Environmental factors, including diet and lifestyle factors, affect the rate of telomere shortening, which can be reversed by telomerase. Telomerase is an enzyme in young cells that adds more repeating sequences of DNA to the telomeres keeping them from wearing down too much, thereby extending their length, which extends the life of the cells. However, as the cells continue to divide over and over, the enzyme, telomerase, starts to run out. Consequently, the telomeres (the caps) get shorter and shorter. When there are no more telomeres, the cells can no longer replicate to replace the old aging cells; they then die.

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WHAT CAN BE DONE TO PREVENT THE TELOMERES FROM SHORTENING?

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A clinical study done in 2010 by Harvard Medical School researchers, and published in the journal Nature, showed that the researchers were able to rejuvenate the worn-out organs of old mice, turning them back into healthy animals by reactivating telomerase production (Video Below). ​The researchers found that not only had the organs of the mice been rejuvenated, but they also found that they grew new neurons in the brain. ​Professor Ronald DiPinho stated that "what we saw in these animals was not a slowing down or stabilization of the aging process. We saw a dramatic reversal." ​The length of telomeres is a useful biomarker that may be used to measure cellular aging. Our cells can be younger or older than our chronological age. You can be 60 years old, and your cells be 40 years old, and vice versa.