THE TALE OF TWO AGES: A Plan for Your Healthspan

For the longest time our age has been defined by the day we were born and the number of times we are fortunate enough to circle the sun.

- GREG MACPHERSON

Recent advances in the field of biotechnology hint that in the future we will all recognize two ages: Our traditional measure of age, known as our chronological age or the one that we celebrate every advancing birthday, and our biological age – the age that our cells are acting. As it turns out, these two ages can be quite different, but both are a reality and can positively or negatively influence our healthspan.

We all know of people who look just a little older than the age they are and also a lucky few who look significantly younger than their actual age. The interesting thing is that when you do a new diagnostic test that measures something called DNA methylation, researchers have found that not only do these people look different from their actual age, but the DNA in their cells are reflecting this as well.

In fact, your biological age, if you are not aging well, can be up to 20 or more years older than your chronological age. This means that if you are in your 50s that your cells could be acting like someone in their 70s and makes it much more likely that you will start suffering from the conditions associated with older age much earlier than expected.