Age reversal is no longer just a myth, with researchers reporting it’s possible to partially reset cells back to younger states. This was demonstrated using mice that experienced improved vision and extended lifespan as part of this experiment.
Understand that reprogramming cells won’t lead to cancerous transformation is also crucial; understanding this putative barrier will hasten development of better methods for rejuvenating them.
1. Diet
Since time immemorial, many have dreamt of finding a cure for aging and diseases – a “fountain of youth”. Unfortunately, such dreams remain out of reach at this stage in human evolution.
Recent research has demonstrated that there are ways to halt the aging process through making minor modifications to diet and exercise habits. Even minor adjustments can make an impactful difference over time.
Studies conducted between 2022-2024 suggested that maintaining a healthful diet and controlling weight could postpone biological aging for as much as six years, while another research paper concluded that following a Mediterranean-style diet, not smoking, regularly exercising and improving sleep habits could slow biological age by 2-3%.
Good news is that even small changes can dramatically improve your quality of life, and tools exist to assist with tracking their implementation. InsideTracker’s InnerAge test uses blood samples to detect which biomarkers contribute to biological age and provides personalized recommendations on what you can do to reduce their impact.
Harvard researchers recently unveiled an exciting development. A chemical combination has been discovered which reverses some hallmarks of aging in mice within just a week by rejuvenating senescent cells – similar to what the Yamanaka factors can do, yet without altering identity or leading to cancer. This discovery could potentially allow humans to extend life by taking pills containing this combination.
2. Exercise
Exercise is one of the best defenses against the effects of aging and its most harmful impacts. Exercise can prevent and treat chronic diseases, boost immune systems, reduce depression and anxiety levels, promote restful sleep patterns, maintain a healthy weight, boost metabolism, build muscles and bones and even boost brain health; best of all it’s something everyone can benefit from regardless of age or physical ability.
Researchers have recently uncovered how exercise rejuvenates muscles at a molecular level, an insight that may hasten future anti-ageing therapies. Researchers observed the muscle fibers of mice trained for two months on a gradually weighted wheel and observed how exercise-induced changes “reprogram” epigenetic expression into more youthful forms.
This process is initiated by the loss of chromosome ends called telomeres, which are shortening as cells divide and send out chemical signals that stop cell division and initiate cellular senescence. With time, repair processes become impeded and disease risks increase dramatically.
Scientists discovered that exercise-activated AMPK protein, known for its antiaging benefits and being essential in this reprogramming process, played an essential part in this reprogramming. Their theory holds that this occurs because activating multiple cellular pathways under energetic stress requires activating different parts of AMPK’s protein activating mechanism.
So while Murach believes the research to be promising, he cannot yet state definitively that physical exercise alone will halt biological aging or reverse it. Instead, he hopes it may spur additional studies to discover other lifestyle interventions which might slow down nine hallmarks of aging more gradually. Meanwhile he advises adults of all ages to find ways to be physically active throughout their day.
3. Sleep
Sleep is like an entire-body spa treatment; it rejuvenates your skin, hair, and nails as well as improving mood and making concentration easier. Poor quality of restful slumber has been linked with obesity, diabetes, heart disease and depression – so getting enough shuteye every night is vitally important!
Sleep remains an intriguing topic of active research. Studies have linked lack of sleep with increased DNA damage accumulation, cell senescence and shortening telomeres. This process may be hastened by factors like oxidative stress, hormone dysregulation or changes in gene p16INK4a expression.
Some theories on the purpose of sleep suggest it as an energy conservation mechanism, enabling your body to conserve resources during times when food sources may not be readily available. Another theory suggests it as restorative process that allows cells to reorganize and repair themselves.
Scientists agree that sleep is a complex state with numerous interrelated biological functions, making its precise function unlikely. Sleep shares many features with wakefulness and other behavioral states that support its multifaceted regulation by various parts of the brain.
At night, your metabolism slows and blood pressure decreases to allow your body to conserve more energy for essential functions, and help decrease risk for chronic diseases. Sleep is also crucial for learning and memory – researchers have discovered that key processes that help new information “stick” in long-term memory don’t occur or work as efficiently when sleeping too little, which explains why staying up all night studying doesn’t really help later.
4. Skin Care
As we age, our skin becomes thinner and less elastic while fine lines and wrinkles begin to appear due to cellular aging, a natural process in which cells divide and duplicate; with each division comes reduced telomere length (Turner 2019). After enough divisions occur, they become so short as to trigger cell death (Turner 2019).
Although we can’t stop or completely reverse the aging process – which is an inevitable part of life–we can slow it down and help prevent premature aging by taking care of our skin daily. Implementing a good skin-care routine is the ideal place to start!
Keep your skin hydrated with moisturizers, while using products containing retinol or hyaluronic acid to minimize fine lines and wrinkles (Zasada 2019; Ahmed 2020). Vitamin C also plays an integral part in fighting signs of aging by acting as an antioxidant against free radicals while stimulating collagen production in your skin (Zasada 2019; Ahmed 2020).
Finally, to enhance the appearance and texture of your skin you can add “brightening” ingredients such as kojic acid, AHAs, licorice root extract and water-soluble vitamin C for more even tone and to combat pigmentation (Turner, 2019). These brightening agents will even out your tone while lightening any dull patches with pigmentation (Turner, 2019).
These healthy habits can help ensure your biological age remains behind chronological age. But it’s also important to keep in mind that beauty regimens are long-term commitments – it may take several months before new products or treatments provide visible results, and don’t forget the sun protection with a broad-spectrum sunscreen every day!
5. Supplements
Studies have proven that although aging is inevitable and unavoidable, certain interventions such as intermittent fasting, green tea, coffee, exercise, and supplements can slow the process. Research on natural products such as vitamins, minerals, botanicals or bioactive compounds derived from plants like turmeric — like berberine, luteolin, quercetin, resveratrol curcumin baicalin — which have an impactful anti-ageing impact has been conducted extensively over decades. Some examples include berberine luteolin quercetin resveratrol curcumin baicalin which have shown increases healthspan through actions on AMPK mTOR NF-kB Nrf2 and IIS pathways.
Recent research demonstrated that decreased Menin levels play a significant role in physiological aging, such as cognition, bone density and skin thickness; supplementation with an amino acid capable of increasing Menin levels can halt some aspects of this process in mice. These findings could have significant ramifications for how we age as we try to extend lifespans.