by The TruDiagnostic Educational Content Team
New research, with surprising discoveries, continue to shape our understanding of the toll life takes on our bodies. For example, did you know that not taking vacation time away from work, and being stuck in traffic could literally be aging you on a measurable, biological level?
It's true! These are just two of many lifestyle factors that now have research-backed connections with speeding up your biological aging processes. And we've only scratched the surface! Epigenetics (the way we measure biological age) is a relatively new, but rapidly growing, field.
For context, scientists developed the very first age-quantifying clocks in 2013, years after the first generation of iPhone hit the market in 2007. The human genome (all 3 billion+ base pairs) wasn't full mapped until 2022, and it wasn't even until the early 2000s that epigenetic-specific research really gained momentum in the scientific community.
This means that we are continually discovering new ways to influence our biological age, by influencing how our DNA is actually expressed throughout our bodies.
After cross-analyzing thousands of genetic, epigenetic, medical, and aging based research studies, our team of TruDiagnostic scientists conservatively estimate that 25% of our gene expression is inherited, with 75% being changeable through lifestyle, medical, and environmental interventions.
This is exciting news for health and wellness enthusiasts who are eager to slow down their biological age, and stave off age-related diseases and declines in physical and cognitive function. To help patients do just that, we've compiled several lists based on peer reviewed and published studies.
These lists are intended to help you understand why you may be experiencing advanced aging, and to help you explore ways that you can make impactful changes.
▐ What is Making Me Age So Fast?
Did you recently get test results back indicating that you are experiencing Epigenetic Age Acceleration (EAA)? EAA occurs when your biological age is higher than your chronological age, and can be a discouraging discovery for those already committed to health and anti-aging lifestyle habits.
However, it is important to note that there are many things that can impact your biological age either temporarily (such as having an emergency surgery) or long-term (such as smoking tobacco and consuming alcohol).
We encourage you to review this list for a deeper understanding of what might have, or could contribute to, a higher biological age. Every influence listed below has been proven to correlate with accelerated, epigenetic aging (DNA methylation) patterns.
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| ▐ Factors that Predate Your Birth |
| The epigenetic traits you inherited. 📃 |
| The age (older) and health of your mother during pregnancy. 📃 📃 📃 |
| Exposures in the womb to things like nicotine, tobacco, and alcohol. 📃 📃 |
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| ▐ Factors from Birth |
| Being born male. 📃 |
| Being born prematurely. 📃 |
| Having a low birth weight. 📃 |
| Being born via cesarean section. 📃 |
| Being born with Down Syndrome. 📃 |
| Being born with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. 📃 |
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| ▐ Factors from Childhood |
| Receiving limited physical touch and coddling. 📃 |
| Internalizing symptoms of stress and psychiatric disorders like anxiety. 📃 |
| Experiencing or witnessing violence or other traumatic events. 📃 📃 |
| Experiencing socio economic hardships. 📃 |
| Having asthma and/or allergies. 📃 |
| Having a taller height compared to others. 📃 |
| Having a higher fat mass compared to others. 📃 |
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| ▐ Major Life Events as an Adult |
| Having an emergency surgery. 📃 |
| Experiencing a pregnancy. 📃 |
| Giving birth. 📃 |
| Going through Menopause. 📃 |
| Experiencing trauma. 📃 |
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| ▐ Lifestyle Factors & Exposures |
| Environmental exposures to things like air pollution, tobacco smoke, lead, mercury, organic pollutants, pesticides, and more. 📃 📃 |
| Regular to excessive consumption of alcohol. 📃 |
| Exposure to discrimination. 📃 |
| Exposure to violence or crime in your residential neighborhood. 📃 📃 |
| Experiencing socio economic hardships. 📃 📃 |
| Smoking tobacco. 📃 📃 |
| Chronically being stuck in traffic. 📃 |
| Military service- active duty and veteran status. 📃 📃 |
| Being a firefighter. 📃 |
| Using recreational drugs. 📃 📃 |
| Having an overnight, professional work schedule that interrupts your circadian rhythm. 📃 |
| Not taking vacations from work. 📃 |
| Experiencing poor quality and/or poor durations of sleep. 📃 |
| Experiencing postpartum sleep loss. 📃 |
| Personality traits like lower emotional resiliency. 📃 |
| Having poor nutritional intake or dietary habits. 📃 📃 |
| Consuming a lot of refined grains, red and processed meats, and highly sweetened drinks. 📃 |
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| ▐ Additional Medical Factors |
| Exposure to severe viral infections; from COVID-19 to HIV. 📃 📃 |
| Autoimmune disorders such as Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis. 📃 📃 |
| Acute and chronic stress. 📃 📃 |
| Psychological disorders such as Depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, and more. 📃 📃 📃 📃 |
| Hormonal imbalances. 📃 |
| Having a high BMI. 📃 |
▐ Can I Really Rewind the Damage?
Many people who are able to slow, stop, or reverse their biological aging through epigenetic influences see an improvement in both their health and overall quality of life. These tangible improvements allow people to feel and live better, not just longer.
While these age-reversing benefits span from a more youthful aesthetic, to improved physical and cognitive functionality on a cellular level, the following tend to excite health and anti-aging enthusiasts most.
'By lowering my biological age, it is possible to...'
☑ Decrease my risk of developing age-related chronic diseases such as Congenital Heart Disease, Hypertension, Cancer, COPD, Stroke, Type II Diabetes, and more.
☑ Decrease my risk of death.
☑ Reverse the growth of gray hair.
☑ Accomplish new physical fitness milestones, or perform routine physical activities, with a new sense of ease.
☑ Experience less symptoms of, and recover faster from, common illnesses and infections.
☑ Experience better health outcomes when battling severe illnesses or bodily injury.
☑ Improve my memory and cognitive performance.
☑ See more youthful, aesthetic-based physical features such as improved skin laxity and texture, facial signs of aging, and more.
☑ Keep your sight and hearing health functioning better, for longer.
☑ Increase my libido, and improve sexual stamina.
Yes, age reversal is possible! (For a deeper understanding of how, along with real patient results, click here.)
▐ What Can Help Slow My Aging Down?
Now that you have a better idea of what could be packing on the years when it comes to your biological age, you might be ready to make some changes to lower it. The following lifestyle, environmental, and medical interventions have widely documented success in slowing, stopping, or reversing the body's biological aging processes.
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| ▐ Vegan & Mediterranean Diets |
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| ▐ Calorie Restriction or Intermittent Fasting |
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| ▐ Taking Supplements |
| Including Resveratol, Vitamins B12 and B6, Folate, Choline, Betaine, and Methionine. |
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| ▐ Alcohol Moderation or Abstinence |
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| ▐ Exercising on a Regular Basis |
| Including both aerobic, anaerobic, and flexibility-based, physical activities. |
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| ▐ High Resistance Weight Training |
| 📃 📃 📃 |
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| ▐ Quitting Tobacco, Recreational Drug Usage |
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| ▐ Improved Sleep |
| Including longer durations, with limited disruptions. |
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| ▐ Applicable Prescriptions |
| Including hormone replacement therapies, mood stabilizers, and Metformin. |
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Changes to your age-related, epigenetic patterns may be detectable in as little as six weeks using TruDiagnostic's TruAge PACE test. This test tells you how many years you are currently aging for each calendar year that passes.
However, lifestyle, environmental, and medical changes may take up to six months to reflect in your overall, biological age using a TruAge COMPLETE test.
To start measuring your biological aging processes, or to see the impacts of a recent interventional change, click one of the test kit icons below.