TA-65 & Telomerase Therapy

The Many Dimensions of Grace

This article is part of my book Dance Your Way Through Life: The Ultimate Guide to Optimal Health. You can get the book here.

Understanding Telomeres

TA-65 is a special formulation using an extract from the astragalus plant that stimulates the production of telomerase and supposedly lengthens your telomeres. If you don’t know what telomerase is, it is basically an enzyme involved in the process of managing your genetic information — particularly the length of your telomeres.

Telomeres are found at both ends of each chromosome and they protect your genome from nucleolytic degradation, unnecessary recombination and interchromosomal fusion. In simpler words, they are like genetic buffers that protect your data. Over time these buffers degrade and there is a correlation between shorter telomeres and signs of aging. Because one theory of aging is that our cells eventually lose the capability to divide as we grow older (because telomeres shorten slightly every time cells divide), it makes intuitive sense that lengthening telomeres may be a valid anti-aging strategy.

Yet, this too is not without its criticisms and may not be worth the expensive price tag.