4 Foods That May Shorten Your Life
People want to understand the trick to living longer. There%u2019s no telling what exactly helps some people get to 100, but healthy eating is one thing that sure helps.
Some foods, though, could hurt your chances of growing older by messing with components with your cells called telomeres. These little caps for the ends of the chromosomes are key for safeguarding DNA from damage%u2014many experts do a comparison to the plastic advice on eliminate shoelaces.
Thing is, as the cells replicate, telomeres get shorter with time, in line with the University of Utah Health Sciences. As telomeres shorten it could trigger cells to malfunction and die, and shorter telomeres have been associated with conditions like cancer and heart problems. Reports have also shown lifestyle factors including diet can increase (or decrease) the shortening process, that's sometimes looked at as an %u201Caging clock.%u201D
These four foods can contribute to telomere shortening, so it may be best to limit these eats for a long and healthy life.
Some foods, though, could hurt your chances of growing older by messing with components with your cells called telomeres. These little caps for the ends of the chromosomes are key for safeguarding DNA from damage%u2014many experts do a comparison to the plastic advice on eliminate shoelaces.
Thing is, as the cells replicate, telomeres get shorter with time, in line with the University of Utah Health Sciences. As telomeres shorten it could trigger cells to malfunction and die, and shorter telomeres have been associated with conditions like cancer and heart problems. Reports have also shown lifestyle factors including diet can increase (or decrease) the shortening process, that's sometimes looked at as an %u201Caging clock.%u201D
These four foods can contribute to telomere shortening, so it may be best to limit these eats for a long and healthy life.
Soda
Sugary soda is bad news for telomeres. A recent study of 5,309 adults in the American Journal of Public Health found that a daily 20-ounce serving of soda was associated with 4.6 more years of aging, reports Time.com. To put that in perspective
Processed meat
Another no-no for telomeres is processed meat, like hot dogs and pepperoni. A 2008 study of 840 people in the The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition looked at the effect multiple food groups had on telomere length.
Red meat
Higher intake of red meat, like hamburgers and steak, has long been associated with heart disease and cancer, and that could be tied to its effect on telomeres. For a study in Clinical Nutrition, rats were fed varying diets of beef or chicken for four weeks. More red meat in the rats’ diet was linked to decreased telomere length in colon cells. Similar findings were shown for the white meat
Alcohol
Like red meat, alcohol also gets a bad rap for its connection to chronic health conditions. A study presented at the 2010 American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting found alcohol can speed up telomere shortening, too.
