Now, we usually love science. Science is awesome! Science deals in facts and evidence, so you can't argue against it. It can't really be misinterpreted or changed, because facts are facts, right? But every once in a while, a new scientific study comes along with research that is ... a little hard to swallow. We don't mean that the research is wrong - far be it from us to question science. We mean that the research runs contrary to everything we know to be true in our own lives. This 2016 study on aging is one such piece of research. We truly WANT to believe that having more children slows the aging process. We want to believe that so very much! But ... personal experience tells us otherwise. But science says that the more kids a woman has, the slower she ages, so we're going to give science a chance here.

The 2016 study published in Science Daily was conducted by researchers at Simon Fraser University. The research suggests that the number of children a woman has can actually influence the rate at which her body ages. The more kids, the slower the rate of aging. This is because women who give birth to more living children have longer telomeres.

What are telomeres, you ask? They're kind of like the little pieces of plastic at the end of a shoelace. These protective tips are found at the end of each DNA strand, and they are indicative of the cellular aging process. The longer the telomeres, the faster the cell replication, and thus, slower aging rate and increased longevity!

Now, we fully accept that to be true. Howver, there's big difference between physical signs of aging and longevity. Will having more kids help you live longer? Quite possibly! Will having more children make you look and feel younger? Well, on that point we're not quite convinced. More children means more stress, less money, less sleep, and less time. All of those things age you like cheese.

But still, it's a pretty cool study. And just think - the more kids you have, the more options you have for someone to care for you in your old age since you'll live so long!

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