The Telomere Effect summary

Without the support of her defenders, a soccer goalie would be prone to easy attacks, and cells are basically in the same situation.

For cells, the goal keepers are telomeres, which protect the chromosomes as cells divide. The DNA of telomeres is structurally different from the genetic DNA on the chromosomes, which determine a person’s physical traits, like eye color and height.

Have you ever found yourself stuck in a nasty traffic jam, with your heart beating like mad?

Such stressful situations put your body on high alert as stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine flood into your bloodstream, causing your heart rate and blood pressure to rise.

It’s only normal to blow problems out of proportion, but doing so regularly could actually shorten your life. That’s because negative thought patterns are bad for telomeres.

Just take cynical hostility, an inclination toward anger and a distrustful mentality. It often results in bad habits of overeating, drinking and smoking, thereby causing disease and shorter telomeres.

The next time you’re contemplating a trip to the gym, keep in mind that there’s more at stake than your waistline. Exercise is also essential to the health of your telomeres, but too much of it can cause problems.

In other words, healthy telomeres depend on moderate workout regimens. Exercising correctly will lower your chances of having high blood pressure, experiencing a stroke, or falling prey to dementia.

Everybody knows that being overweight isn’t great for your health, but as long as you’re not obese, a few extra pounds won’t affect your telomeres. Instead, the real killer is poor metabolic health.

That includes things like high cholesterol, high blood pressure and insulin resistance. Such conditions put you at increased risk for heart problems, cancer and diabetes, which makes them way more important to telomere health than your weight.

Would you feel comfortable walking home at night in your neighborhood? Well, it’s an important question for your health for a variety of reasons and your answer could even affect your telomeres.

That’s because the safety and social cohesion of the place where you live have profound effects on your health. A sense of safety impacts stress levels and can therefore affect telomeres.

Between saving for college, weddings and other major life events, it’s hard not to worry about the future of your children. But even before a child is born, it’s important to consider how to take care of her cells.

That’s because cellular aging starts in the womb. In this process, known as direct transmission, the length of the parents’ telomeres at the time of conception is passed on directly to their baby. This means a baby could easily start life with shorter telomeres.