New research supersedes what many believed about aging in relation to genes, that its effects can be slowed by a daily regimen change of diet, exercise and stress management.

According to a University of California San Francisco (UCSF) news release, researchers believe they have proved for the first time that aging has little to do with one's genes and more to do with one's habits.

The study, published online Monday in the journal the Lancet Oncology, was a collaboration between UCSF scientists and the Preventative Medicine Research Institute (PMRI).

UCSF clinical professor of medicine and PMRI founder, Dean Ornish, MD, said genes do not necessarily determine how we will age.

"So often people think 'Oh, I have bad genes, there's nothing I can do about it,'" Ornish said. "But these findings indicate that telomeres may lengthen to the degree that people change how they live. Research indicates that longer telomeres are associated with fewer illnesses and longer life."

Telomeres are directly related to the effects of aging because they are the shielding caps on the end of chromosomes that determine how a cell ages. They are combinations of DNA and protein that stabilize the chromosome by protecting its ends. As telomeres deteriorate, cells age and die quicker, leading to the effects of aging.

Lessened telomeres have been related to aging-related diseases such as various types of cancer, stroke, vascular dementia, cardiovascular disease, obesity, osteoporosis and diabetes.

For their study, the researchers followed 35 men with the early stages of prostate cancer for five years to analyze the relation between comprehensive lifestyle changes and telomere length. Ten participants were asked to make lifestyle changes and the other 25 were not.

Those that were asked altered their diet to a plant-based one, consisting of fruits, vegetables and unrefined grains, while remaining low in fat and refined carbohydrates. They also exercised moderately, about 30 minutes of walking per day, six days per week. Lastly, they took part in various stress management techniques including gentle yoga stretching, breathing and meditation, as well as participating in a support group.

The ten that changed their lifestyle experienced longer telomeres by as much as ten percent and the more someone adopted those changes, the better their results. The 25 who did not change their lifestyle had telomeres shorter by three percent at the conclusion of the study.

"Telomere shortening increases the risk of a wide variety of chronic diseases," co-senior author Peter Carroll, professor and chair of the UCSF Department of Urology, said. "We believe that increases in telomere length may help to prevent these conditions and perhaps even lengthen lifespan."