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Telomere Testing: What’s Your Real Age?

This past Wednesday, I finally did it. I rolled up my sleeve and had my blood drawn for Telomere testing!

 

The needle stick was inconsequential to me since I routinely get serum lab tests and also nutritional IV therapies. Just as I counsel and plan with all of my patients regarding everything from thyroid to toxic metals, I also devise my own therapies to correct, tweak, and improve my health markers. I have had my own major challenges, so I know personally that initial gut reaction to lab results!

 

However, Telomere testing kicks it up a notch regarding true aging. Telomeres are sections of DNA at the end of every chromosome that serve as a cap to your genetic material. Think of them as the small plastic strands on the end of a shoe lace.

 

Each time one of your 100 trillion cells divide and replicate, the new strand becomes shorter which causes the cell to age. By evaluating the Telomere length on white blood cells, we can assess biological age versus chronological age. The higher the score, the “younger” the cells are, and thus, the goal is to slow the loss of Telomere lengths.

“All I want for Christmas is a Healthy Telomere Length!”

One of the new aspects of optimal aging involves measuring the tiny fragments of DNA found at the end of each chromosome.  These caps called telomeres prevent the tips from fraying – much like the plastic tips on shoelaces prevent them from unraveling.  Each time a cell divides, the telomere shortens.  It’s like an internal […]