The Telomere Effect: The New Science of Living Younger Elizabeth Blackburn , Elissa Epel

Groundbreaking book by the Nobel Prize Winner who discovered telomeres, telomerase, and their role in the aging process, and the psychologist who researched specific lifestyle habits to protect them and slow down disease and lengthen life.
Have you wondered why some 60-year-olds look and feel like 40-year-olds and why some 40-year-olds look and feel like 60-year-olds? While many factors contribute to aging and illness, Nobel Prize-winning Doctor Elizabeth Blackburn discovered biological markers, called telomerase, the enzyme that replenishes telomeres, which protect our DNA. Dr. Blackburn discovered that the length and health of one's telomeres provides a biological basis for the long-hypothesized mind-body connection. But perhaps more importantly, along with leading health psychologist Dr. Elissa Epel, she discovered that there are things we can do to improve and lengthen our telomeres to keep us vital and disease-free.

This book will help people increase the reader's lifespan and health-span (the number of years during this time that they remain healthy and active), including information on how sleep, exercise, and diet profoundly affect our telomeres, and how chronic stress can eat away at our telomeres. Included are lists of which foods are healthy for our telomeres; how aging begins in utero (mothers who are highly stressed during pregnancy have children with shorter telomeres), and how thinking you are young and vital helps keep you that way!