Telomere Miracle

Book excerpt: What if everything you think you know about getting older and staying healthy is wrong? Ed Park, M.D., offers the revolutionary idea that disease and aging in humans all arises from a single source: genetic errors caused by shortening of telomeres, or the sequences of DNA at the ends of our chromosomes. Telomeres naturally wear down over time, and thus when cells replicate (as they do all the time in our bodies), they’re creating progressively poorer-quality duplicates of themselves, like making a Xerox of a Xerox of a Xerox. Ultimately, the body deteriorates, resulting in a range of ailments, many of which we associate with aging—from diabetes to hypertension to macular degeneration to cancer. Happily, Ed tells us, it’s possible to slow or even reverse this process and effectively turn back the clock. In The Telomere Miracle, he explains cutting-edge science in a lively style, using illustrations and metaphors ranging from auto parts to superheroes. Then he shows readers how they can intervene in the aging process by boosting the activity of the enzyme telomerase naturally by understanding and optimizing six key areas of breathing, mindset, sleep, exercise, diet, and supplements.