National Post (National Edition)
The test that told me I'm aging too fast
New `epigenetics' kit can estimate your risk of diseases
Who hasn't looked in the mirror this past year and wondered how fast they're aging? But for those who dare to look deeper, scientists can now measure our biological age with greater accuracy.
The science of epigenetics shows how our lifestyles interact with our genes, affecting how fast we age and our risk of diseases. Factors such as stress, diet, sleep, weight and smoking can switch our genes on and off.
Now tests are analyzing epigenetic markers on the outside of a person's genes to estimate their speed of aging.
“Your epigenome is changing all the time and underpins most diseases and how we age,” says Dr. James Brown, head of genomics at fitness supplement company Bio-Synergy.
He gives the example of BRCA genes, which dramatically increase your risk of breast cancer.
“Just because you have a BRCA variation doesn't mean you'll get cancer, but epigenetics can turn it on, which can create breast cancer,” says Dr. Brown.
“If you have a heightened epigenetic age that's a good barometer for how your health is. If you have a very high age it's when, not if, you get ill.”
Bio-Synergy offers a test which analyses epigenetic markers for memory, aging, hearing and eyesight, as well as inflammation levels, and gives an overall “age” for each area.
I don't smoke, eat far more fruit and vegetables than what's recommended, exercise daily and (almost) always stick within the guidelines on drinking, so was quietly confident when he offered me the chance to try it out. Last autumn, I spat into a tube and sent off a sample of my genetic code.
When the results arrived via an app on my phone in April, they were not exactly glowing.
While my chronological age is 26, my biology puts me at almost 30, with my eye age at 30.5, meaning I may be more at risk of losing my sight. My “memory age” is a healthy 23.8 and my hearing is 24.5.
The DNA results I get with the epigenetics give clues as to why that may be happening.
My genes make me more prone than the average person to accelerated aging from stress. I felt like lockdowns had aged me and it seems I was probably right.
Dr. Brown spoke to one woman whose biological age was estimated at 20 years ahead of her real age after a year of dealing with COVID as well as a loved one's illness.
It's hard not to panic at the news, but how accurate can this test be? Many experts are wary of home epigenetic testing, given that the science is still in its infancy.
“I don't think you should be very worried,” says Dr. James Flanagan, a reader in epigenetics at Imperial College. He says a biological age anywhere within four years of your chronological age is considered normal.
He's very wary of the “ages” the test gives for memory, hearing or eyesight, given the lack of research on those areas, but says the test's overall score for biological age may be worth thinking about if it comes out much higher than your real age.
If your epigenetics say you're 60, but the calendar says you're only 50, then your risk for cancer might be closer to that of a 60-year-old.
Some research is showing promise in predicting disease risk and longevity. A study by Columbia University and the University of Exeter used a blood test and other measurements such as waist-hip ratio to calculate the speed of aging of a group all aged 38.
Seven years later, those whose tests had suggested they were aging the fastest all performed worse at balance, co-ordination and cognition.
But Dr. Flanagan says we're still learning how our lifestyles interact with our genes: “While we know healthy eating and exercise correlate with healthy epigenetic aging, we don't know that they cause that.”
The best evidence so far is on smoking, he says. “We can detect that you smoked 30 years ago so it lasts a very long time,” says Flanagan.
There have not yet been trusted intervention studies where someone has their epigenetics studied before and after taking up a healthy diet. This would be crucial to prove that slower epigenetic aging is caused by a better diet, says Dr. Flanagan.
Dr. Brown says that as much as you can fast-forward your age with a bad lifestyle, you can also rewind the clock by taking better care of yourself.
He recommends at minimum a 20-minute walk first thing in the morning and another in the evening. Anything that lowers your inflammation levels will help, too, so he suggests diet tweaks. “Processed food is inflammation in a packet,” he says. “Eat fresh fruits, salads, vegetables and get Omega-3 in fish oil, krill oil or algae.”
Find ways to reduce stress, too, whether it's meditation, exercise or hobbies. Poor sleep is strongly correlated with a poor biological age and increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and obesity, bad news for me as a chronic insomniac.
Animal studies have shown that calorie restriction or intermittent fasting can slow aging too. Dr. Brown also advises eating only between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Other than that, the usual health advice applies.
The jury's out on whether that's worth paying to know: “You don't need a genetics test to tell you to exercise and eat vegetables,” says Dr. Flanagan.
YOUR EPIGENOME IS CHANGING ALL THE
TIME.