When cells become cancerous, they live forever. They lose apoptosis and forget to die. Cancer cells then transfer to other tissues to prevent them from functioning. For example, breast cancer cells become so abundant that they may travel to your liver and damage it so you lose liver function. They travel to your brain and you lose brain function. Cancer cells kill by preventing other tissues from functioning in your body. What would happen if your cells lived longer than they are supposed to, but still retained apoptosis and died, only later than they normally do? Perhaps you would live longer. This study shows that running a marathon prolongs the life of cells by increasing many of the messenger chemicals associated with delayed apoptosis, including SIRT1 (an enzyme that contributes to longevity).

Shortened telomeres (chromosome caps) represent aging. An earlier study showed that fifty-year-old competitive marathon runners have telomeres that were almost the same length as those of 20-year-old runners on the German National Team, and more than 40 percent longer than those or inactive men of the same age.

Reprinted with persmission from Dr. Gabe Mirkin's Fitness and Health E-Zine.

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Dr. Larry Smith D.C., B.P.E.
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Parksville, British Columbia
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