To Age is the new Young

An indicator of a long and healthy life

Unlike your chronological age, which you find in your passport, your biological age is based on your bodily health (3). Your biological age is in turn influenced by your genetic predispositions and, above all, by your lifestyle (1). By analyzing and affecting your biological age, you can use it as an indicator of your health and you can become biologically younger.

Optimize well-being and reduce the risk of age-related diseases

Biological aging is closely linked to chronic diseases, muscle weakness, impaired cognitive performance, cancer and worsening general condition (1). With the help of the right knowledge and tools, we can reduce the risk of many of the diseases and ailments that usually affect us as we get older. Many lifestyle interventions are also positive for your cognitive health and contribute to a stronger body with improved mental well-being and optimized performance (2).

Your lifestyle affects your biological age

Your biological age is largely influenced by your lifestyle and genetic predispositions (1)(4).  Factors like movement, diet and stress can be crucial for your body’s aging process. Your lifestyle does not only affect your current state of health but also contributes to how genes are expressed – this is described further by the term epigenetics.

Hallmarks of Aging – the science of aging

The body’s aging mechanisms have been studied at various levels and are collectively known as the “Hallmarks of Aging” (6). These mechanisms consist of 9 – 12 descriptive processes that occur at the cellular level and affect the aging of the body. By understanding the mechanisms behind aging, we can work preventively to reduce the risk of disease and live longer, healthier lives. This understanding is especially an important framework in research on aging and drug development. If you would like more in-depth knowledge on how aging happens at the cellular level, we recommend reading our articles about the Hallmarks of Aging.

Read the first part here. 

Evidence-based epigenetic clocks as measuring tools

There are several different ways to measure your biological age. At NEM, we use reliable evidence-based methods and work with epigenetic age determination. Through epigenetic clocks, it’s possible to measure the methylation of your DNA (5) which enables the determination of biological age. Our physicians use this measurement to evaluate your health progress.

Get the tools to stay younger, longer

Every human being is unique. Hence, there is no generic recipe for how we should live to remain biologically younger. At NEM, we do not only measure your biological age, but we rather use it as a tool to understand your health and your needs. Together with your personal longevity physician, we develop a tailored framework for you, based on, among other things, your biological age, blood tests with 57 carefully selected markers, a genetic mapping of your DNA and a smart lifestyle questionnaire*. By interpreting clinical findings and your biometric data, your personal physician creates an individual health plan with advice on nutrition, sleep, supplements need, exercise, and behavioral change. With continuous physician consultations and blood sampling, you create new and sustainable habits – for a healthier life.

Read more about our membership here.

*when purchasing the product NEM360

References

1. Johnson AA, English BW, Shokhirev MN, Sinclair DA, Cuellar TL. Human age reversal: Fact or fiction? Aging Cell. 2022 Aug;21(8):e13664. doi: 10.1111/acel.13664. Epub 2022 Jul 2. PMID: 35778957; PMCID: PMC9381899.
2. Sood, S., Gallagher, I.J., Lunnon, K. et al. A novel multi-tissue RNA diagnostic of healthy ageing relates to cognitive health status. Genome Biol 16, 185 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-015-0750-x
3. Galkin F, Mamoshina P, Aliper A, de Magalhães JP, Gladyshev VN, Zhavoronkov A. Biohorology and biomarkers of aging: Current state-of-the-art, challenges and opportunities. Ageing Res Rev. 2020 Jul;60:101050. doi: 10.1016/j.arr.2020.101050. Epub 2020 Apr 6. PMID: 32272169.
4. Sebastiani, P., & Perls, T. T. (2012). The Genetics of Extreme Longevity: Lessons from the New England Centenarian Study. Frontiers in Genetics, 3. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2012.00277
5. Li A, Mueller A, English B, Arena A, Vera D, Kane AE, Sinclair DA. Novel feature selection methods for construction of accurate epigenetic clocks. PLoS Comput Biol. 2022 Aug 19;18(8):e1009938. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009938. PMID: 35984867; PMCID: PMC9432708.
6. López-Otín C, Blasco MA, Partridge L, Serrano M, Kroemer G. The hallmarks of aging. Cell. 2013 Jun 6;153(6):1194–217.