How to Slow Down Your Biological Clock

Gizmodo

18 hours ago

Death is inevitable. But the journey getting there is far from universal.
The average life expectancy at birth worldwide is now around 73 years but varies widely between countries and even between individual states in America. I, and presumably many readers, know some people who have barely lost a step as they've gotten older, as well as people who sharply declined as they entered their golden years. These realities invite the question: How can we significantly slow down our biological clock? And will we get any closer to a fountain of youth in the near future?
There's some good and bad news.
First, the bad news. There's probably a hard limit to our longevity. A study last year found that, while life expectancy has continued to grow pretty much everywhere since the start of the 20th century, the rate of increase has substantially sunk in the U.S. and other high-income countries over the past 30 years. Only around 3% of women and 1% of men in the U.S. today are even expected to reach 100. This and other research suggests that radical life extension is off the table, at least for the foreseeable future.
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Not all hope is lost, though. Many researchers in the aging field have started to call for a new perspective. Rather than simply focus on extending our lifespan, they argue, we should also work to improve our healthspan—the years of relatively good health we have left in our hourglass. This isn't a strict distinction. Research on the oldest known humans has found they're generally healthier than the average person throughout their lives. But there are also people who still die in their 70s or 80s while experiencing few of the chronic health issues that commonly plague their peers beforehand.
The good news is that there are several evidence-backed ways to boost or maintain our health as we age. Many of these shouldn't come as a surprise, like physical activity. Any amount and form of exercise, whether it's jogging, weightlifting, or flexibility training, is good for you, no matter your age.
'There is no question that regular exercise is associated with improved lifespan and healthy lifestyle,' Sanjai Sinha, an associate professor of clinical medicine at the Mount Sinai Health System and a physician at The Health Center at Hudson Yards, told Gizmodo. 'There are data that link exercise to decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, metabolic disease, cancers, and neurodegenerative diseases.'
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Diet, too, plays a pivotal role in slowing the clock. Many different diets have been linked to longevity and general health, but the most consistent, according to Sinha, is the Mediterranean diet. This diet encourages eating plenty of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, olive oil, a moderate consumption of fish and poultry, and limited intake of red and processed meats, refined sugars, and saturated fats. A 2023 review of 40 clinical trials found the Mediterranean diet outperformed six other diets in prolonging life among people with higher cardiovascular risk.
There are also things we can avoid or at least moderate our intake of to extend our lives. Smoking, heavy alcohol drinking (the data is more uncertain with light to moderate drinking), and sedentary behavior have all been linked to a shorter life. That some unknown or unexpected health risks could likewise drain our lifespan complicates the picture even further. A study just this week found a possible connection between faster aging and frequent nightmares, for instance.
There's still a lot we don't know about the biology of aging, and we know even less when it comes to slowing it down therapeutically. Sure, you can browse online pharmacies and store shelves and spot dozens of supplements or other products that claim to have anti-aging effects, but upon closer inspection, the data supporting these claims is generally spotty or very preliminary. Just this month, NIH scientists failed to find evidence that aging is linked to declining levels of taurine, a semi-essential amino acid commonly sold as a supplement, contrary to earlier research.
'While they may have positive impacts on certain genes and proteins that have been linked with aging, these supplements have not been proven in any well-designed human trials to prolong lifespan,' Sinha said. 'I don't believe any of these products or substances stand out over the rest.'
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This doesn't mean there aren't any promising longevity drugs in the works. Last year, a nationwide study of 3,000 people over 65 began testing metformin—a long-used, vital type 2 diabetes medication—for longevity (the trial is expected to end by 2030). Rapamycin, a drug used to prevent organ rejection, is also being studied in trials for anti-aging and age-related disorders. And longevity researchers like Anthony Molina, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego's School of Medicine, are hopeful that we will find genuine successes among some of these trials soon enough.
'Such clinical trials are made possible by advances in the development of biomarkers of biological aging, which can be assessed in coordination with functional/clinical outcomes reporting on health status across ages,' Molina, also the scientific director for the Stein Institute for Research on Aging and the Center for Healthy Aging, told Gizmodo. 'I anticipate that over the next few years, we will tease apart what actually works and what is not supported by data in humans.'
Scientists are also continuing to make new discoveries about the biological drivers of aging. Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, for instance, have been studying a trait they've coined 'immune resilience'—the immune system's ability to fend off infections and other real threats without causing too much unneeded inflammation. In a study this April, they found that middle-aged people with the best immune resilience may have a 15-year survival advantage over those with the poorest.
'Inflammation is absolutely essential, but it has to be in the right place, the right amount, the right kind, and the right duration,' senior study researcher Sunil Ahuja, a professor of medicine at UT Health San Antonio and director of the Veterans Affairs Center for Personalized Medicine with the South Texas Veterans Health Care System, told Gizmodo.
Broadly recommended lifestyle habits like exercise and a healthy diet are associated with immune resilience, Ahuja notes. But he's hopeful that someday, doctors can provide personalized therapies that boost a person's resilience and, likewise, maintain their healthy aging. With enough detailed analysis of people's genetics, metabolism, microbiomes, and other innate characteristics, he argues, it'll be possible to craft the ideal health-extending diets or preventive medicines for an individual person, similar to the way doctors can now modify cancer treatment based on a tumor's unique makeup.
We're not quite there yet, of course. But here's some added incentive for being hopeful: optimism itself seems to help you live longer and healthier.
'People often ask me what would be a magical food, a superfood. And I'd say that an actual superfood is your attitude, your mindset. There are people who look at life and their stresses in a positive manner. And when they do, we think—based on data we and others have developed—that they maintain, if you will, somewhat of an anti-inflammatory state,' Ahuja said.
No one lives forever. But there's a lot we can do to make our time here as pleasant and healthy as possible. With any luck, plenty more tips and tricks for longevity will emerge in our lifetimes.