As long as there have been humans, the story has been the same:

• We are born
• We grow to adulthood
• We reach the peak of our powers, both mentally and physically
• We begin a long slide to physical infirmity and diminished mental capacity
• Things inexorably get worse
• We die

Not a happy prospect, when you think about it. It’s no surprise that most people would not like to think about it. As long as there is nothing you can do about it, there is no point in getting depressed by thinking about it.

But what if there is something that you can do about it?

In recent years a movement has formed around the idea that we don’t have to accept the inexorable decline that I described above. Rather than viewing the physical and mental declines due to aging as inevitable, view aging as a disease instead, a disease that can potentially be cured.

To change aging from an inevitability to a curable disease will require that we gain a much better understanding of the mechanisms of aging. What causes the cascade of changes that slowly rob us of our bodies and our minds? The answer to that question is sure to be complex, and not something that will be discovered tomorrow, or even next week. However, we can chip away at the problem, and come to a better understanding of the aging process, little by little.

One thing that is evident, is that our bodies change over time. After we reach physical maturity, things start to go downhill. For some people, the decline is faster than it is for others, but even for those most resistant to the passage of time, such as perhaps Tom Brady, the infirmities of aging eventually catch up to us all.

How can we attack this problem? A good start would be to have a clear idea of exactly what the changes are to the various systems in our bodies, which occur as we age. These changes have been called by researchers ‘the hallmarks of aging.’ By studying the hallmarks of aging, and possibly by reversing them, we may be able to slow or even halt the decline in our physical and mental powers that are a result of the aging process.

A paper that appeared in the journal Aging Cell titled “DNA methylation-based biomarkers of aging were slowed down in a two-year diet and physical activity intervention trial: the DAMA study” describes how to determine a person’s physiological age by examining the methylation of their DNA. How does that work?

Your DNA determines everything about you. That is why identical twins look, act, and think so similarly. Their DNA is identical—at least it was identical when they were conceived. As time goes on, mutations take place. Despite those few mutations, even as adults, identical twins are still pretty similar to each other.

A person’s total complement of DNA is called their genome. The genome stays relatively stable throughout life. However, people change, sometimes in major ways. Many of these changes are not the result of changes in their genome, but rather to changes in their epigenome. The epigenome is an addition to the genome, typically made up of methyl groups. When a methyl group attaches to a location on a gene in a person’s genome, it changes the function of that gene. It may turn a dormant gene on, or turn an active gene off. This is one of the basic mechanisms of aging. As we age, more and more of our genes get methylated. This is great when developing from an embryo to a fetus, to a child, to a teenager, to an adult. It is not so great when the process continues after adulthood is reached and changes to the genome become detrimental.

The paper cited above studied data from a cohort of post-menopausal women over a two year period. The test subjects were divided into four groups:

Group 1: Ate a diet of healthy vegetables and fruits every day

Group 2: Engaged in regular physical activity

Group 3: Ate a diet of healthy vegetables and fruits AND engaged in regular physical activity

Group 4: Control group changed neither their diet nor their physical activity

The results were telling:

• Those that ate a diet composed largely of fruits and vegetables (Group 1) had a methylation profile of women younger than the chronological age of the Group 1 cohort.
• Those with a higher consumption of processed meats had a higher epigenetic mutation load.
• Those who engaged in more physical activity (Group 3) had a healthier balance of components in their blood.

Takeaways:

• Eating a healthier diet slows down a major biomarker of aging (DNAmGrimAge)
• Increasing physical activity slows down the EML (epigenetic mutation load) biomarker of aging. Higher EML has been associated with pathological conditions and risk factors such as cigarette smoking, alcohol intake, exposure to intoxicants, and low socioeconomic status.

There is nothing you can do to alter your chronological age. You were born when your official birth certificate says you were born. However, there is something you can do about your physiological age. You can make yourself younger physiologically by eating a healthy diet of fruits and vegetables, exercising vigorously on a daily basis, and avoiding age inducers such as cigarettes, alcohol, and other intoxicants. It also helps to not be poor. Plan for your future, then work your plan.

BIO:

Allen G. Taylor is a 40-year veteran of the computer industry and the author of over 40 books, including Develop Microsoft HoloLens Apps Now, Get Fit with Apple Watch, Cruise for Free, SQL For Dummies, 9th Edition, Crystal Reports 2008 For Dummies, Database Development For Dummies, Access Power Programming with VBA, and SQL All-In-One For Dummies, Third Edition. He lectures internationally on astronomy, databases, innovation, and entrepreneurship. He also teaches database development and Crystal Reports through a leading online education provider. For the latest news on Allen’s activities, check out his blog at wwwallengtaylor.com or contact him at allen.taylor@ieee.org