The enzyme telomerase is an important substance to have floating around the body. It repairs and increases telomeres chromosomes, which are responsible for longevity and contribute to the maintenance of the very vital immune systems cells. Without it, the body risks losing these functions and we become more susceptible to contracting illnesses. It can also cause premature death in cancer patients suffering from breast, prostate, colon and lung cancers.

The journal called Lancet Oncology has recently published findings that can help not only retain, but boost the amount of the enzyme telomerase that is created. The solution is simple and has been cited as the means of a healthier lifestyle for many a year: diet and exercise.

The research team at the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California brought together thirty patients with low-risk prostate cancer for this study. For three months the men were asked to undergo a change in lifestyle, which included a diet loaded with fruits, vegetables, soy products, legumes and whole grains. Their exercise regime was to be moderate with a simple half hour walk per day, and an hour’s worth of stress relief (e.g. meditation).

At the end of the study, all participants were asked for blood samples, the results showing that the enzyme telomerase had increase by twenty-nine percent. Furthermore, the men saw changes in roughly five hundred genes. Significantly, some genes known to prevent disease were made stronger, while others meant to encourage disease were shut down altogether. Weight loss was, of course an obvious side effect, which then caused blood pressure to decrease.

The most important thing to gain from this particular study comes from the mouth of Dr. Dean Ornish, author and lead researcher. During a phone interview he said, "This is the first study showing that anything can increase telomerase. If it were a new drug that had been shown to do this, it would be a billion-dollar drug. But this is something that people can do for free.”