BY KHADIJAH BAWAZEER Once past teenage years, when most young people want to look older, everyone prefers to look as young as possible. We are usually happy and proud when we are told that we look a few years younger than our age. This becomes more and more important as we get older. Our desire to look young created a huge anti-aging industry – pills, creams and lotions, plastic surgery, exercise programs. You name it! This all sounds OK but how would you like not only to look good but also to reverse the signs of aging. Elizabeth Blackburn, 2009 Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine, found that the solution to aging is in our genes and especially the telomeres, the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes that serve as protective caps essential for preserving the genetic information. Telomeres are like the plastic caps on shoelaces. They keep chromosomes from unraveling but as we age these ends get gradually shortened. Each time our cells divide, our DNA copies itself and every time this happens, the telomeres get slightly shorter. When telomeres get too short, the cell stops dividing. Telomere shortening serves as a genetic clock. Based on this discovery scientists have found a way to stop the shortening of telomeres. An enzyme called telomerase allows the end part of aging telomeres to be rebuilt. This enzyme can be activated and when this happens, aging can be reversed, boosting the immune system. A study found that telomerase activation therapy can reduce the aging process by 5-20 years. But how can we activate our telomeres to get such effects? By taking plenty of good nutrients. One important nutrient is vitamin D or the “sunshine vitamin” which we do not get enough, despite the abundance of sunshine in our cities. Vitamin D is very important because the length of telomeres in our bodies corresponds to the amount of vitamin D we have. So go out in the sun for 20 minutes each day. Your body will use sunlight to make tons of the stuff but if you cannot get enough sun, eat fish, eggyolks and orange juice. Omega-3 is also important as well as B12, C and E. Fish and fresh food seem like a cross factor and it is always best to get deep sea fish which lives away from polluted city shores. This may mean a bit more work, getting up early to go to the fish market but it will definitely pay back when people compliment your looks. Same with fruits and vegetables; most of what we get in the market is chemically treated one way or another, and organic products are not easily available in big cities like Jeddah. So pick the least polluted product, wash it well, say “Bismillah” and enjoy. Better yet, grow something in your garden or balcony or roof if you have one. Pick it when it is ripe or ready for harvest and you will have the best anti-aging food in the world. (The author can be reached at [email protected]) __
