Forever young: Look like a baby? Cheer up, you might live longer.

I’ve been stalled at bar entrances a few too many times.

I’m freckled and babyfaced, and doormen don’t always trust my license. They accuse me of toting a fake and often demand a second or third form to prove my 1986-birthday. As realization dawns, their apologies are always a hurried, “Oh, hunny, don’t worry. You’ll love it when you’re 60.”

The problem, of course, is that I am not 60. I don’t — ever, again — want to look like a middle-school student. The braces are off, my friends! Hallelujah.

After reading a new Danish study, though, I’m praising my youthful DNA.  In the study, nurses and trainees rated 387 sets of twins to determine which sibling looked youngest.  On average, the baby-faced halves lived longer than their more wrinkled counterparts.

The biological reason is pretty straightforward.  Telomeres, pieces of DNA that allow cells to replicate quickly, are linked to aging.  The young-looking twins in this study, who were all between 70 and 90 years old, tended to have longer telomeres than their siblings.

It seems like another cruel trick of nature. Youthful genes are not just random allotments to the forever young but they also indicate health. The beautiful people get to live longer and look good doing it!

Yet, doesn’t this also make sense?  If someone lives a healthy lifestyle — e.g. avoids tanning, smoking and other habits that throw aging into warp speed — it’s logical that their cells will retain the ability to replicate quickly. Stress and other external factors can also affect perceived age, the researches said.

Cruel world or not, I know I’ll smile the next time a bartender asks to see a license, credit card and passport.

Read more:

BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8411329.stm?lsm

Shine.yahoo.com: http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/hey-there-baby-face-you-might-just-outlive-the-rest-of-us-554231/;_ylt=AkSyJCEg1B2NigTCm.H3UxhrbqU5

Quality Learning: http://qualitylearning.wordpress.com/2009/12/15/people-who-look-younger-live-longer/

Grant Lawrence: http://grantlawrence.blogspot.com/2009/12/look-younger-live-longer.html