By lengthening your telomeres, you can extend your life. And that means for the first time, you can actually stop – even reverse – the aging process in your body.

Here’s the thing…

Your telomeres are extremely vulnerable to oxidative stress. And that’s exactly what antioxidants protect you against. This helps keep your telomeres long. And that, in turn, will help you live a longer and healthier life.

That’s where the healing powers of tea come in. The antioxidant properties of tea may be responsible for protecting the telomeres.

Green tea packs a powerful punch of antioxidants and phytonutrients that eradicates free radicals floating in your body. These are the primary culprits in aging.

The active ingredient in green tea is EGCG, which can prevent and repair cell damage. As a scavenger of free radicals, EGCG combats the effects of pollution, sunlight, and smoking, which helps skin from wrinkling and aging.

The best way to receive the benefits abundant in green tea – including the EGCG – is to start with whole tea leaves (sold in specialty tea stores) or with a tea bag.

Most of the bottled green tea drinks contain additives like aspartame that counteract brewed green tea’s healing properties. I suggest you make your own to maximize the powerful, antioxidant-fighting benefits. You can also find EGCG supplements at your local health-food store. I suggest taking 50 mg of EGCG daily.

And there are other ways to maintain your telomere length. Here’s what I recommend:

Vitamin B12 – Take at least 100 mcg per day. Although, I have advised my patients to take as much as 500 mcg per day or more for improving things like brain function and energy levels.

Vitamin C – Based on my own experience, taking up to 3,000 mg per day is a good amount if you’re in good health. I always recommend pregnant women get at least 6,000 mg per day. And in times of stress or sickness, you can take up to 20,000 mg.

Make sure that you get the natural form of vitamin C and not the synthetic form. In one particular study, natural vitamin C was 148% more effective than the synthetic form. And it stayed in the test participants’ systems longer.2

Vitamin E – Look for a multivitamin with at least 200 iu of “mixed tocopherols” rather than just alpha tocopherols. Your body is better able to absorb them in their organic “d” form.

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, MD

1. R. Chan, J. Woo, E. Suen, J. Leung, N. Tang, “Chinese tea consumption is associated with longer telomere length in elderly Chinese men,” British Journal of Nutrition, Aug, 12, 2009. http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=6047776
2. J.A. Vinson and P. Bose. “Comparative Bioavailability of Synthetic and Natural Vitamin C in Guinea Pigs.” Nutrition Reports International, 27, no. 4, 1983.