A different blog this time – it’s a book review.  The book is called “The Telomere Effect” written by Drs Elizabeth Blackburn & Elissa Epel.

As a Life Coach and Massage Therapist I know from my many clients the effects that stress – especially long-term stress – has on our bodies and wellbeing.  This book describes in simple language the science behind one aspect of the ageing and illness that stress and trauma can cause.  Vitally though, it also describes how – by changing how we live and what we do – it is possible to slow and potentially even reverse the effects of ageing and illness.

I don’t believe this is quackery either – both of these ladies are serious, well-qualified scientists.  Dr Elizabeth Blackburn for instance, won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 2009 (alongside 2 colleagues) for her work reported in this book.

This book summarises the science behind how meditation, clean eating, yoga, mindfulness etc actually have the effects that they do.

Telomeres (pronounced tee-lo-meres) are the end-caps on the chromosomes in our bodies and the authors liken them to the wrapped ends of shoelaces (called aglets apparently, I learn something every day!).

Telomeres shorten with time as cells divide and eventually reach a length where the cells no longer replicate and renew themselves.  Crucially, stress and lifestyle also reduce the length of the telomeres but can slow the rate at which they shorten and even enable them to lengthen again.  Here’s a quote from page 7 that I believe sums up what the message of the book:

“To an extent that has surprised us and the rest of the scientific community, telomeres do not simply carry out the commands issued by your genetic code.  Your telomeres, it turns out, are listening to you.  They absorb the instructions you give them.  The way you live can, in effect, tell your telomeres to speed up the process of cellular ageing.

But it can also do the opposite.  The foods you eat, your response to emotional challenges, the amount of exercise you get, whether you are exposed to childhood stress and even the level of trust and safety in your neighbourhood – all of these factors and more appear to influence your telomeres and can prevent ageing at the cellular level.”

And from page 6 – “The extraordinary discovery … is that the ends of our chromosomes can actually lengthen – and, as a result, ageing is a dynamic process that can be accelerated or slowed, and in some aspects even reversed”.

I highly recommend this book.  If you can’t manage the whole 325 pages though, get a summary like this.