Although we can't see our chromosome components, a new meta-analysis shows that constantly exercising not only helps you but also keeps your chromosomes healthy.
According to newly published research, master athletes have longer telomeres which help chromosomes from not fraying.
How Running Keeps Your Chromosomes Healthy
As we age, jogging slower mile times when running is natural regardless of how fit you are. Aging affects many facets of life, especially in our own bodies. But don't let it discourage you because there is a myriad of reasons why you should maintain running as you age.
A new meta-analysis published in the journal Experimental Gerontology, suggests that there's a significant benefit to continued running -- down to the DNA level.
Researchers analyzed 11 published studies that compared lengths of telomere between 209 non-athletes and 240 master athletes in the same age group. The group of master athletes participated in high-level competitions for roughly 16 years on average.
Researchers found masters athletes not only had longer telomeres than their non-athlete counterparts but also had higher antioxidant capacities which meant they showed less chronic inflammation in their bodies.
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What Are Telomeres?
According to a manuscript publiseshed in the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health says that telomeres are DNA-protein structures that can be found on both ends of each chromosome. These proteins protect genomes from nucleolytic degradation and are necessary for repair and interchromosomal fusion.
Telomere length thus serves as a biological clock that determines a specific lifespan of a cell and an organism.
Recent findings show that telomere length, which can be affected by numerous lifestyle factors, can have significant effects on a person's pace of aging and age-associated diseases.
If the process of cellular senescence is accelerated, it would lead to the shortening of telomeres that may lead to a wide range of issues from slow wound healing to a higher risk of Alzheimer's disease.
Health and Telomeres
A recent study published in the journal Aging found that patients with severe COVID-19 had significantly shorter telomeres. This is likely due to how the virus infects a person which can inhibit the regeneration of affected tissues, which is also the reason why patients that had severe cases developed long-term damage in their lungs.
The recent meta-analysis suggests that staying active could reduce these kinds of risks.
Despite focusing on telomeres health isn't a common health goal it can have positive effects on muscle mass, and maintaining bone density, and keeping joints healthy.
In research published by Christian Werner, M.D., from Saarland University says that endurance, interval, and resistance training have key effects on telomere length.
Werner says, "Simply put, exercise slows down the process of telomere shortening, and that's good news for your cells. When that happens, they'll be more resistant to stress and inflammation, two components that can age you faster."
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