CHILDHOOD MALTREATMENT MAY SHORTEN LIFESPAN. I’ve mentioned telomeres in previous posts. These are almost like the fuses on the ends of our cell’s DNA. The longer they are the longer that cell can divide. Many lifestyle aspects can protect (fish oils) or shorten (stress) the telomeres and essentially accelerate aging.
This article looks at the length of the telomeres in adult who had experience childhood maltreatment (physical, emotional, nutritional) and found that they had shortened telomeres. As the father of a 4 yr old, it breaks my heart to think of any child who has more to worry about than not getting that item in the checkout line of Target.
Read entire article here.