Discover Your Real Age: Your Biological Age. Six-Step Plan to Turn Back the Clock

Do you get uncomfortable when someone asks how old you are? Do you lie? There’s no escaping reality. Every time the Earth rotates around the sun, you add another year to your chronological age. The good news is this fixed number is not the only way to measure time’s passage. Biological age is how old your cells are. Understanding how this affects aging and life expectancy is a core part of increasing your longevity. 

Age is just a number but it turns out, it’s a number we can change. The choices we make define us. Every day we decide what to eat, what to drink, whether or not to exercise. Measured in months and years, those choices have an outsized impact on biological age. 

Biological age is how old we appear – both inside and out. This measurement reveals the true age of our organs like the heart and liver. Our biological age is suggested by our posture and balance. It’s reflected in our skin. We can lie all we want about our chronological age. Our biological age always tells the truth. Here are six proven ways to actually reverse aging and increase your life expectancy.

The Truth About Biological Age 

During the pandemic, the average American life expectancy declined. Although this has shifted, the steady growth in life expectancy enjoyed during the 20th century has slowed in the 21st. More people are dying from addictions to drugs and alcohol; heart disease takes 700,000 lives while cancer kills nearly as many. 

Despite these obstacles, scientists, doctors, and entrepreneurs are collaborating on a mission to lengthen longevity. Their discoveries will do more than help the fortunate few but could actually increase the average life expectancy for the many. 

Aging truly occurs on a cellular level – and beyond. Over time, our cells slowly become unable to either regenerate or repair themselves. This phase of senescence when our cells are no longer replicating but aren’t dying either can be a roadblock to longevity. This senescence is often the result of DNA damage that’s gone unrepaired. It can also be accelerated by lifestyle choices and genetics. 

Scientists focused on longevity examine the chromosomes carrying a cell’s blueprint: our DNA. These chromosomes have a protective cap at the end called a “telomere.” They’re designed to prevent chromosomal deterioration. As we age, these telomeres shorten. Examining their length offers insight into the individual’s health. Standing in as a rough approximation for not only our current health but our future life expectancy, telomeres are just one piece of the biological age puzzle. 

Alteration at the cellular level contributes to the development of diseases that are most often linked to unhealthy aging and reduced life expectancy. These include cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and dementia. These diseases are roadblocks to a long and happy healthspan – defined as simply the part of your life when you aren’t facing aging-related diseases. Because after all, it’s not about the quantity of your life. It’s about the quality. 

Another piece of the longevity puzzle is a process known as DNA methylation. This occurs during normal cellular repair and replication. DNA methylation doesn’t change your genes. It changes how they are expressed – by turning your genes on or off like a switch. Examining this DNA methylation, doctors can see distinctions between smokers and non smokers, between people who are overweight and those who aren’t. 

Despite these breakthroughs, an inexpensive and reliable biological age test hasn’t been invented yet. Still, it’s possible to estimate your life expectancy by utilizing AI-powered analytics and advanced health testing. The first step is learning about the health hazards that can lower your lifespan. You could be symptom-free. Yet these unseen hazards are like the early rumblings of a volcano. Ignore them for too long, and it could be disastrous. 

The first step is to take a simple, at-home blood test. While many companies charge hundreds of dollars for similar tests, Kyla’s is just $99. The cost may even be covered by your insurance. Start by taking a short quiz so you can choose the best test. After ordering, you’ll receive the testing kit along with instructions for sample collection in just a few days. Collect a few drops of blood and mail your sample back to our labs postage free. 

Soon, you’ll receive detailed results. You’ll learn if there were inflammation markers in your blood – a warning sign for elevated cancer risk. You’ll discover the current state of your hormonal and cardiovascular health along with how well your liver is functioning. There will be information about vitamin and mineral deficiencies. You can even discover your brain health risks and make changes to your lifestyle that will support cognitive function and overall well-being.

Best of all, by downloading the Kyla app you’ll be able to enjoy a brand new, cutting edge feature. While there may not be a biological age test, using data driven analytics and your test results the Kyla app can estimate your biological age. It can even tell you your expected lifetime duration. 

Remember, this number isn’t set in stone. You’re in control. So if you’re worried about your biological age and want to lengthen your lifespan, there are things you can do. It’s even possible to reverse aging by making some simple lifestyle changes. Using graphs on the app, you’ll be able to visualize your progress. And by consulting with a Kyla doctor, you’ll learn how to lengthen your lifespan.  

“The biology that drives the aging process is being demystified right in front of our eyes to the point that it’s conceivable to think about slowing the pace of aging, turning the clock back and altering the course of someone’s lifespan,” Douglas E. Vaughan, MD, chair of Medicine and the Irving S. Cutter Professor of Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine explained on the school’s website. “DNA methylation can be reversed by lifestyle changes. You can alter your fate with diet and exercise, for example.”

