By Al Valente

Table of Contents

Biological Age Differs from Chronological Age

What determines your Biological Age

You are not Limited by Your Genes

Control Your Epigenetics and You Control Your Life

A Focus on DNA Methylation

Augment Your Nutrition for Optimal DNA Methylation

The Magnificent 14 Foods to Foster Proper DNA Methylation

It’s a moral question… as to whether we should even desire to live forever.  And, if you’ve ever seen a 100-year-old, chances are you wouldn’t aspire to be in their physical shape. It begs the question…why even try to life longer if you’re going to be steadily decrepit?

Luckily, there’s a concept called morbidity compression. What it basically means is that, if unchecked, the elderly could face many months, perhaps years of age-related disease; often in nursing homes. Sometimes it’s lonely and painful. Wouldn’t it be great to compress that illness time to weeks or even days, and live a robust life right up to that point? That should be our mission, not living longer for the sake of living longer, but compressing morbidity.

Biological Age Differs from Chronological Age

It’s impossible to turn back your actual years, that’s immutable. But there is a concept called “biological age” (science calls it Horvath Clock DNAmAge) and many studies have shown that it can be turned back. No, not with hocus pocus, but with fairly simple adjustments to lifestyle and diet.  A recent study by Dr. Kara Fitzgerald had a pilot group turn back their biological clock, on average, by 3.25 years which we’ll discuss here. In other words, regardless of their calendar age, their biological age, and the increased vigor that goes with it,  was 3.25 years younger.

What determines your Biological Age?

Although we humans are programmed from birth to die, on average, somewhere in our late seventies. That’s chronological age, but it’s now shown you can slow down and even reverse biological age.

The 3 top level components of natural aging are:

• • Genetics
  • Epigenetics
  • DNA Methylation

(DNA methylation is actually a subcomponent of epigenetics but lately deserves its own focus)

You are not Limited by Your Genes

Your genes are your DNA. You got half your DNA from your father and the other half from your mother and, other than some minor flukes along the way, your DNA is fixed from birth to death.

There’s not a lot of dials to turn here. But the good news is that genetics really only represents 25%-30% of your probably lifespan, the rest is clearly up to you in how you conduct your lifestyle.

There is a growing field of gene editing using CRISPR CAS9 to edit certain genes, right now that’s pretty much in the future and there’s not a whole lot you can do to turn back your biological clock by manipulating it.

Control Your Epigenetics and You Control Your Life

Epigenetics is a variable that one can manipulate to slow down aging.

Your DNA may be fixed, but the expression of certain genes is heavily affected by certain conditions that cause the expression to go haywire. We know this because you can take two identical twins born with exactly the same DNA but they could be susceptible  to different diseases and age differently, genetics can’t explain that .

Remember the Watson-Crick double helix of your DNA?  That very same coding of thousands of genes reside in each and every cell of your body. There are sections of your genes that make eye tissue and others that make liver tissue and so on. But sometimes there’s interference and genes are turned off that should be on and vice versa.  That’s caused by epigenetic noise. Something is getting in the way. And, unfortunately, that noise progressively increases as we get older.

Scientists have observed several ways that the proper gene expression is interrupted such as loose histone packing (more on this in a future post) and erroneous DNA methylation which we’ll cover here.

A Focus on DNA Methylation

DNA methylation is proving to be an upcoming means of dramatically affecting biological age. Without sufficient methyl’s your genes will not express themselves properly. The methyls attach themselves to your DNA strands and instruct proper genes to turn on and other genes to be suppressed. For example, in your eyes, you wouldn’t want your eye cells to have a liver gene turned on and your eye genes suppressed. That would cause rapid deterioration. That’s what happens when accurate DNA methylation is impaired.

How to Improve DNA Methylation

Luckily there are ways to improve your DNA methylation and turn back your biological clock and it doesn’t require surgery or expensive medication for that matter. Just some simple changes to your lifestyle and nutrition will do the trick.

Exercise

Exercise is often referred to as the “fountain of youth” and rightfully so. In addition to all the health benefits that are too numerous to mention here, exercise greatly enhances DNA methylation.

If you’re already exercising, keep it up, if not, start a regular sustainable program. It need not be overly strenuous like running 10 miles a day or bench pressing 300 lbs.  Just a half hour of vigorous exercise daily will suffice.

Sleep

Lack of sleep is the one of the greatest aging elements. You need sufficient sleep each night to allow DNA methylation to properly take place. Shoot for a minimum of 7 hours per night, 8 hours is even better

Stress Management

In addition to sleep, managing your stress is the second greatest aging element that affects your DNA methylation. There are numerous self-help ways to adopt the right attitude and not allow life’s natural “curve balls” drive up your blood pressure.

At minimum, budget 20 minutes each morning before your “monkey mind” takes over to meditate. Again, there are numerous techniques available out there, just adopt the one that works best for you, and do it. Your life will be so much better on many fronts – and by the way, you’ll turn back your biological clock.

Augment Your Nutrition for Optimal DNA Methylation

If there are not sufficient methyl groups available in your body, you cannot have optimal DNA methylation. We now know there are certain nutrients that will bath your body with the sufficiency of methyl groups to keep your DNA methylation humming along.

Here are a handful that science has identified

1. 1. Folate — also known as vitamin B9, is a water-soluble vitamin, it’s best known to promotes proper fetal growth and development to reduce the risk of birth defects. It is found naturally in many plants, as well as in the form of synthetic “folic acid” in fortified foods.
   2. Vitamin B12 — also known as cyanocobalamin or cobalamin, is water-soluble, supports adrenal function and is very important for DNA synthesis.
   3. Betaine — Betaine is also called as trimethylglycine, it produces carnitine, which promotes liver function and cellular reproduction as well as metabolism of the amino acid homocysteine.
   4. Choline — Found in virtually all living cells, in the brain it is a vital neurotransmitter responsible for memory, muscle control and mood and plays a vital role in regulating gene expression.
   5. Cysteine – an amino acid that in addition to being a methyl doner, it helps create anti-oxidants in the body.

To get these 5 vital methyl doners into your diet, don’t be as concerned with proportions, just generously add the following foods to your weekly die

The Magnificent 14 Foods to Foster Proper DNA Methylation:

1. 1. Spinach
   2. Swiss Chard
   3. Beef Liver
   4. Beets
   5. Eggs with yolk
   6. Pumpkin seeds
   7. Mushrooms
   8. Avocado
   9. Berries
   10. Green Tea
   11. Salmon
   12. Herring
   13. Flax Seed
   14. Oysters

Conclusion

Your chronological age is indelible and totally out of your control. But regardless of your age you can take these actions beginning today to wind back your biological age.

Related Posts:

The Promise of Successful Aging — An Interview with Superstar Dermatologist/Nutritionist Dr. Nicolas Perricone

3 Anti-Aging Biohacks for Life Extension