During the past few decades, numerous ageing and health studies have emerged discussing the link between lifestyle factors, inflammation and telomere dysfunction. The tiny ‘hard-hat’s on the ends of human DNA, that control how rapidly we age. Telomere’s become shorter with age and age-related diseases.
We all know that much attention is given to midlife women these days and how they manage their menopause transition. This is a personal decision obviously, although much of the popular media advertising to this demographic, seems more intent on promoting a range of expensive remedies from supplements to skincare.
Many of these remedies don’t mention our ageing telomeres however. And not only the importance of the right exercise to slow down the rate of shortening, but also how, a compound called betaine, which is found in a variety of foods, is also evidenced to slow down the rate of telomere attrition with age too.
Understanding the lifestyle factors that help us age more healthily is important, simply because it is well known in geriatric medicine, that women live longer than men. Seven years longer in fact.
This remarkable feat is mainly to do with the length of the telomeres and the role that inflammatory changes play in how quickly we lose telomere length with age. And yes, this all starts in our menopause transition.
Telomere is the name given to the tiny ‘hard-helmets’ on the ends of each DNA strand.
Thanks to Leonard Hayflick’s work on DNA in the 1960s, scientists now know that there is limited regeneration of each telomere over the course of the human life-span. This is called the ‘Hayflick Limit’. Telomere length at birth is similar in both genders, but women have longer telomeres later in life despite the fact that telomere length throughout life, has been shown to be hereditary from the paternal side (Nordfjäll et al., 2005).
Understanding ageing science and ‘how’ we age matters – especially when it comes to the length of telomere’s. Simply because, in midlife, there are factors that we can share with clients to reduce the rate of losing these precious telomeres. The menopause transition is the time for your clients to be aware of this.
In ageing science, the length of our telomere matters. Especially for women entering post-menopause and experiencing declining levels of oestrogen. Thanks to a fairly recent study of Finnish women, (Stenback, Mutt et al., 2019), it is now known that oestrogen and higher compatibility between mitochondrial and genomic DNA have been associated with higher Telomere length in women as they age.
Which surprises me.
Because, it is well known that high stress levels (both psychological and oxidative stress from doing too much exercise or eating the wrong foods), are associated with shortened telomere length – especially in women.
Oestrogen and stress – opposite effects on telomere length in midlife women.
If women have endured a lot of stress over their life-time, and I not only include psychological stress in this statement, but physical stress from high amounts of exercise training too, then making some lifestyle changes, to protect the terrific telomeres, is an important behaviour change strategy.
There is a complex network influencing the maintenance and integrity of telomeres as women age, and this includes genetic, lifestyle, psychological and physiological factors.
All of these factors influence the level of inflammation and oxidative stress in tissues, as women move through menopause. The menopause transition arrives as the ‘perfect storm’ for increased inflammation in the body.
These inflammatory changes occur in the peri-menopause transition, but accelerate as women shift into menopause (when periods end). Oxidative stress levels also increase with insomnia, inadequate dietary nutrients, too much or not enough exercise, overweight and obesity status or other underlying disease states.
All of these factors may speed up the rate of ageing.
But the good news is, with the right approach to lifestyle solutions in menopause, women can ‘age-well’ and slow down the rate of telomere shortening.
Slowing down the rate of telomere shortening with age:
- The right amount and type of physical activity matters.
At the start of last winter in the Northern Hemisphere, Kate, in the banner below, was in France working as a ski-lodge manager with hubbie. The fact that the ski-fields weren’t fully operational, meant that she had more time to explore the Alps wearing her snow-shoes.
Walking and hiking up hills are more moderate forms of aerobic and strength exercise. This is the type that helps to protect our telomeres as we age. Once she had turned around her sleep, joint health and lost 12 lbs, she was on her way to understanding how to exercise moderately, but not excessively, for the protection of her telomere length.
If women are also able to undertake 2 sessions a week of more vigorous activity, this benefits telomere length too. (Lin et al, 2019). Up to 75 minutes of more vigorous activity each week as well as moderate, endurance, aerobic exercise, helps to maintain telomere length (Puterman et al., 2010; Stenback, Mutt et al, 2019).
One of the challenges for women in making sense of the marketing of ‘healthy ageing’ is knowing ‘how much exercise is enough?’ and this came through strongly on my own doctoral research.
Many of the women in my studies, relied on advice from the fitness and sporting industries which typically position ‘healthy ageing’ in higher intensity exercise and sporting feats, but this isn’t always necessary.
In fact, a higher volume of exercise training and competing may be detrimental to the telomere length – they become more inflamed.
Training for hours and over many years of practice at a professional level correlated negatively with Telomere Length (TL) in professional endurance runners (Rae et al., 2010).
The same association was observed in competitive powerlifters; the TL in their vastus lateralis (quad muscle) correlated inversely with the subject’s record in squat and deadlift (Kadi et al., 2008). These findings suggest an inverted U-shaped relationship between physical activity intensity and TL, with both high and low physical activity levels associated with shortened TL.
But what if your clients don’t enjoy exercise, or they have underlying health considerations, that prevent them participating or they are just exhausted?
Finding ways for your clients to move naturally and stay active is still important – not only to reduce the rate of telomere shortening, but to help reduce the rate of inflammation in cells and tissues. This type of cellular inflammation is known as oxidative stress.