Here are six proven ways to lower your biological age and reverse aging. They can lengthen not just your lifespan but your healthspan as well. 

1. You Really Are What You Eat

Bryan Johnson is spending an estimated $2 million per year to reduce his biological age. Yet many of his longevity enhancing activities are affordable for just about everyone. That’s because diet is the first step toward lengthening lifespan. 

Those who live in the so-called Blue Zones, places where the average life expectancy is higher than anywhere else in the world, eat healthy food. They limit consumption of processed foods and red meat in favor of colorful vegetables and lean protein sources like fish and chicken. Healthy meals include whole grains, legumes, and nuts. 

Long-living people often focus on cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, kale, and cauliflower along with low-glycemic fruits that don’t raise your blood sugar including pears, apples, and slightly green or unripe bananas. Other healthy foods include eggs, liver, and green.   

A life-lengthening diet also watches out for added sugar and salt. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the occasional indulgence. “Our time is the only thing we can’t get back or buy more of,” Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider, an internal medicine physician in San Francisco told Fortune Magazine. “From my experiences caring for many patients at the end of their lives, it’s not about the number of years lived, it’s about the quality of that life…In the case of Mr. Johnson, it is difficult to predict whether these extreme measures will significantly extend his life expectancy. Given how strictly he has to adhere to nutrition, exercise, medical testing, and so forth, I am concerned that his quality of life is compromised.” 

Lucile Randon DC, also known as Sister André, enjoyed a daily chocolate and red wine. She lived to 118 years old – just a few years younger than the world’s oldest verified human, Jeanne Calment who made it to 122. Both women were from France (Martinique, France was recently added to the Blue Zone list.) Remember, healthy meals are ones you enjoy eating and preparing. Think of your eating habits as part of a new lifestyle rather than as a temporary diet. 

2. Water Lengthens Life

Examining serum sodium ranges, researchers discovered that it was a good approximation of the subject’s overall health and life expectancy potential. Serum sodium increases when fluid levels drop. Those with the highest numbers were less likely to drink water consistently and more likely to have a biological age that matched or exceeded their chronological age. “Decreased body water content is the most common factor that increases serum sodium, which is why the results suggest that staying well hydrated may slow down the aging process and prevent or delay chronic disease,” said Natalia Dmitrieva, Ph.D., a study author and researcher in the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine at NHLBI. 

It’s a simple and easy way to lengthen your lifespan and even reverse aging.  Drink more water. While the old saw about eight eight-ounce glasses daily may be an exaggeration, the key is to never feel truly thirsty. When you experience thirst, it’s an early warning sign for dehydration. Flavored water and seltzer are fine. Other beverages can improve hydration as well but avoid higher calorie sodas or juices. 

3. Add Years To Your Life With Just Thirty Minutes a Day of Exercise

The best way to start being active is to start being active. In other words, find opportunities for fitness. Walk up the stairs at work instead of taking an elevator. Stroll around the neighborhood. Many people who live past the century mark continue to be physically active. Most of them do so with normal daily activities rather than joining a gym or health club. Researching people who are over 100, Dan Buettner photographed many of them lifting weights, surfing, or engaging in other physical activity.

It doesn’t take much. You needn’t run a marathon to lengthen your lifespan. Just 15 minutes of daily walking, jogging, or swimming can make a real difference. So can bike riding. Add some light weights to the mix, and you have the beginnings of a truly healthy regimen. As noted in one examination of over a dozen different studies, being physically active reduces the risk of dying from a wide variety of causes including high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. In fact, being active reduces your risk of dying from anything by one-third. 

Of course, achieving the real lifespan lengthener when it comes to exercise isn’t easy. Recommendations are to do a minimum of 30 minutes a day at “a perceived exertion of 60-80% of one’s maximum,” as aging expert Dr. Kara Fitzgerald explained to Fortune magazine. But then that’s a goal, not a starting place. Becoming more active today will pay dividends tomorrow. 

4. Relax, Meditate, and Focus on Your Breathing

The ancient arts have a place in modern longevity. For decades, studies examining practitioners of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness practices have revealed their longer lifespans. Part of this may be connected to the way we process stress – and perception is a big part of the challenge. That’s because shortened telomeres have been connected to depression and chronic stress among other mental health concerns. These chromosomal caps are an accurate predictor of disease risk regardless of chronological age. 

