GROUND BREAKING RESEARCH BY NOBEL LAUREATE SCIENTIST DR ELIZABETH BLACKBURN PROVES THAT OUR PACE OF AGEING DEPENDS ON OUR ATTITUDES AND LIFESTYLE.

Since ages humans have been curious to know the ways to live longer and healthier. In last few years scientists have come closer to answer this question. Dr Elizabeth Blackburn is one of them who won the Nobel Prize for doing her pioneering research in the field of science of longevity. Her ground breaking research is about the telomeres.

What are Telomeres?

CellOur cellular DNA which stores all the information for day to day functioning is packed inside the nucleus of our cells as chromosomes. Each time the cell divides the DNA needs to be replicated to transfer it to the new cells. Telomeres are small cap like structures at the ends of these chromosomes which protects our DNA from getting lost in the process of cell division.

Since we all start our journey as single cell in our mother’s womb our cells continue to divide till we attain adult mass of cells and thereafter old and worn out cells are constantly replaced by the new and agile ones to keep us going. During this process telomeres are under constant pressure to protect our chromosomes and there are repair mechanisms in place to keep these caps intact. When these caps get too short then our cells lose the ability to divide and renew and as a result we start showing signs of aging.

What Did the Scientist Study?

Dr Elizabeth was curious to know about the factors that affect the size of the telomeres. In her study of care giving mothers of chronically affected disabled children she found that number of years of continued stressful life was directly proportional to the shortening of telomeres. More importantly she found that it was not the stress itself that was responsible for shortening of telomeres but it was the degree of perception of stress which determined the affect on the length of telomeres. Mothers who took it positively as a challenge did not show any shortening of telomeres.

Dr Elizabeth also found that 12min of meditation when done for two months brought positive mental attitudes in participants and made them resilient to bear stressful conditions and gave protection to their telomeres.

What Strengthens Our Telomeres?

The Telomere Effect CoverShe discovered that when we eat raw plant food in form of fresh fruits and veggies, when we have a refreshing sleep, when we work with mental focus, when we have purpose in life and when we pray and meditate we strengthen our telomeres and thus slow down our ageing.

What is the Carry Home Message for Us?

We all go through many different events throughout our lives. But events in themselves have no power to affect us. It all depends on our attitude with which we face them. When we face our negative life events with a positive frame of mind seeing them as a challenge to strengthen us then they we remain impervious to their deleterious effects.

Yoga is an ancient science that offers us tools to bring positive changes to our life style. Paramhansa Yogananda was a modern yogi who made the ancient Indian teachings of Yoga and Vedanta simple enough to practice in day to day life. He often said that simplifying life is the best way to live a stress free life. When we live for higher purpose, a disciplined life of moderation it is a sure recipe of happy and successful life.

Author of this article is a Physician, Researcher and Lifestyle Educator, Yoga and Meditation Teacher from Ananda Sangha, Faculty at SKN Medical College, Pune

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