It estimates how well you might do on typical aging metrics (including things like one-leg balance, grip strength, IQ changes from childhood to age 45, and even how your face ages). DunedinPACE-DunedinPACE is an algorithm that correlates your epigenetic age with physical aging characteristics to give an estimate of your rate of aging.A tool that calculates immune age will look at the percentage values of your immune cells and determine how your biological aging is being affected. It measures epigenetic changes in your immune cells and how those changes relate to age-associated weakening of the immune system (also known as immune senescence). Extrinsic immune age-This type of tool helps you better understand how your immune cells are aging and how that impacts how you're aging. This tool will give you a biological age estimate that will reflect if you are internally older or younger compared to the age your birth certificate says you are! Intrinsic biological age-This is simply a measure of epigenetic factors that help determine your biological age in comparison to your chronological age.You may want to look out for tools that report on the following: However, knowing your numbers through epigenetic lab testing is more comprehensive and one of the best ways to discover your closest true biological age. Some are even as simple as looking at a photograph-like one cohort study of twins in Denmark that discovered perceived age in photographs could provide an accurate estimate of biological age. There are a variety of tools that can provide a look at your biological age. There are even certain DNA methylation patterns that are associated with aging and disease-some of which are evaluated in biological age epigenetic testing-another reason why knowing your numbers is so important! Can you test your biological age? If a piece of a gene's DNA is methylated it usually leads to deactivation of that gene-but this could be for better or worse. While epigenetics changes because of environmental and external influences, the DNA you're born with is "written in stone." Your epigenetic characteristics are variable and subject to change across your life based on your health habits and environment.Įpigenetic changes occur in part through a process called DNA methylation. You might have noticed that the word "genetics" is contained within the word epigenetics, but they are not the same. Epigenetic testing is one way to get an estimate of your biological age. So what is epigenetics? This term refers to biochemical changes to your genes that influence how those genes and DNA are expressed. When we talk about testing our age-specifically biological aging-we're usually talking about epigenetic testing. For example, are you a requisite couch potato or do you never miss a chance to get some physical activity in? Are you surviving on that second cup of coffee to get you through the day or do you get 7-9 hours of sleep each night? Do you follow healthy eating habits and live a lifestyle that actively supports healthy longevity? To put it plainly: everyone ages differently, and your lifestyle choices can impact the rate at which you age. It can also help guide you in making choices that keep you young at the cellular level-which is crucial to your longevity!Ī combination of factors might contribute to the aging process and how the numbers for biological age are calculated. Knowing your biological age can help you understand your predicted healthspan (the period of your life free from age-related diseases) and overall life expectancy. It tells you whether you are biologically older or younger than your chronological age. Your biological age is a lab-based estimate that reflects the accumulated biological stress on your DNA and your body. But that number could be completely different from your biological age. Simply put, chronological age encompasses the quantifiable amount of time you've been alive. If you're 28 years old, your chronological age is 28. For example, if you're 65 years old, your chronological age would be 65. Specifically, chronological age.Ĭhronological age is the concept you're probably most familiar with: it's quite literally how long you've existed on this planet, from the day you were born. It seems straightforward, right? Isn't your age just your age? Before we get into the ins and outs of what biological age means and why it's important for you to understand, we might want to talk about aging in general.
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