Numerous studies in ageing and health, report that sedentary people over the age of 50 years (men and women) are typically ageing faster – 9 years faster in fact, based on the rate of shortening of their telomere length, compared to people who are more active.
As I mentioned above, subjects exercising with moderate intensity had the longest telomere length.
- Food choices matter to telomere length.
The evidence over the past few decades that the Mediterranean Diet has emerged as an appropriate plant-centred dietary pattern that may affect women’s health as they age, to me, puts paid to any other dietary plan that women might be following.
This is because ageing itself is known to be ‘inflammatory’ and as such, women moving through menopause into their ageing years, are at higher risk for shortening of the telomeres, because they are ageing. Add to this, not sleeping and/or feeling stressed and over-whelmed, then telomere shortening may be more rapid.
This is when diet becomes important.
Food compounds are known to affect the length of our telomeres including:
- Vitamin C
- Omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) which are balanced against Omega 6 foods.
- Foods high in polyphenols are known to be important for reducing the rate of telomere length – all of these types of nutrients help to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation (Preedy & Watson, 2019). For example, the intake of walnuts (organic preferably) reduce the rate of telomere length.
- Foods high in a compound called, Betaine. This powerful anti-inflammatory nutrient (found in beetroot, wholegrains, spinach and aquatic vertebrates), distributes primarily to the liver, kidneys and brain as well as muscles and reduces inflammatory changes in mitochondria. Betaine regulates energy metabolism and helps to relieve chronic inflammation.
I always know when a food compound is becoming important for our ageing, because invariably it gets marketed to us in expensive supplements.
Betaine is no exception and along with choline, is now available as a supplement that women can take for ‘healthy ageing’. But menopause supplements are expensive and I often find that women on my programmes, don’t know why they are taking them and what they do.
As well, many nutritionists remind us, that they are indeed ‘supplemental to our diet’. A factor I heeded when I realised that I was taking a lot of menopause-related supplements myself, but not changing my diet first and foremost!
Here in New Zealand, the National Nutrition Survey provides information on betaine intake in the average New Zealand diet. Males get more than women in their diet, mentions the report and typically, glycine betaine is primarily found at high levels (⩾150 μg/g) in wholegrain products (wholegrain bread, pasta, flour), while proline betaine was found in fruit, especially oranges and orange juice and vegetables such as cruciferous vegies, spinach, beetroot and (to my relief) betaine is also found in coffee.
And then there is the role of nuts in helping to reduce inflammation – especially walnuts.
When women have busy lives, walnuts (and other nuts) offer a source of energy and protein. New research on women’s health with age, also reports that walnuts, are rich in two types of fat – alpha-linolenic acid and linoleic acid, and these both have anti-inflammatory properties. These types of fat are not only beneficial for heart health, but to also reduce the rate of shortening of ageing telomeres.
Nuts are one of the main components of plant-based food that characterise the Mediterranean Diet.
Studies show that around ½ cup a day of a variety of nuts from walnuts to almonds, pistachios, peanuts and hazelnuts contain arginine (an important compound to help blood vessel dilation), folic acid (needed for ageing nerves), anti-oxidant vitamins and minerals such as calcium, potassium and magnesium.
Reversing the effects of inflammation is important during the menopause and post-menopause years and I talk more about why this is, in the MyMT™ Education Practitioner Course (next course commences in January, 2025).
As I’m often saying in my newsletter articles to you, menopause symptoms aren’t just about our ovaries. Declining reproductive hormones impact other organs around the body, including muscles, heart, liver and the gut. Hence, helping clients to have a focus on these organs is an important menopause-management strategy!
If you are a Health Practitioner, then please join me in January, 2025 for the next 12 week Health Practitioner Course. Please pre-register for the early-bird special HERE.
References:
Aubert G., Lansdorp P. M. (2008). Telomeres and aging. Physiol. Rev. 88 557–579. 10.1152/physrev.00026.2007
Egger, G. & Dixon, J. (2009). Inflammatory effects of nutritional stimuli: further support for the need for a big picture approach to tackling obesity and chronic disease. Obesity Reviews, 1-13.
Lin X, Zhou J, Dong B. Effect of different levels of exercise on telomere length: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Rehabil Med. 2019 Jul 8;51(7):473-478. doi: 10.2340/16501977-2560.
Preedy, V. & Watson, R. (2020). The Mediterranean Diet: an evidence-based approach. Elselvier Academic Press: London, UK.
Rajaie, S., & Esmaillzadeh, A. (2011). Dietary choline and betaine intakes and risk of cardiovascular diseases: review of epidemiological evidence. ARYA atherosclerosis, 7(2), 78–86.
Slow, S., Donaggio, M., Lever, M., & Chambers, S. (2005). The betaine content of New Zealand foods and estimated intake in the New Zealand diet. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis. 18. 473-485. 10.1016/j.jfca.2004.05.004.
Stenbäck, V., Mutt, S. J., Leppäluoto, J., Gagnon, D. D., Mäkelä, K. A., Jokelainen, J., Keinänen-Kiukaanniemi, S., & Herzig, K. H. (2019). Association of Physical Activity With Telomere Length Among Elderly Adults – The Oulu Cohort 1945. Frontiers in physiology, 10, 444. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2019.00444
Stuart C. (2004). Betaine in human nutrition. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 80(3), 539–549, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/80.3.539
