On this episode, Chuck Gaidica was joined by Dr. Angela Seabright, care management physician at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. Together, they discussed our biological age, or the age at which your body functions, and what you can do to improve it.
Chuck and Dr. Seabright go over different ways you can improve biological age, including diet, exercise, sleep and stress management.
Many people’s chronological age is different than the age they feel. Some research shows certain lifestyle changes may be able to slow biological aging up to six years. We need to start by distinguishing between life span and health span. “Life span is the length of time we live, and health span is the length of time we live well,” Dr. Seabright explained. “By slowing or reversing our biological age, we're improving our health span. Which is really the goal… to have active and full lives and live independently as long as possible.”
Concerning biological age, you’d need to look at certain biomarkers, such as DNA methylation or cell methylation, which refers to how genes are modified over time. You can’t change your genes, but genes undergo changes depending on how they’re expressed. These changes are based on age and environmental factors. This newer field of study, called epigenetics, has shown certain genes' expressions are either pro-aging or anti-aging.
“One really good example is smoking,” Dr. Seabright said. “So universally we know that cigarette smoking is bad for your health. And why is that? Well, part of the reason is that it interferes with that DNA methylation, which leads to aging at the cellular level and subsequent disease.” Through twin studies, it’s been determined that life span is affected around 20% by genes and 80% by lifestyle and environmental factors. What are some lifestyle changes or environmental factors that can be controlled?
Diet
“The food we eat is either aging us or reversing our biological age,” Dr. Seabright said. “You really have to ask yourself, is what I ate supporting my body? Is it going to restore, repair and heal? And many times the answer to that is ‘no.’” Avoiding meals that are devoid of nutrients and full of unhealthy amounts of fats, sugar or salt can cause an improvement in biological age. Sugar and ultra-processed foods are common drivers of illness, and sugar affects your DNA methylation, like smoking.
“Sugar is silently aging us.” Dr. Seabright said. “And I think many people think, well, ‘I don't have diabetes, my A1C is fine. I don't have a sugar problem.’ But if you look at the statistics and how many US adults have obesity or metabolic syndrome or pre-diabetes, which is one in three adults have pre-diabetes in the U.S., it is staggering.” Studies show diets rich in fruits, vegetables and healthy protein lead to less chronic disease and better longevity.
Exercise
Exercise is another lifestyle change that affects biological age. As we age, muscle mass decreases, metabolism slows and bone density decreases. Adults need a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity per week. Moderate intensity can be gauged by being able to talk through the exercise but struggling to hold an entire conversation. Adults also need to incorporate two days of muscle strengthening or resistance training per week, as well as balance and flexibility exercises.
Cardiorespiratory fitness directly affects life span and health span. “That means people with low cardiorespiratory fitness, the people who are sedentary, they're at higher risk not only for cardiovascular disease but mortality in general.” Dr. Seabright explained. “So exercise is extremely important.”
Sleep
Sleep is another pillar of health that affects life span and health span. “Sleep is imperative for every function in your body.” Dr. Seabright said. “And we've had other episodes on sleep and how important it is for your immune system, your memory, your mood, chronic disease prevention.” Getting less than seven hours of sleep per night on a regular basis is not only linked with chronic disease but will also accelerate aging.
Stress Management
“Stress is a huge contributor to aging,” Dr. Seabright said. “And I wish it could be as simple as ‘take the stress away.’ But it's life. There's going to be stressful events, and especially as we age, I think we encounter more stressful events in life.” Stress increases the risk of inflammation in the body. Stress can also cause increases in blood sugar, blood pressure and weight gain.
Taking care of your mental health can reduce stress. “There's a body of literature that shows that social connections have a positive effect on our health and longevity,” Dr. Seabright said. “So connecting with family and friends, having family dinners, seeing family members on a regular basis, it's really protective for your health.”
This isn’t all just about preventing or slowing aging but rather being proactive about your health and lifestyle. “You can’t live forever, but you certainly try to live well,” Dr. Seabright ended with.
Listen to the podcast, How to Slow Down Your Biological Age, to hear the entire conversation. A Healthier Michigan Podcast is brought to you by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.
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