Majority of us wouldn’t say no to Collagen because it’s known as the trademark of youth. There’s another part of us needs to be put on the top of our wellness list, it’s called Telomere.
You’ve already know about Collagen, Resveratrol, Vitamin A and Vitamin C and so on. However our body is very dynamic and complex. There’s another part of us needs to be put on the top of our wellness list, it’s called Telomere. 大多數人已經熟悉膠原蛋白、白藜蘆醇、維生素A及維生素C等。然而，我們的身體極其動態且複雜，還有一個應該被列入健康首位的元素，那就是端粒（Telomere）。
Telomere does play a huge part of our DNA in order to determine if our biological age goes opposite to our chronological age. When we talk about ageing, it’s not only what shows on the skin, we also talk about our inner organ (liver, heart, brain etc) functions. Once the telomere gets shortened, it causes our cells to age, stop functioning properly and serious conditions such as organ dysfunction and cancer. 端粒在我們的DNA中扮演關鍵角色，它能決定我們的生物年齡是否與實際年齡相反。談及衰老，不僅僅是皮膚的表現，我們還關注內臟（如肝臟、心臟、大腦等）的功能。一旦端粒縮短，細胞便會老化，功能停止運作，甚至引發器官功能障礙或癌症等嚴重情況。
Telomeres 端粒
Telomere (tel-uh-meer) is a region of repetitive nucleotide sequence. Simply said, they’re the caps at the end of each strand of DNA that protect our chromosomes. 端粒（tel-uh-meer）是一段重複的核苷酸序列。簡單來說，它就像DNA鏈末端的保護帽，保護染色體不受損害。
Let’s think of the plastic caps at the end of shoelaces, without this layer of coating, shoelaces become unraveled after a period of time and no longer do their job. So do DNA strands, once the cell divides, the telomeres get shorter and once they get shorter, then the cell can no longer divide, then it’ll eventually become inactive or dies out, the shortening process is linked to ageing, cancer and a high risk of death. 可將其想像為鞋帶末端的塑膠帽，若沒有這層保護，鞋帶會隨時間磨損而失去功能。DNA鏈也是如此：當細胞分裂時，端粒會逐漸縮短；一旦縮短到一定程度，細胞將無法再分裂，最終變得不活躍或死亡。端粒的縮短過程與衰老、癌症以及高死亡風險密切相關。
Stopping division isn’t the way to go either, cell division is necessary for growing new skin, blood, bone, and other cells, telomeres allow cells to divide without losing genes. 然而，停止細胞分裂並非解決之道。細胞分裂對生成新皮膚、血液、骨骼及其他細胞至關重要，而端粒能讓細胞分裂而不喪失基因。
Telomeres helps avoid broken DNA during division and protect chromosomes become frayed. As we all know broken DNA is dangerous, and cell has its ability to repaired, a cell would end up fixing something that wasn't broken, basically is trying to fix something that doesn’t need to be fixed, so it might end up worse than not being touched. 端粒有助於避免分裂過程中DNA斷裂，保護染色體免於磨損。如眾所周知，DNA斷裂非常危險，而細胞的修復能力有限；若細胞試圖修復未受損的部分，反而可能造成更大損害。
What Causes Telomere Shortening 甚麼導致端粒縮短
Some factors such as stress, alcohol abuse, obesity, sleep deprivation, and smoking as part of the contributors to Telomere shortening.
壓力、酗酒、肥胖、睡眠不足及吸煙等，均會加速端粒縮短。
How To Turn Biological Clock Anti-clockwise 如何逆轉生物鐘
Telomere lengthening is considered as a protection for gene, against cancer and slower ageing process. Nowadays, there are a significant number of scientific articles and scientists continue studying on telomeres. We believe in nature has provided us with what we need, though having science to study how it works and what works better for us is vital. Some biotechnology firms / labs are working on deriving telomere activator or extracts from Astragalus.
