Okay, so you’ve bought yourself a fancy new test kit to calculate your biological age, and it’s given you a figure that’s uncomfortably higher than your age in years. What next? What do the results mean when you break them down? What do you need to do to turn this data into improvements in your health (https://longevity.technology/lifestyle/how-to-interpret-and-use-your-biological-age-test-results/)?
For most of us, phrases like “DNA methylation”, “telomere length” or “advanced glycation end products” don’t exactly roll off the tongue, but they’re the terminology we need to master if we want to understand how most biological age tests work. The more biomarkers you can analyze, the more precise your results, but also the more confusing it may be to someone without a scientific background.
First, we need to understand the difference between chronological and biological age. Chronological age is the one where you count the number of birthdays since the year you were born. Biological age is more complex. It’s about how different parts of the body, and all its processes and systems, can age at different rates. Perhaps your heart is wearing out early but your brain is still firing at full power. It depends on a network of different factors.
If your biological age is significantly higher than your chronological age, it could be an indication that you’re not in the best of health, and that could have implications for your overall longevity. High biological age can be an early warning sign – the wakeup call you need to adjust your lifestyle so you eat better, exercise more, and cut out unhealthy habits like smoking.
A good biological age test will highlight the specific areas where you’re most at risk, and that assessment can help make personalized recommendations tailored to your specific health needs. Perhaps you need to reduce your salt intake for the sake of your blood pressure. If cholesterol is an issue, it’s saturated fat that’s the worry. It may help to talk to a medical professional to explain everything.
Biological age isn’t set in stone. Make the necessary modifications to your lifestyle and environment, boost the chemicals and processes that need boosting, and maybe your biological age will improve. There are no guarantees, so it’s important to start with small goals and be realistic, but keeping track of your biological age can help you see and celebrate concrete improvements.
