Live longer, and improve your biological age, with these proven bio-hacks.
Ask the oldest people you know, “What’s the secret to longevity?” and you’ll get some interesting answers. A daily dish of chocolate ice-cream or shot of whiskey? A job one loves or plenty of friends? Scientists ask the question, too, studying the habits of centenarians across the world for the keys to living as long as possible.
But, ageing isn’t for cowards: It often comes with an aching, fragile body and mental decline. So, along with figuring out how we can live longer, researchers have been peering deep into our cells to figure out how to keep us living better. This booming field of research is providing us with solid info we can use right now to slow down the clock and live our best life in our 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond. “We’re at a point where we know there are genes that control the ageing process,” says Dr David A. Sinclair, US biology researcher and author of Lifespan: Why We Age and Why We Don’t Have To. “We know we can intervene and slow the process down – even in humans.”
Indeed, you have quite a bit of influence on your ageing based on your everyday health behaviours, says pathologist Dr Morgan Levine, author of True Age. Ageing occurs because your cells change over time and the body’s repair mechanisms lose the ability to fix them, which leads to the diseases you ultimately die from. But, over the next few pages, we show you how you can slow down those processes with proven bio-hacks that can help you feel better for years to come.
1 FIRST, KNOW THE SCIENCE
Telomeres are the protective caps at the ends of each strand of DNA (think of them as being like the little plastic tips on the ends of your shoelaces) and they affect how quickly your cells – and you – age. When telomeres are too short, the cells stop working and become ‘zombie’ (or senescent). In this state, they emit molecules that promote inflammation and peptides that accelerate ageing. This doesn’t lead to any particular disease, but it means you may succumb more quickly to whatever your genes and environment put you at risk for, whether it’s heart disease, dementia or cancer. However, research shows that you can reverse many aspects of ageing if you can prevent cells from becoming zombified.
2 MEDITATE for better health
Exercising your inner strength through meditation can also help protect your telomeres – researchers theorise it may reduce damaging inflammation.
In a 2013 US study, practitioners of loving-kindness meditation, which includes a focus on warmth toward others, had significantly longer telomeres than people who didn’t meditate. Researchers also showed that people who meditated for three months had greater telomerase activity than those in a control group. So, get that positive energy flowing.
3 LIMIT YOUR EATING WINDOWS
For decades, longevity researchers have known that mice on low-kilojoule diets live longer than those who eat more mouse chow. In humans, the equivalent benefit can be achieved through intermittent fasting (IF), an eating strategy in which you limit your food intake to certain hours of the day or on certain days of the week, says Dr Sinclair. He explains that IF may prolong life by tapping into a process that allowed early humans to survive in times of food scarcity: Hunger raises levels of a chemical called nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), which activates longevity genes known as sirtuins, Dr Sinclair says. Sirtuins protect against disease, boost the repair of DNA and quell the inflammation behind arthritis, the hardening of arteries, asthma and other chronic conditions.
IF is clearly not for everyone; it requires strict discipline and can mask an eating disorder, so be sure to check with your doctor beforehand. Similarly, it’s not recommended for those with diabetes or who are at risk of hypoglycaemia, says ageing researcher Dr Nir Barzilai, author of Age Later. But many people can adjust to the regimen, he says. It doesn’t seem to matter which of the multiple IF variations you practice. Some people eat a significantly restricted diet five days a month; others fast two days a week, consuming about 2000 kilojoules (500 calories) on fasting days (called the 5:2 method), or restrict eating to a six- to 12-hour window during the day (eating only, say, from noon to 6pm or from 9am to 9pm), which is called time-restricted eating. The shorter the window in which you eat, the better for optimising this anti-ageing mechanism, which Dr Sinclair says activates the body’s natural defences against deterioration and chronic disease.
4 EAT MORE PLANTS
Unlike your chronological age (how many birthdays you’ve checked off), your biological age shows how well your body is holding up against the ravages of time and how you compare with others who’ve lived the same number of years. At 40, you could have a biological age of anywhere from 30 to more than 50 based on your genes, habits and environment. But, whatever your biological age is, you have the ability to improve it, says Dr Levine.
Several studies suggest that diet and other habits can move biological age in the right direction.
In a recent European study, people who spent a year on the Mediterranean diet, which emphasises vegetables, fruit, fish and other lean proteins, nuts, legumes and olive oil, lopped almost 1.5 years off their biological ages. In another study, 18 healthy men were put on an eight-week lifestyle regimen designed to optimise DNA methylation, a chemical reaction that affects how genes are activated.
The result: They lowered their biological ages by more than three years compared with a control group, according to the journal Aging. The men ate leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables along with other foods known to promote favourable methylation patterns (including beetroot, pumpkin seeds, berries, eggs, liver and garlic). They also worked out, took a probiotic, practised breathing exercises and tried to get at least seven hours of sleep each night. The lifestyle tweaks paid off. “This is one of the first studies to show a reversal in biological ageing,” says Dr Kara
Fitzgerald, a naturopathic doctor and lead author of the study.
Another way to reverse that biological clock: Eat less animal-based protein. While women need only about 46g of protein a day, the average person eats double that amount. Longevity studies show that consuming too much protein can activate an enzyme called mTOR that accelerates ageing. Try limiting meat servings to 80g to 110g (the size of a deck of cards), and swap in more plant-based protein sources, such as beans and soy. E
5 KEEP ACTIVE
One of the best ways to grow your cellular armour is to get moving; exercise stimulates the production of the enzyme telomerase, which helps build up telomeres, says Dr Barzilai. In a US study of more than 5800 men and women, those who jogged for 25 to 40 minutes five days a week developed telomeres the length of those in people nine years younger. In another small study, the telomeres in women classified as obese also grew after eight weeks on a resistance training and aerobic exercise regimen. And a review of several studies of athletes over 35 (they had competed for an average of 16 years) found that they had longer telomeres than non-athletes the same age.
6 EMBRACE THE COLD
Ever wonder why someone would plunge into freezing water in winter? Beyond the thrill, the brief exposure to extreme temperatures actually stresses cells, challenging them to adjust to the change and bring the body’s temperature back to normal (see our feature on cold-water swimming on page 72). Like intermittent fasting, this type of stress activates the longevity genes known as sirtuins. You can get similar benefits by leaving windows open at night in winter or exercising in the cold. Simply taking a quick walk in frigid temps while wearing a T-shirt but no coat can apply this ‘good’ stress to your system. (Keep it brief, though – go for just three or four minutes, bundling up again before you start shivering, says Dr Sinclair.)
And it’s not just about getting cold: Research suggests that heat also mildly stresses the body in favourable ways. Midlife men in Finland who took a sauna four to seven days a week for 20 years had a twofold drop in death from any cause, along with a reduction in fatal heart attacks and heart disease in general, compared with men who used a sauna only once a week. For a double dose of longevity-triggering stress, do as Dr Sinclair does: “I like going from a sauna as hot as I can bear into an ice-cold bath for four minutes,” he says.
7 AMP UP YOUR INTENSITY
You can also stress your body’s cells with highintensity interval training (HIIT), an exercise strategy that involves short, intense bursts of allout activity followed by rest. “When you’re in a highintensity interval, it temporarily throws your body out of homeostasis, which is a state of equilibrium defined by temperature, heart rate and other factors,” explains Dr Levine. Then your body works to recover its equilibrium. “Over time, these cycles of stress and response will make you stronger and more resilient.” Just don’t try to do too much too soon, particularly if you haven’t been active for a while, and tailor the bursts to your current activity level. If you’re a walker, for instance, alternate 10- to 30-second spurts of fast walking with longer periods at your normal pace.
