Image by Cornell University Library
Exercise –
Exercising is a key to staying healthy and research shows that people who exercise age more slowly. This is perhaps due to the fact that exercise has been associated with preventing telomere shortening. Telomeres are strands of DNA at the ends of each chromosome that shorten as we age.
Don’t Smoke –
Smoking causes the skin to wrinkle and wreaks havoc on our brains, heart and lungs. The inflammation caused by smoking is thought to speed the aging process.
Eat a Healthy Diet –
You are what you eat. A healthy diet provides antioxidants that gobble up free radicals that speed the aging process. It also helps maintain a healthy weight which is important in preventing a host of diseases.
Stop Snoring –
Sleep apnea, a condition is which people stop breathing during sleep because tissues in your throat collapse blocking the airway, can cause high blood pressure, memory problems, weight gain, and depression.
Take Resveratrol –
Resveratrol is a powerful antioxidant found most prevalently in the skins of grapes. It provides the health benefits associated with red wine. Just like exercise, it slows telomere shortening. It is available in supplement form.
Manage Your Stress –
Excessive stress leads to the production of hormones in the body that are detrimental to long term health. High stress levels delays healing, increases fat deposition and suppresses the immune system.
Keep Your Insulin Levels In Check –
Insulin is a hormone in the body that is secreted in response to carbohydrate consumption. An excessive level, due to excessive carbohydrate and sugar intake, is associated with increased cellular aging. Keep grains and sugar to a low level in your diet.
Get Out in the Sun –
Being in the sun not only improves mood, but it produces vitamin D. Vitamin D affects up to 10% of your genes and allows them to function optimally. Vitamin D has also been shown to reduce the rate of many types of cancer.
Get Your Fats –
Eating a diet high in healthy fats, like omega-3, is essential for heart and brain health. Good sources include fish and nuts. To get optimal benefit, however, most people will likely have to supplement with fish oil.
Control Your Blood Pressure –
High blood pressure increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and a host of other diseases. Controlling it will allow you to live longer. It is best to control it by losing weight and exercising.
The Vreeland Clinic's Blog 
i understand folic acid also protects telemores from shortening. what has puzzeled me about that is that cancer cells the telemores never shorten, thus never die. odd isnt it?
Cancer cells have undergone many genetic changes that allow them to grow uncontrolled. The genes that control telomere length have been altered as you mentioned but the genes that control a process called apoptosis have been turned off as well. Apoptosis, or programmed cellular death, is an inherent protective mechanism that most cells go through when they detect a defect in the cell’s metabolism. Another protective measure is that most cells will stop growing when they come in contact with other cells. It signals that they have reached a border and should not grow any further. In cancer cells, this mechanism has also been disabled.