Can you improve your biological age? YES!
Your age influences many things about your life: the money you earn, the insurance premiums you pay, your dating habits, even your holiday preferences and TV tastes. Yet, it reveals surprisingly little about your health, fitness, cognitive function, or vulnerability to illness and injury.
What really matters, according to a growing number of experts, is your biological age. Also known as “health age,” it shows how your body functions relative to your calendar age. Basically, it’s a statistic that can reveal whether you have the health of an active, healthy adult or a bed-bound 65-year-old senior.
To understand better how the biological age is different from the calendar age, look at school reunion photos, and you’ll see that we don’t all age at the same rate.
So now may come the question, “What’s my real age?” According to health experts, if you exercise regularly, you’re more likely to have the bone density of a younger person. However, if you suffer from stress, science suggests that your risk of cardiovascular disease will be closer to that of an older person.
The good news is that you can improve your biological age! Keep reading to find out the tools you need to start rewinding the clock!
1. Eat more Omega 3s
When it comes to nutrition, one proven way you can improve your biological age is by incorporating omega-3-rich foods into your diet. Because they have a natural anti-inflammatory action, good fats like omega-3 fatty acids get broken down into chemicals with anti-inflammatory properties.
Long-term inflammation can contribute to almost every chronic illness, including cancer and heart disease. Omega-3 fatty acids can reduce the production of substances and molecules linked to inflammation, keeping your body cells at a good age.
According to research conducted by Japan’s National Center for Global Health and Medicine, a traditional Japanese diet rich in fish packed with omega-3 fatty acids delivers a 15% lower mortality rate.
You get these good fats from olive oil, oily fish, avocado, raw nuts, and seeds.
2. Spice up your life
There are many ways you can improve your biological age, and one of them is to incorporate spices into your diet. While this thing alone won’t help your body feel younger, if complemented by other healthy habits, it can contribute to a better health age.
According to experts, turmeric and ginger help reduce inflammation in the body. Scientists at the University of Miami suggested that ginger has an anti-inflammatory effect on body cells, while a recent study published in the Suadi Medical Journal showed that a daily dose can improve cholesterol levels.
Curcumin, which is found in turmeric, also has anti-inflammatory properties, and it can help your body fight harmful agents.
3. Be more European
A study published in the British Journal of Nutrition showed that making the switch to a Mediterranean-style diet of fish, whole grains, vegetables, and unrefined carbohydrates can improve your biological age. Even if you make the change later in life, it can bring about a 25% reduction in all-cause mortality.
Moreover, health experts suggest that a Mediterranean lifestyle can help with cancer prevention. For instance, many of the foods found in the Mediterranean diet are packed with flavonoids and polyphenols, which have been found to play a protective role against chronic conditions, including cancer.
Another study published in the journal Neurology has also shown that adhering to this diet helps improve your biological age and retain brain volume to ward off memory loss and dementia.
4. Aim for antioxidants
Antioxidants are found in certain foods and may help prevent some of the damage caused by free radicals by neutralizing them. These include the nutrients antioxidants, vitamins C, A, and E, and the minerals zinc, selenium, and copper.
Antioxidants, as their names suggest, inhibit the damaging effects of oxidation. The process of oxidation in the human body destroys cell membranes and other structures, including cellular lipids, proteins, and DNA.
Foods high in antioxidants include colorful fruit berries and dark green leafy vegetables. According to health experts, if you want to improve your biological age, you should always aim for half a plate of non-starchy veggies at mealtime.
For an antioxidant hit, try having a body-boosting green smoothie made from two sticks of celery, three handfuls of kale, ¼ avocado, two apples, 1 teaspoon ground flaxseeds, and water.
Read on to discover other ways to improve your biological age!
5. Bend the rules of time
Another way to improve your biological age is to stay supple. According to experts, dynamic flexibility training in your warm-up or before breakfast does wonders for your body. Use yoga, animal flow, or dynamic flow exercises to keep your joints and hips open.
Sitting at a desk for several hours a day is terrible for your posture, but these exercises fight the unhealthy habits that age you. Health experts recommend doing stretches throughout your working day.
According to the latest research conducted by scientists at the University of California, routinely sitting for ten hours a day raises your biological age by eight years.
6. Rein yourself in
A brutal CrossFit class or heavy one-rep max day is fine, but not every working-out session should be a painfest. According to experts, hammering yourself every day creates stress and cortisol responses, so your central nervous system takes a beating.
Your exercise should be regular, which is about 40 minutes, five days a week. By only doing this, you’ll improve your biological age, cutting it by nine years. It isn’t us who say this, but Brigham Young University.
Moderate exercise is more than perfect for your body. Another study conducted at Appalachian State University confirmed that moderate-intensity resistance training is as good as hypertensive medication at slashing blood pressure.
7. Up your weight-to-cardio ratio
One of the best ways to improve your biological age is to do two or three weights for every cardio session. Resistance training increases blood flow, prevents muscle wastage, and activates biological reactions that help to remove oxidative stress and free radicals.
It also boosts growth hormone, which helps you retain fat-burning muscle and bone-building calcium as you age. A study in the journal Obesity found that people who lift weights have less visceral fat, which is associated with age-related issues like diabetes and heart disease, compared to those who just do cardio.
Smash your home workouts with one of the dumbbell sets from Amazon.
8. Endure with endurance training
Running, cycling, and other endurance training keep you feeling young and improve your biological age. A study published in the journal Aging Cell found that long-distance cyclists retained more T-cells (the immune system’s disease-fighting soldiers) and had better cholesterol levels into old age.
Weight-bearing exercises also increase bone health to fight off osteoporosis, which, as we all know, affects many older adults.
9. Sleep yourself younger
Catching the Z’s your body needs is among the crucial things that keep your body healthy and improve your biological age. In other words, make sure you get your eight hours.
A study published in Biological Psychiatry confirmed that sleep deprivation increased inflammatory markers linked to type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease, while an American study found that people who sleep less than five hours per night had an “excess heart age” 51 years beyond their real age.
10. Crush stress
A University of California study showed that stress is linked to higher oxidative stress and shortened telomeres—both markers that correlate to reduced longevity.
According to mental health experts, a good test is noticing if you often use words like “never” and “always.” Thinking in extremes and absolutes is a sign of stress, which can take a toll on your overall well-being.
Keeping a daily journal can help you achieve a sense of closure and clarity of thought, as writing always involves a beginning and an end. It’s a process that encourages you to deal with your triggers and find solutions.
If you liked our article on ways to improve your biological age, you may also want to read 8 Vitamins and Minerals Scientists Recommend for Longevity.