The connection between poor mental health and lifespan shortening conditions like hypertension, obesity, and depression has been well established. Mindfulness and meditation appears to sever the link between chronic stress and shortened telomeres. Practices include activities like transcendental meditation, where silently repeating a word or phrase has been shown to reduce blood pressure as effectively as medication. It means practicing mindfulness – the art of being present and aware of your surroundings while not being overwhelmed by unexpected events. It means learning to control our breathing during times of anxiety – like counting an inhalation to five, holding for five, and then exhaling for five. 

Online yoga classes also offer the chance to combine physical exercise with relaxation techniques.  Studies have shown that engaging in practices that relax and calm us have positive benefits including a reduction in biological age. For those who once practiced or currently practice a faith, prayer has also been shown to reduce stress. It can lower the rate you breathe while slowing your heart rate.

5.  Sleep Is Essential

The same advice applies to nearly every type of health concern from depression to obesity. Get at least seven hours of sleep per night. The connection between poor sleep habits and physical and mental decline has been clearly defined. Researchers have also linked getting less than seven hours of sleep per night consistently with an increased risk of death from all causes. Getting insufficient sleep for extended periods of time can add years to your biological age.  

If you care about lengthening your healthspan, a good night’s sleep is vital. It should be as significant and sacred as daily workouts and nutritious meals.

6.  There May Be Life-lengthening Supplements That Can Help 

While it may seem like there’s a new vitamin or mineral recommended every day, some have a proven effectiveness. One is polyphenols,  which can be found in cherries, blueberries, and strawberries among other fruits but is also contained in chocolate. coffee, and green or black tea. Don’t look for “polyphenols” on an ingredient list but know they are also present in cereals, beans, and soy. However, some recommend adding a green powder containing this class of plant compounds  to your regimen, which can be consumed with a glass of water. If you go this route, research to find the best ones available. 

The other supplement is probiotics, which has an outsized impact on gut health. While it can be found in yogurt and some other dairy products, a supplement may be the best way to consistently get probiotics. “Thanks to science, the mysteries of aging are now being revealed,” points out Dr. Vaughan, MD from the at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.”The biology that drives the aging process is being demystified right in front of our eyes to the point that it’s conceivable to think about slowing the pace of aging, turning the clock back and altering the course of someone’s lifespan.”

By accessing the Kyla app, you can not only discover your anticipated lifespan but learn how to reverse aging and lower your biological age. Reducing the biological age is an important step toward achieving what is called age escape velocity. This is when your efforts at combating aging and disease will add more than a year of lifespan for every year you’re alive. 

By testing for numerous conditions that can reduce longevity and then taking proactive steps to slow down or even reverse many aspects of aging, you will be moving toward this challenging goal. That’s because the Kyla app empowers users to take a data-driven approach to improving their health, potentially enhancing longevity and well-being through personalized insights. So download the Kyla App today. 

Sources:

1. Payton, L’Oreal Thompson. “How old are you, really? What your biological age is—and a Six-step plan to help lower it,” Fortune. June 14, 2024. https://fortune.com/well/2023/02/09/what-is-my-biological-age/
2. Fitzgerald, Kara N., et al. “Potential reversal of epigenetic age using a diet and lifestyle intervention: a pilot randomized clinical trial,” Aging. April 12, 2021. https://www.aging-us.com/article/202913/text
3. Mikhail, Byalexa. “The 45-year-old CEO spending $2 million a year on anti-aging is probably wasting his money, longevity expert says,” Fortune. February 1, 2023. https://fortune.com/well/2023/02/01/will-bryan-johnson-reverse-aging-regimen-extend-his-life/
4. “What is Your Actual Age? The Science of Longevity,” Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. June 2022. https://www.nm.org/healthbeat/medical-advances/science-and-research/What-is-Your-Actual-Age
5. Simmons-Duffin, Selena. “Live free and die?’ The sad state of U.S. life expectancy,” NPR Morning Edition. March 25, 2023. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/03/25/1164819944/live-free-and-die-the-sad-state-of-u-s-life-expectancy
6. Harris, Emily. “Life Expectancy in US Climbed After Declines Related to COVID-19,” JAMA. December 13, 2023. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2813157
7. “Good hydration linked with longevity,” National Institutes of Health. January 13, 2023. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/news/2023/good-hydration-linked-longevity
8. Reimers, C D et al. “Does physical activity increase life expectancy? A review of the literature.” Journal of Aging Research.  July 1, 2012. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22811911
9. Epel, Elissa et al. “Can meditation slow rate of cellular aging? Cognitive stress, mindfulness, and telomeres.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. August 2009. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3057175/
10. “Roundtable on Population Health Improvement; Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice: Lessons from the Blue Zones,”Institute of Medicine. Business Engagement in Building Healthy Communities: Workshop Summary. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US). May 6, 2015. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK298903/