You may be wondering what are telomeres and what on earth do they have to do with chiropractic.
You may be wondering what telomeres and chiropractic care have in common. By the end of this article, I am hoping are asking yourself “Why have not seen my chiropractor yet?”
What are telomeres
Telomeres are a non-coding part of our chromosomes. Their function is to protect the rest of the genome and assist in the replication of the cells. According to the NIH website, “Each time a cell divides, the telomeres become shorter. Eventually, the telomeres become so short that the cell can no longer divide.”
What happens when telomeres shorten
When cells no longer divide as they should, bad things can happen. In cancerous cells, cell replication happens very quickly. As a result, the telomere length shortens rapidly. In fact, once this is detected by the body, it increases the activity of an enzyme called telomerase. This enzyme’s job is to add genetic material to the telomeres and thus help the cell avoid cancer, according to geneticists.
Some of you may already be wondering “How can I elongate my telomeres”?
Can telomeres predict aging and disease?
It’s been suggested that the length of telomeres could be correlated with aging and shorter lifespans. Some of the reasons that lead to shorter telomeres are:
Oxidative stress: This is damage that our DNA incurs over the years. The good news is you can avoid it and improve on it with time. This has to do with all our lifestyle choices. The physical activities we carry out, our emotional state of being, and our connection to nature. Improving these habits one by one can lead to a healthier life, and who knows, longer telomeres.
Chronological age: As you can guess, the older we get in age, the harder things get. If you don’t take care of your body, the movement gets harder, symptoms develop faster, and recovery is slower. There is however a difference between your chronological are and your biological age! Have you ever wondered, how on earth can a 70-year old perform as a bodybuilder? Some of us were never able to do that despite being half that age. The secret lies under the hood.
Glycation: There is a lot of research showing the impact that glycation has on the human body. Glycation is when glucose, our body’s main source of energy, sticks to anything it can stick to. This happens because our body has an excess of glucose circulating in the body as a result of constantly consuming food and over-eating. When it sticks to cells and organs, it does not allow them to perform their job as they should and thus start malfunctioning. Not allowing the body time to use and eliminate the food that was consumed before the introduction of new food is the way to develop a myriad of symptoms. One of the benefits of fasting is increased lifespan.
How can chiropractic care help telomeres elongate
By now, you’re probably asking how are telomeres and chiropractic care related!
It has EVERYTHING to do with chiropractic care. The three elements of a subluxation are Traumas, Thoughts, and Toxins. Traumas include all the physical insults, and injuries throughout life. Thoughts are all the negative emotions that accumulate over time. And toxins are the chemical component that has to do with oxidative stress at the cellular level.
A research article published in the Journal of Molecular and Genetic Medicine in 2017, has shown, preliminary, that chiropractic could help elongate telomeres at least temporarily. When you receive well-rounded care that focuses on all pillars of your health, the results can be astonishing. More research is necessary to establish a better understanding of the connection between telomeres and chiropractic care, but I’ll leave you with a story.
I recently treated a 60-year-old female. One of her complaints was neck pain. After the treatment, she said, “Oh wow, I thought I was just getting old, that’s why it was hurting”. The pain was there for so long that she thought it was due to aging. Whether or not this helped prolong her life, we don’t know. What we do know, however, is that her neck moved better and with no pain.
PEAKiropractic is prepared to help you through chiropractic, massage therapy, functional medicine and weight loss solutions. All these treatments help you improve your life and the ones’ around you. You can learn more about us and these treatments on our website.