

Stress and Aging: a Question of Attitude - rfreytag
http://www.economist.com/node/18526881

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xiaoma
I was already familiar with this research in relation to distance athletes.
For marathoners, the difference is extreme. They typically have telemeres the
length of people many years younger.

[http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/phys-ed-how-
exercis...](http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/phys-ed-how-exercising-
keeps-your-cells-young/)

~~~
adrianwaj
"Exercise may be affecting telomerase activity and not telomeres directly."

Maybe exercise is affecting HGH and this is affecting telomerase. Do glands
secrete telomerase? I'm not sure, but the pituitary gland secretes HGH and
that could systemically affect telomerase. If so, then it stands to reason
that rapidly decreasing HGH in somatopause in one's early 30's is the cause of
aging because HGH is not as readily available to prop up telomeres with
telomerase anymore, unless you're exercising... but:

I was under the impression that many runners look haggard, and this was due to
decreased levels of COQ10 and more oxidative stress. Perhaps increased
physical activity can go both ways too. I've also read about runners having
scarring on the heart.

My approach to exercising and diet is simple. Eat healthy, continue learning
about food and health (I started many years ago) and with any excess energy,
go do some exercise but only to one's limit, maybe slightly over, if that.
Keep eating moderately, and exercise again when it feels right. Listen to your
body and respond to it with a palette of acquired responses (through learning
and experimentation.)

~~~
xiaoma
It's almost certainly _not_ due to HGH. Other forms of exercise, weightlifing
in particular, lead to greater increases in HGH. But weight training hasn't
been correlated with longer telomeres.

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adrianwaj
"The rapidly dividing cells in a tumour soon hit the Hayflick limit and the
process is brought to a screeching halt."

I thought the problem with tumours was that they can turn on telomerase so
they only get bigger and never reach Hayflick.

"Telomerase has been detected in human cancer cells and is found to be 10-20
times more active than in normal body cells."

[http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/cellbio/shay-
wright/intro/fac...](http://www4.utsouthwestern.edu/cellbio/shay-
wright/intro/facts/sw_facts.html)

