20-30% of your lifespan is determined by your genes. The rest can be controlled to a large extent by optimising your environmental and individual behaviours. Positive changes to the way you eat, exercise and behave may keep your telomeres which act as buffers to the end of the chromosomes of your DNA and protect your genes integrity. Every time your cell replicates the telomere length shortens and eventually, they become so short the cell will die. If you have shorter telomeres than someone else the same age as you, you may age more quickly than someone else with longer telomeres.
The good news is your behaviours may be able to increase the length of your telomeres which means preventing diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and cancer and can increase your lifespan. One study conducted over 5 years found subjects who ate a largely plant based diet, included stress relief activities like meditation, moderate exercise in your leisure time (not as part of your work) and social time with family and friends resulted with an increased telomere length by a huge 10%.
Top nutrients of importance within the plant-based diet included:
- Folate
This helps produce new and healthy cells in your body. You can find folate in foods like dark leafy greens, vegetables like spinach, brussels sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, lentils and beans, fortified cereal and grain products like enriched rice and breads.
- Vitamin C, E and Selenium
This trio combats the free radicals which are a factor which damages and can kill your cells. Fruits and vegetables are full of vitamin C, vitamin E can be found in nuts, seeds and vegetable oils. Selenium can be found in brazil nuts, seafood, beef, poultry, rice and other grain products. You can get your daily dose of selenium in just one brazil nut!
- Omega-3 fat
This type of essential polyunsaturated fat, meaning your body cannot produce it by itself, promotes brain and heart health. This type of fat can be found in fatty fish like salmon, herring, mackerel and sardines. Vegetarian sources include canola, soy, flaxseed and algal oils and kelp.
- Vitamin D
This fat-soluble vitamin allows calcium to be absorbed in your body and may help prevent a variety of chronic conditions. The sun is your main source but can also be found in fatty fish, egg yolks, dairy products and UV exposed mushrooms.
Take home message: the key to longevity is a lifestyle approach and there is no magical single food or factor to increase the length of your telomeres. The Mediterranean diet is one example of a lifestyle approach which includes all the above nutrition components and has been shown to improve your lifespan. Saying this a well-planned low carb diet can also tick all these nutrition components. So who’s up for living longer?
