Researchers may have found another key to controlling the aging process. A study to be published in November’s issue of The Lancet Oncology revealed that lifestyle changes can significantly slow the aging of cells. Professor of Medicine at the Preventive Medicine Research Institute, Sausalito, California, Dean Ornish, MD and his peers from the University of California studied the effect of lifestyle changes on the levels of an enzyme called telomerase in 30 men diagnosed with prostate cancer.

They found that changes such as reducing the amount of calories from fat, managing stress, reducing consumption of refined sugars and exercising and taking supplements all contributed to a 29 percent increase in telomerase. Interestingly, the levels of bad cholesterol also fell.

Telomerase helps to repair and elongate the DNA-protein complexes, telomere which is linked to cell aging. It does this by replacing shorter pieces of telomere during cell division.