In the not-too-distant future, your doctor may be able to perform a simple blood test that will predict your future.
Sound a little science-fiction-like?
Well, it’s true. Researchers are at work as we speak on measuring how fast you’re aging, and what diseases may be waiting for you.
Most importantly, this could give you clues on how to turn your health around, avoid disease and live longer…
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Chronological vs biological age
“Imagine two people aged 65,” says Aditi Gurkar, a geriatrician at the University of Pittsburgh. “One rides a bike to work and goes skiing on the weekends and the other can’t climb a flight of stairs.”
“They have the same chronological age, but very different biological ages. Why do these two people age differently?”
That’s the question that a recent study set out to answer.
We have our actual ages — the number of years we’ve been alive — and then we have biological ages, which in simple terms is the wear and tear on cells and organs.
Knowing our biological age can help determine our disease risk. Our doctor can then tailor treatments and advise us on how to slow the rate at which our body is deteriorating.
Metabolites reveal your biological age
The University of Pittsburgh study looked at 196 elderly volunteers, splitting them into two groups: healthy agers, 75 or older; and rapid agers between the ages of 65 to 75.
The healthy agers could climb a flight of stairs or walk for fifteen minutes without resting, while the rapid agers had to take breaks through each activity.
The researchers looked for different metabolites, or small chemicals left behind by various biological processes occurring in the body.
In this way, they have evidence for which processes are happening and how well they’re running.
They found 25 metabolites that indicated significant differences between rapid agers and healthy agers and named this group of molecules the Healthy Aging Metabolic Index, or HAM Index.
In tests run on a separate group, the HAM Index proved to be 68 percent accurate at determining biological age.
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What we know about slowing biological aging
These researchers hope to develop a quick and easy blood test that can even be used on people as young as 30 to determine biological age and perhaps “prescribe” advice on how to age more healthfully.
In the meantime, though, there’s plenty you can do at any age to keep your biological age from catching up with your chronological age. The further apart those two numbers are, the better.
The American Heart Association says following Lifes’s Essential 8 can reduce the effects of aging by six years. Their list includes many of these healthy practices:
Speaking of telomeres, the important “caps” on the ends of chromosomes, a study conducted on 2,000 women and reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition claims that the more vitamin D participants had, the longer their telomeres were. This was true whether vitamin D came from the sun, dietary sources or supplements.
Of all the “diets” out there, calorie restriction has long been associated with slowing biological aging. But that’s too hard for many. Fortunately, following a Mediterranean-style diet — low in processed foods and red meat and high in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory foods may add as much as seven years to your life.
It’s not that hard to follow. It’s more like a style of eating than an actual diet. Here’s my guide to getting started on eating Mediterranean.
With these tools in hand, you’re well-equipped to live a long, healthy life!
Sources:
A Blood Test Could Reveal Your Biological Age And Predict Disease Risk — Science Alert
A molecular index for biological age identified from the metabolome and senescence-associated secretome in humans — Aging Cell
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