Astragalus 黃耆 If you haven’t heard of Astragalus, we don’t blame you because it’s an eastern medicine. It’s a root and one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, which has 2,500 thousands of years of history. It has been researched for its cardioprotective, anti-inflammatory, and longevity effects; helps protect the body against various stresses, including physical, mental, or emotional stress. That probably is one of the reasons most eastern asian age slower. 黃耆為東方藥材，是傳統中醫五十種基本藥材之一，已有超過2500年歷史。研究表明其具心臟保護、抗炎及延壽作用，能保護身體免受各類壓力，包括身體、精神或情緒壓力。這或許是東亞人普遍衰老較慢的原因之一。
Turmeric 薑黃 Inflammation is part of the signal showing you that your body is not in sync. Turmeric has long been used as a powerful anti-inflammatory herb in both the Chinese and Indian medicine. Turmeric curcumin is a bioactive substance that fights inflammation at the molecular level. Laboratory experiments have shown curcumin can prevent tumors from forming and may increase detoxification systems in addition to its antioxidant properties. 炎症是身體失衡的信號之一。薑黃長期被中印醫藥視為強效抗炎藥材，其活性成分薑黃素（Curcumin）能在分子層面抑制炎症。實驗顯示，薑黃素可預防腫瘤形成，並可能增強解毒系統，此外還具抗氧化特性。
Vitamin B + Folate 維生素B群與葉酸 It’s a vital part of a healthy metabolism, creating enzymes, supporting and strengthening the skin, hair, nails, nerves, and the digestive tract. Particularly Vitamin B6, and B12, and folate are essential factors in the metabolism of the molecules that make up DNA. When B7 is known as Biotin is used by the body to metabolize carbohydrates, fats, and amino acids. 維生素B群對健康新陳代謝至關重要，能生成酵素，支援並強化皮膚、頭髮、指甲、神經及消化道功能。特別是B6、B12及葉酸，對DNA分子代謝極為重要。B7（生物素）則用於代謝碳水化合物、脂肪及氨基酸。
Vitamin C + Vitamin E 維生素C與維生素E It’s widely known that Vitamin C and E preserve your age, the fact is they preserve telomere lengthening. Some studies of Vitamin C and results a significant extension of cellular lifespan, and reduction in physical changes that linked with cell aging. 維生素C與E能保護端粒，延長細胞壽命，減緩與細胞老化相關的生理變化。研究表明，這些維生素能顯著延長細胞壽命。
Vitamin D + Calcium 維生素D與鈣 It’s important for a range of vital cellular processes including cellular differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis. As a result of the multiple functions of vitamin D, it has been speculated that vitamin D might play a role in telomere biology and genomic stability. 維生素D參與細胞分化、增殖及凋亡等多個重要細胞過程，因此可能在端粒生物學及基因組穩定性中扮演角色。
Essential Fatty Acid 必需脂肪酸 Such as fish oil, algae oil, flaxseed contain Omega 3 which could reduce inflammatory and help Telomere lengthening. 魚油、藻油及亞麻籽等富含Omega-3脂肪酸，能減少炎症並促進端粒延長。
Reduce Stress, reframe negative thoughts and rewire your mind 減壓與正向思維 Things might get to you and it’s not easy to let go. Telomere listens to your thoughts so find a way to address the problems, solutions could be done in a short period of time or some don’t. In the meantime, add activities that could help you fill your soul, disconnect with that toxic to you. Everyone has different ways to do), but at the end it goes down to one thing: don’t let the stress get to you, don’t let it in. Things are figureoutable. 壓力會影響端粒健康，因此應學會處理問題，並加入能充實心靈的活動，避免有害環境影響。每個人方法不同，但核心理念是：不要讓壓力影響你。
Get Enough Sleep 充足睡眠 Sleep is crucial to Telomere, in our previous article about sleep deprivation, it amplifies our emotions, our stress response and how hormone functions. Other than that, sleep disorder creates oxidative stress, a chemical known to shorten telomeres, damage DNA, proteins and lipids. Furthermore, a proper sleep keeps cell reproduction. 睡眠對端粒極為重要。睡眠不足會加劇情緒反應、壓力反應及荷爾蒙失衡，並造成氧化壓力，縮短端粒、損傷DNA、蛋白質及脂質。良好睡眠還能促進細胞再生。
Exercise 運動 It might sound cliche but the right amount of exercising with the right technique of breathing actually help reduce damage by free radicals, allowing your body maintain health instead of repairing damage and keep the length of the Telomere. 適量運動配合正確呼吸方式，可減少自由基造成的損害，維持健康並保護端粒長度。
Oxaloacetic Acid 草酰乙酸 Some of you might have heard of this if you are into biohack or brain hack, it’s a substance not directly affect telomere lengthening, but that helps to support DNA by growing NAD and work on the NAD and NMH ratio in the body, however the source from food is very low and unable to make any difference. 對生物駭客或腦力駭客來說可能熟悉。它本身不直接延長端粒，但可透過促進NAD與NMH比率支持DNA健康。食物中含量低，效果有限。
Does Collagen Still Matter? 膠原蛋白還有用嗎？
The answer is Yes! Chopstick doesn’t work alone, it needs to be used in a pair so it doesn’t break easily and work probably. Lengthening Telomere requires lifestyle and diet changes, get the right nutrition for the body and the skin, keep the gut working probably, how different nutrition intake support each other and keep a positive state of mind. It’s all about being aligned and 360 living. 答案是肯定的！筷子需要成雙使用才能發揮作用，膠原蛋白亦需要搭配整體生活方式與飲食調整：提供身體與皮膚所需營養、維持腸道功能、互補營養攝取及保持正向心態。
Please keep in mind, it’s not a one day thing, it takes a long time and consistency to maintain your inner and outer glow. 這是一個整體、360度的生活方式，不是一朝一夕可完成的，需要長期穩定的維護，才能保持內外光彩。
This article was originally published on our website in September 2018
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