Did you know that we all have two ages? Our chronological age, which goes up year by year on our birthday, and our biological age, which can increase or decrease depending on how healthy we are.
Biological age is calculated by examining “biomarkers” of ageing in your body and its DNA. Things like having a poor diet and smoking can speed the process up, and when your body is ageing faster than it should, it leaves you more susceptible to diseases and an early death. Luckily, there’s plenty you can do to turn back the clock.
KEEP MUSCLES MIGHTY: A study published in The Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle found that muscle weakness is associated with accelerated biological ageing. Specifically, the weaker your grip strength (a measure for overall strength capacity), the older your biological age.
The good news? Age-related loss of muscle mass can be substantially reversed by resistance training, and it’s never too late to start, even in your 90s, says Andrew Steele, author of Ageless: The New Science of Getting Older Without Getting Old (£10.99, Bloomsbury).
“A two-month programme of resistance training nearly doubled muscle strength for people in their 90s, and increased their walking speed by 50 per cent,” he says. Doing squats, lunges and press-ups, plus using dumbbells and resistance bands, can all help build muscle.
BUILD YOUR BONES: Bone density peaks as early as our late 20s before beginning a slow, steady decline, says Dr Peter Attia, author of Outlive: The Science & Art of Longevity (£25, Amazon).
“We want to slow this decline, armouring ourselves against injury and physical frailty,” he explains. It’s important, as studies have shown that up to one-third of people over 50 who fracture a hip will die within a year.
To build up bone density, eat a balanced diet containing adequate calcium, vitamin D and protein. Do plenty of heavy load-bearing activity to help add mass to your bones. “Strength training, especially with heavy weights, stimulates the growth of bone more than impact sports such as running (though running is better than swimming/cycling),” says Dr Attia.
WALK FASTER: In a University of Leicester study of genetic data from more than 400,000 people, a fast walking pace (compared to slow) was associated with longer telomeres – the caps at the end of chromosomes that protect them from getting frayed and damaged. Shortened telomeres are associated with ageing, cancer, and shorter life expectancy. The researchers estimated that a lifetime of brisk walking could reduce biological age by 16 years by the time you reach midlife, so stride away.
DON’T EAT TOO MUCH: A healthy diet can help us live longer, but it’s not just about what you eat, it’s also about how much you eat. Excess fat and obesity can cause oxidative stress and inflammation which can result in telomere shortening, advancing your biological age.
Where the fat is located makes a big difference to the effects it has, explains Andrew Steele. “Subcutaneous fat lies just below the skin (the stuff you can grab), and ‘visceral’ fat accumulates deep inside our bodies in the spaces between our organs,” he says.
“Visceral fat seems to be by far the worse of the two, emitting pro-inflammatory molecules which fuel chronic inflammation.” Stick to a balanced diet – and not too much of it – to avoid accumulating stores of visceral fat.
GET VACCINATED – AND WASH YOUR HANDS: There’s evidence that children who faced fewer infections growing up are at less risk of diseases like cancer and heart disease in old age, says Andrew. “The hypothesis is that the reduced burden of infection also reduces the cumulative burden of inflammation,” he explains. So it’s probably a good idea to avoid infections as much as you can to optimise your ageing more generally.
Keep up to date with immunisations and vaccinations, like the seasonal flu jab. “And follow standard advice to avoid infections: wash your hands thoroughly and regularly and cook food thoroughly,” he adds.
WEAR SUNSCREEN AND SUNGLASSES: Ultraviolet (UV) light from sunlight not only ages how your skin looks, but can also cause age-related changes like skin cancer, so it’s a good idea to wear sunscreen every day. “Among a cornucopia of skin creams which claim to be ‘anti-ageing’, sunscreen has by far the best scientific evidence behind it,” says Andrew.
UV light can also damage and accelerate eye ageing, causing cellular changes which can result in cataracts that form cloudy patches in your vision. “To best protect your eyes from the sun’s harmful rays, always wear sunglasses that block 100 per cent of all UV A and B rays,” says Roshni Samra, an optometrist at EssilorLuxottica. “If you wear spectacles it’s beneficial to opt for a light responsive lens such as the new Transitions Gen S (transitions.com), which are ultra responsive to light and activate in seconds to become a sun lens.”
LIMIT ALCOHOL: A study from Oxford Population Health suggests high alcohol intake directly accelerates your biological age by damaging DNA in your telomeres. “I strongly urge my patients to limit alcohol to fewer than seven servings per week – ideally no more than two on any given day,” says Dr Attia.
INCREASE LQ: Forget your IQ, keeping your LQ sharp could stop your brain from ageing too fast. LQ, or learnability quotient, reflects your desire and ability to learn new skills, something that could help you build increased cognitive reserve.
Studies suggest those of us with better cognitive reserve may experience a slower rate of cognitive decline as we age and a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. “The evidence suggests that tasks or activities that present more varied challenges, requiring more nimble thinking and processing, are more productive at building and maintaining cognitive reserve,” says Dr Attia. So challenge yourself to learn new, complicated, skills through life – like a language or musical instrument.
STAY HYDRATED: Findings from the National Institute of Health’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in the US suggest that poor hydration could accelerate biological ageing. The NHS Eatwell guide suggests we should drink six to eight glasses of fluid a day – more in hot weather or if you exercise a lot.