Epigenome Reverse Aging With the Right Lifestyle Choices
Epigenetic changes that drive aging can be reversed through appropriate lifestyle choices, according to Steve Horvath PhD, Principal Investigator at Altos Labs. We spoke with him for more insight.
Chronic stress accelerates epigenetic aging by altering DNA methylation patterns; this effect may be partially reversed with stress reduction interventions.
Our Superpower blood test measures fasting insulin, hsCRP, apolipoprotein B (apoB), IGF-1 and ferritin to determine if biological ageing has reversed itself.
Stress
Stress causes a physiological response that escalates inflammation and speeds cellular aging through oxidative damage, telomere dysfunction, and genomic instability. A chronically elevated cortisol level also results in insulin resistance and metabolic dysregulation – increasing atherosclerosis risk exponentially. Stress also disrupts the normal balance of hormones like testosterone, leading to greater reactivity to future stressors. However, long-term stress can be reversed through building emotional regulation and self-control skills; those possessing these traits have less age acceleration during stressful periods and their exposure can be monitored using epigenetic markers such as hair cortisol levels, hemoglobin A1c levels and the Triglyceride/HDL ratio ratio.
DNA methylation is a critical mechanism that determines how quickly an individual’s biological age increases with chronic stress. When under stress, glucocorticoids release disrupt methylation patterns of genes tracked by epigenetic clocks; when stressor is removed this disruption speeds up biological aging rapidly reversing back.
Epigenetic clocks and biomarkers like metabolomics provide an accurate measure of one’s biological aging trajectory, making them an indispensable tool for tracking risks associated with biological aging and potential reversals. Epigenetic age testing uses saliva samples that evaluate hundreds of DNA methylation sites across multiple genes to provide a snapshot of how different lifestyle and environmental factors may influence an individual’s rate of biological aging.
DunedinPACE and GrimAge are commercial tests available from various companies that measure DNA methylation to estimate biological age, providing another biomarker to track an individual’s aging trajectory as well as any interventions on DNA methylation or other physical measures.
Epigenetic age reversal can be achieved by decreasing pollution, eating healthily and exercising regularly, as well as avoiding toxic exposures. Furthermore, techniques like gene therapy may extend life span by rejuvenating cells and delaying signs of aging; however, more research needs to be conducted into its efficacy and safety; until then it is crucial that we recognize risks by adopting resilience strategies into daily life.
Diet
An individual’s DNA methylation patterns provide an indicator of their biological age, which typically corresponds closely with their chronological age. Unhealthy behaviors may hasten epigenetic or biological aging while healthy lifestyle habits and therapeutic treatments may slow or even reverse it.
Food can have an enormous effect on epigenetic age, as certain foods contain natural compounds called methyl adaptogens which influence how genes behave and alter DNA methylation patterns. Eating healthily will both decrease epigenetic age and improve health outcomes.
A Mediterranean Diet (MD) typically features vegetables and fruits; whole grains; olive oil; beans and nuts; fish and poultry; moderate wine intake; vitamin B6, C, folate and flavanols such as green tea resveratrol to allow activation of any genes which have been silenced due to DNA methyltransferases inhibition; as well as plenty of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, olive oil, folate, vitamin B6 and C for one-carbon metabolism, while flavanols from green tea and resveratrol inhibit DNA methyltransferases for one-carbon metabolism while folate and B6 are essential components of one-carbon metabolism, while green tea flavanols contain lots of flavanols that allow folate and B6 essential for one-carbon metabolism, while their flavanol content can enable their activation thus opening up an array of genes previously silenced by methylation.
Jamie Villanueva, Ryan Bradley and others from the University of Washington and National University of Natural Medicine conducted a recent study investigating how MD and its low-fat version affected epigenetic age. Participants completed an eight-week program including plant-based food consumption while Horvath’s DNAmAge test was used to measure epigenetic age changes; results demonstrated significant reductions independent of changes to body weight.
These findings indicate that MD can reverse and even prevent further age-accelerating effects of lifestyle factors like smoking and high-fat diet, by restoring normal DNA methyltransferases’ functioning and restoring their normal functions to prevent further age acceleration. MD may also promote longevity by modulating insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1 signaling pathways which have been found to increase lifespan across species and activating FOXO transcription factors to promote stress resistance and oxidative stress resilience in cells.
Exercise
Exercise can help stave off epigenetic aging. Studies by various research groups have established that regular, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) helps reshape DNA methylation patterns into more youthful versions – known as epigenomic rejuvenation. Exercise may even extend your lifespan.
Exercise may help because its activity affects how tightly DNA is packaged; regular physical activity loosens this tight packaging and allows repair genes to be read. Furthermore, exercising stimulates mitochondrial function and hormetic signals that transform harmful oxidants into beneficial ones; helping your body overcome stressors that accelerate aging.
Researchers are developing epigenetic clocks as an efficient means of estimating biological age. Epigenetic clocks estimate chronological age based on patterns of DNA methylation at particular CpG sites, making these tests highly relevant in forensics as well as diagnostic and prognostic applications. Though any form of physical fitness provides some health benefits, structured exercise training with regular repetition appears to have greater success at slowing epigenetic aging than non-planned and repetitive forms of exercise training.
Sleep
Sleep has long been recognized for its effects on epigenetic mechanisms as well as metabolic function and immune system regulation. Sleep deprivation has been shown to contribute to negative health consequences, such as depression, anxiety and neurodegeneration. Sleep disruption also disrupts circadian rhythms by misaligning central clock in brain with peripheral clocks throughout body which then speeds epigenetic aging independently of duration of sleep – something particularly evident among shift workers due to prolonged light exposure during night shifts that may amplify its impact on circadian gene expression.
Studies involving large human cohorts demonstrate that poor sleep quality is linked to an accelerated biological aging process. This phenomenon can be explained by allostatic load, the cumulative burden of chronic stress and physiological dysregulation that increases DNA damage and mitochondrial dysfunction resulting in cell senescence and age-related diseases.
Sleep deprivation has also been shown to elevate proinflammatory cytokine production and lead to an increase in hepatic glucose production, an indicator for diabetes. Furthermore, disrupting autophagy – the process through which damaged organelles and misfolded proteins are broken down and recycled back into use – results in accumulation of toxic aggregates and increased rates of aging.
To gain a more thorough picture of how sleeping habits impact biological aging, track inflammatory and metabolic markers as well. High levels of C-reactive protein or interleukin-6 could indicate disturbed diurnal cortisol rhythms associated with accelerated biological aging – by monitoring these markers you can determine whether your lifestyle promotes or hinders epigenetic reverse aging.
Multimodal gene-expression analysis has been created as a more accurate way of understanding how sleep and metabolic factors interact with epigenetic clock. This approach can detect horizontal pleiotropy–where two factors are affected simultaneously–from UK Biobank and 23andMe GWAS data sets; using it revealed correlations between self-reported insomnia symptoms and HannumAge, as well as sleep efficiency with IEAA.







