What is DNA telomere? How does it affect our lifespan? How important is it in determining we live a healthy and long life? Human DNA is a double-stranded helix that curls and criss-crosses like a spiral staircase which are made up of 23 pairs of chromosomes totalling 46 of them.

What is the driving force behind the majority of humanity’s deterioration of health? We all know that stress, unhealthy diet, electromagnetic radiation, pollution and many other known stressors were the causes. But how many of us knew the exact mechanism at the core of all these detrimental health conditions? 

The real action actually starts at the microcosm level just at where the DNA duplication process is. The ends of the linear chromosomes are known as “telomeres”. These telomeres play a very big and crucial role in protecting the important genes from being deleted as cells divide. DNA strands go through a shortening of itself during replication. Telomeres are repeated sequences on the end of DNA strands and they help protect the DNA strand from getting shorter during cell division. Telomeres shortening is an entropic condition. It deteriorates without any further help or energy and effort done to it. Old age, diseases and death creeps up when the entropic condition prevails. However, when we start to engage in syntropic effort, we are helping and extending the telomere length which is essentially epigenetic in nature. This means that telomere length is not solely determined by genetic traits but can be and will be subjected to environmental conditions, power of thought and diet. 

Let’s look at the evidence around us. Hong kong being a very urbanized place in the world has one of the highest levels of stress and a fast-paced economy globally. Why are they rated as one of the top in the list as the highest life expectancy country in the world? This unassuming information may be due to the high number of Tai Chi participants. Tai Chi is an ancient Chinese martial arts practice which is a mix of both exercise and meditation. The older generation in Hong kong picked up this form of practice and is diligent in the practice. This not only improves heart health, brain health but also immunity. Those who practice Tai Chi regularly live significantly longer than those who don’t according to a 2022 Shanghai study which followed 60,000 men for five years. Cantonese cuisine which are made up mainly of steamed fish, double-boiled healthy soup and plenty of vegetables are most likely contributory to their long life span as well. 

Another noteworthy country to notice is Japan. They are also known to have one of the highest life expectancy and being one of the most healthy individuals on our planet of those called the Okinawans who lived an unique blend of lifestyle and traditional diet. A study was done in 2015 that over 1000 centenarians, who are old folks of more than 100 years of age were found and examined in Okinawa. The traditional Okinawa diet emphasizes on vegetables and soy products and limits meat, refined grains, saturated fats, sugar, salt and full fat dairy products which are inflammatory in nature. They are known to grow their own food supplies in their own backyard. And if you study their culture, you will notice that they have minimal modern furniture and actually take their meals and sit on the “tatami mats” on the floor. Having to get up and down off the floor numerous times daily helps build up their muscles and strength and allows the old people to develop balance and stamina. One of their secrets to longevity may well be their emphasis on “ikigai”. This is a japanese word which means finding a sense of purpose or a reason to jump out of bed every morning. It is to stay active even if you are well over 100 years of age. This is a holistic exercise practiced in the Japanese culture which allows a person to lead a purposeful life in pursuing their passion as they believe that one must take up a hobby to live a meaningful life that gives them clear roles of responsibility and feelings of being needed well even into such an advanced age. 

We also should look into one part of China which has a remarkably high life expectancy touted as the longevity village of China, the “Bama Village” of Guangxi province. They have an exceptionally high number of centenarians similarly. According to Bama government statistics, within the 300,000 residents in Bama in the year 2018 were 109 centenarians. This works out to be 5.7-fold greater than the international longevity standard. There was a staggering figure of more than 1900 numbers of aged old folks between 80 – 90 years old too! In general, the elderly people of Bama have relatively long life expectancy, good physical and mental health and low prevalence of aging-related diseases. They typically consumed a fiber and polysaccharide-rich diet with “five low, two high” principles, namely : low fat, animal protein, calorie, salt and sugar and high vitamin and fiber intake. One thing to note is the high consumption of their speciality food which is the hemp seeds accompanied by abundant bitter vegetables. It was studied that it can reduce the negative bacteria and increase beneficial bacteria colonies on the other hand. They are also surrounded by a wide variety of 562 different medicinal plants in Bama and often eat them on a very regular basis. Other reasons that contributed to this may be the excellent air quality, the health promoting small-molecule spring water and literally zero stress level as they led a calm and serene life without mental anxiety or worry. 

There is another part of the world which we can explore and understand how they managed to have one of the highest life expectancy also, Monaco, which is a part of the western Europe, on the Mediterranean Sea. Monaco is one of the most densely populated places in the world with only slightly under 37,000 residents. This place is also one of the wealthiest cities in the world ranking high on a wealth per capita basis compared with other cities. Monaco attracted many billionaires into its country. On account of this, they have one of the best healthcare systems in the world limiting the rise of mortality in their country. Preventive care is also prevalent as they are cognizant of the need to lead an active lifestyle spending a lot of time walking from point to point, coupled with good dietary intake that consist of a Mediterranean diet. A Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest diets known because it’s mainly made up of a high amount of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, olive oil and seafood.

The conclusion we may draw from all these examples is a combination of factors ranging from diet, lifestyle, to most important of all, their thoughts! This relates to epigenetics where it means that our environment, external stimuli and mental conditioning are the determining factors making epigenetics mark turn on or off the DNA sequencing and in turn effect the changes instead of genes. Epigenetics play the biggest role in one’s health and are the main reason that will effect a total change in how that person’s physical body and cells reacts, not according to the genetic code but instead to the person’s epigenetic marks. Our thoughts, which is the baseline to which we are receiving stimuli through the environment, is the least regarded but yet the most powerful since it plays the most important role in giving them the assurance and the will to live a healthy life. What is important to note is that all these play a vital role in extending the telomere and thus is the determining factor in longevity. Having to know all these, isn’t it important that we should start to eat a healthy diet, live as stress-free as possible and most of all, think the “right” thoughts set the “right” intentions and live the “right” actions? Let’s start to live healthily by engaging in syntropic thoughts and actions instead of allowing entropy to set in. We can start living in good health, eating well and thinking right!