Reversing your epigenetic aging with Healthy Habits
Aging. The mystery which has fascinated, given concern and scared humanity for I don’t know - forever? Just the idea getting older - why is it such a worry for us though? It is completely natural, right? The thought of losing the vitality, energy and health we enjoy in our younger years is naturally concerning of course. But if it is inevitable, why should we worry about it?
The view on aging can be controversial and we, as natural living organisms, could see aging simply as the path paved for us by evolution. The way it should be - the natural way. Right?
Looking at this from another viewpoint to the grand matter of aging, it is increasingly evident that aging is becoming a very visible, costly and painful social challenge for humanity. There are some experts who are claiming that aging is a disease which could be prevented or even cured somewhere in the future.
My intention is not to delve into the sensitive area of ethics of life extension beyond its “Natural” limits. What is interesting and the discussion today is simply the viewpoint of how a few simple steps can actually lengthen your life and improve the quality of the “silver years”.
For many countries around the world, aging population is becoming a real issue from healthcare-, social- and economic cost standpoints. Aging is the biggest risk factor for mental and physical impairments and diseases such as cancer, neurodegeneration, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (1, 2). So in this sense aging could be described as an illness or disease in itself as well. Due to the nature and severity of this issue, the scientific world is amping up its efforts in identifying drivers for aging (biologic rather than chronologic) and the mechanisms of how aging actually happens in our bodies.
The results are interesting so far. There is a growing body of evidence stating that your chronological age (i.e. the actual time passed since your birth) and your biological age may not be the same. What does that mean? I am sure you have come across someone in their 30s or 40s who look much older or someone in their 70s or 80s still having the vitality and drive of someone decades younger than them. And how you live your life may actually have a big impact on your biological age.
A recent study, a pilot randomised clinical trial on the potential reversal of epigenetic aging through lifestyle interventions, indicated that simple lifestyle changes can quickly reduce years off of your biological age measured through DNA methylation and using the DNAmAge with the Horvath Clock. That’s promising right? Surprisingly the methods to start reversing your epigenetic aging are not unknown to most and very similar to the factors discussed in this study as well.
Healthy diet
30 minutes of exercise per day, 5 times per week (60-80% of maximum exertion)
Twice-a-day breathing exercises to induce relaxation response and decrease stress levels
Optimised sleep patterns - at least 7 hours per night
The results of this 8-week pilot study are quite impressive. Compared to the control group, participants in the treatment group showed on average 3.23 years lower biological age than the control group at the end of the 8-week treatment period and 1.96 years younger than they were themselves at the beginning of the treatment period. It is actually quite challenging to call this intervention a “treatment period” as what the scientists did here is a relatively simple lifestyle intervention which is very much available for most people.
Obviously the results are preliminary as the sample size is so small, giving some great limitations to this study but as there are many other studies similarly highlighting the impact of lifestyle changes to slowing down or even reversing aging, maybe it is time to start listening.
Changing our daily habits to healthier ones is the key for a happy, energetic and fulfilling life. Healthy habits enable you to reach your dream body composition, be smarter, more loving, happier and live longer.
This is exactly the reason we at Healthzilla are so passionate about Healthy Habits.