hayflick limit and the process is brought to a screeching halt." I thought the problem with tumours was that they can turn on telomerase so they only get bigger and never reach Hayflick. "Telomerase has been detected in human cancer cells and is found to be 10-20 times more active than in normal body cells." http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/cellbio/shay-wright/intro/facts/sw_facts.html http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/cellbio/shay-wright/intro/fac...

7 points by rfreytag 16y ago

I was already familiar with this research in relation to distance athletes. For marathoners, the difference is extreme. They typically have telemeres the length of people many years younger. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/phys-ed-how-exercising-keeps-your-cells-young/ http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/phys-ed-how-exercis...

adrianwaj 16y ago
"Exercise may be affecting telomerase activity and not telomeres directly." Maybe exercise is affecting HGH and this is affecting telomerase. Do glands secrete telomerase? I'm not sure, but the pituitary gland secretes HGH and that could systemically affect telomerase. If so, then it stands to reason that rapidly decreasing HGH in somatopause in one's early 30's is the cause of aging because HGH is not as readily available to prop up telomeres with telomerase anymore, unless you're exercising... but: I was under the impression that many runners look haggard, and this was due to decreased levels of COQ10 and more oxidative stress. Perhaps increased physical activity can go both ways too. I've also read about runners having scarring on the heart. My approach to exercising and diet is simple. Eat healthy, continue learning about food and health (I started many years ago) and with any excess energy, go do some exercise but only to one's limit, maybe slightly over, if that. Keep eating moderately, and exercise again when it feels right. Listen to your body and respond to it with a palette of acquired responses (through learning and experimentation.)
- xiaoma 16y ago
  It's almost certainly not due to HGH. Other forms of exercise, weightlifing in particular, lead to greater increases in HGH. But weight training hasn't been correlated with longer telomeres.

adrianwaj 16y ago

"The rapidly dividing cells in a tumour soon hit the Hayflick limit and the process is brought to a screeching halt." I thought the problem with tumours was that they can turn on telomerase so they only get bigger and never reach Hayflick. "Telomerase has been detected in human cancer cells and is found to be 10-20 times more active than in normal body cells." http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/cellbio/shay-wright/intro/facts/sw_facts.html http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/cellbio/shay-wright/intro/fac...