Excessive Exercise ! Good or Bad ?

A   new study  has found that strenuous, long-term exercise may have anti-aging properties by virtue of its effect on telomeres.

Exercise may have beneficial properties at a chromosomal level, specifically on telomeres, the ends of chromosomes that are believed to have an impact on aging.

What are telomeres ? 
 A telomere is a region of repetitive DNA sequences at the end of a chromosome, which protects the end of the chromosome from deterioration or from fusion with neighboring chromosome

Telomeres have been compared with caps on the ends of shoelaces, protecting against genetic unraveling, which, in turn, can lead to diseases.
When telomeres become too short after repeated cell divisions, cells die.

 As people get older, telomeres get shorter.

The study found an association between telomere length and leisure time exercise. It concluded that a sedentary lifestyle may accelerate the aging process as the result of telomere shortening.


Too Much Exercise cause Aging?

'Excessive exercise promotes the biological aging of middle-aged women'
according to Shin Yun-a, professor of physical education at Seoul National University.
Heavy exercises consume more oxygenShin released a paper regarding the effect of heavy exercise on middle-aged women’s telomeres, an aging indicator in cells and discovered telomeres got shorter when women in middle age in their 30s to 60s do excessive exercise. According to her, sudden and heavy exercise requires excessive oxygen consumption, causing aging.
Shin explained that after heavy exercise, the women’s lipid peroxidation, that damage cells, rapidly increased. Excessive exercise also caused superoxide dismutase (SOD) deactivation — SOD is an enzyme protecting cells against aging.
Free radicals cause cellular damageAnother article at the Department of Physiology in the University of Valencia also stated that exercise causes an increase in the generation of free radicals by cells and these radicals cause cellular damage.   However, this is only when exercise is exhaustive as strenous exercise causes oxidation of glutathione, release of cytosolic enzymes, and other signs of cell damage.
Antioxidant supplements can helpThe same article pointed out that the damage can be prevented by antioxidant administration and this is similar to what I read in Men’s Health Magazine, which encouraged those who exercise to supplement with antioxidants (vitamins A, C & E) in order toreduce the post-workout infllamtion.  Definitely something to consider, especially for those who exercises regularly.
So if you exercise, do exercise in moderation as well.