There’s one question I get over and over again from both my patients and readers like you…
They want to know what is the most important diagnostic test they should get. They’re looking to proactively protect themselves from aging-associated diseases.
I tell them that because all of these diseases start at the cellular level, the best thing they can do is have their telomeres tested.
I recommend it to all my patients.
Short Telomeres Dramatically Increase Your
Risk of Serious Disease – Including Heart Disease
A new study by researchers at the University of Hong Kong followed 5,300 diabetic patients for 13 years. They followed diabetics because their risk for heart disease is up to four times higher than the general public. Telomere lengths were measured in the volunteers at baseline and throughout the study.
Patients with cardiovascular disease at baseline or during follow-up had shorter telomeres than those who never had cardiovascular disease.
For each unit decrease in length, a patient’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease increased by 25%.1
This backs up earlier research I uncovered that found short telomeres are linked to a 300% increased rate of death from heart disease.2
Unfortunately, even with all we know about how important it is to measure – and then lengthen – telomeres, traditional doctors still don’t offer their patients this lifesaving test.
Maybe you’ve heard those ads that have turned up on the internet offering to test your DNA to reveal your true biological age.
You send off a cheek swab to a mail-order company. And they send you back a report with graphs and charts.
The problem is these mail in tests won’t help you figure out your specific health risks… You see, they only determine a person’s average telomere length. And that just isn’t helpful.
That’s because not every telomere in a cell has the same length. Some may be really long and healthy. But others may be shrinking at a faster rate. And you need to know how many are actually in trouble.
That’s what makes the telomere testing I do for my patients so unique.
Get a Customized Anti-Aging Test
At the Sears Institute for Anti-Aging Medicine, I use the only test available that tells you how many critically short telomeres you have.
It’s a much more important measurement. And it’s been proven accurate in clinical studies.3
But there’s not much point in knowing your telomere length if you can’t do anything about it. At my clinic, we take telomere testing to the next step… and develop an individualized treatment plan based on your own body.
One of the most important steps we take is to turn on the telomerase enzyme. When you turn on telomerase, your telomeres start to regenerate and grow longer.
And that lengthening is what slows down the diseases of aging.
If you are interested in a customized treatment plan to lengthen your telomeres – and prevent diseases of aging – please call my clinic at 561-784-7852. My staff is happy to answer your questions.
Start to Boost Telomerase at Home
If you can’t get to the clinic there are supplements you can take to activate telomerase at home. Here are just a few of the many that I suggest:
- Take resveratrol. Studies show resveratrol activates telomerase. It also “turns on” genes that promote longevity and “turns off” genes that promote disease. You can’t drink enough red wine to get the telomere benefits. Supplement with at least 50 mg per day for telomerase activation. But you can take up to 200 mg per day.
- Add in N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC). This amino acid rebuilds an antioxidant called glutathione. Low glutathione is associated with short telomeres. But more importantly, NAC elevates telomerase. I recommend 50 mg of NAC a day, then building up to 500 mg.
- Then boost your folic acid. Studies show men with the highest folic acid levels have longer telomeres than those with low levels. Folic acid counteracts the effects of homocysteine. High levels of homocysteine triple the speed at which your telomeres shorten. I recommend supplementing with 800 mcg of folic acid every day.
1 Cheng F, et al. “Shortened relative leukocyte telomere length is associated with prevalent and incident cardiovascular complications in type 2 diabetes: analysis from the Hong Kong diabetes register.” Diabetes Care. 2020 Sep;43(9):2257-2265.
2 Cawthon R, et al. “Association between telomere length in blood and mortality in people aged 60 years or older.” Lancet. 2003;361(9355):393-395.
3 Canela A, et al. “High-throughput telomere length quantification by FISH and its application to human population studies.” Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007;104(13):5300-5.