As time marches on, you can significantly slow your ageing process

Picture this scenario, two persons- Person A, and Person B- go into the same car dealership on the same day and buy identical model vehicles. Person A primarily uses her vehicle to transport her to and from work, a round trip of less than eight miles. Other trips may involve going to her place of worship, grocery shopping, or visiting a friend or family member. Person B is a young bustling taxi driver, he spends the better part of every 24 hours on the road hustling to make his living.

Fast forward five years. Coincidentally, both Persons A and B decide to sell their respective vehicles. Who is likely to fetch a better price for their vehicle? Most likely Person A. Why?

Because over the previous five years, Person A’s vehicle would have been subjected to less attrition than Person B’s.

A similar scenario also plays out when it comes to humans. Envision identical 50-year-old twins who have subjected their bodies to different levels of wear and tear. By the age of 50, they would have worn and aged differently.

Scientists have determined that everyone has a biological age that is separate and distinct from their chronological age. One’s chronological age is the number of years, months, and days you have lived. Your biological age is how your cells, tissues, and organs have aged since birth.

For persons who have always been healthy and have looked after themselves by subscribing to a healthy lifestyle, their biological age is invariably less than their chronological age. On the other hand, for persons who have embraced an unhealthy lifestyle or who have been plagued with ill health, their biological age, as a matter of course, would significantly exceed their chronological age.

Your general health and longevity are intricately tied to your biological age.

While we all want to live a long healthy life, this is highly unlikely to happen by chance. Unless you are willing to invest the time and effort to achieve this desired outcome, your quality of health and longevity will be ultimately determined by the roll of the dice.

Calculating biological age

Today the calculation of one’s biological age is not an exact science. However, soon we will be able to accurately calculate our biological age.
Currently, you can get a reasonable appreciation of your biological age by using a reputable online biological age calculator. The Phenoage calculator is an example.

Improving your biological age

If you hope to get the most out of life both qualitatively and quantitatively, you should aim to significantly reduce your biological age. Below are some interventions that, when followed diligently and consistently, will markedly lower (improve) your biological age.

1. Stop smoking and avoid second hand smoke. Tobacco smoke kills over 50% of its users. Second hand smoke kills 1.3 million people prematurely worldwide, every year.

2. Exercise. Thirty minutes a day of brisk walking for 5 days per week is highly beneficial.

However, any amount or type of exercise is better than none. Other forms of exercise that are recommended are frequent playing of a sport, jogging, swimming, hiking, dancing, cycling, resistance/ weight training, and gym workouts.

3. Stop consuming unhealthy foods and drinks. Reduce consumption of factory-manufactured and animal-based products. Eat more plant-based, fresh, and locally grown foods. When consuming meats, stick to fish and poultry (without the skin). Eat more nuts, ground provisions, lentils, whole grains, vegetables, and fruit. Snack on nuts, vegetables or fruit. Avoid fast food. Carry to work home-cooked nutritious meals.

Consume lots of water.

Reduce your intake of foods that are processed, fried, and high in salt, sugar, and fat/ cholesterol. Sparingly consume simple carbohydrates (e.g. foods made from wheat flour, and white rice). Cut out malts and sugary drinks.

4. Minimize alcohol consumption.

5. Reduce stress. Spend 15 minutes a day connecting with nature (e.g. beaches, sea, rivers, mountains, lush vegetation, sunrises, sunsets, bird watching, taking in the night sky). This significantly improves blood pressure, mood, and reduces tension and anger, and helps with clarity of thought, while significantly reducing stress. Alternatively, bring nature home through house plants or a kitchen/ flower garden. Meditation and breathing exercises also help.

6. Resist sitting for extended periods. Protracted sitting is linked to heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers, and a host of other illnesses. Take a 2-3-minute break from sitting every 30 to 60 minutes and walk, stretch, or squat. While at work, conduct phone conversations while standing.

7. Get your zzzzz. Adults should sleep 7 to 9 hours at night. For those over 65, 7 to 8 hours is adequate. Chronic sleep deprivation can result in cancers, heart disease, stroke, depression, reduced sex drive, and dementia, along with many other medical challenges.

8. Allow only uplifting people into your circle. For happier and longer lives toxic relationships must be avoided. Those with few family and friends, religious organizations, service clubs, sporting clubs, and volunteering facilitate camaraderie with others.

9. Get regular health check-ups. This allows one to nip illnesses in the bud and increases the likelihood of a cure.

10. Smile and laugh as much as possible. Science has shown that smiling and laughing increases the release of the “feel-good hormones” – endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin. Such hormones are associated with a plethora of health benefits.

11. Normalize weight, blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol. Your weight should not be above the international recommendation for your height. Your blood pressure should not exceed 130/ 80. HbA1c should be less than 5.6% (non-diabetics) or 6.5% (diabetics). Keep cholesterol under 200 mg/dl or 5.2 mmol/L.

Finally, keep in mind, “Your biological age on any given day is not your destiny. It is what we call a ‘modifiable risk factor.’” – Morgan Levine, True Age: Cutting-Edge Research to Help Turn Back the Clock.

Author: Dr. C. Malcolm Grant – Family Physician – Family Care Clinic, Arnos Vale – Former Tutor, Faculty of Medical Sciences, UWI, Cave Hill, Barbados. For appointments: clinic@familycaresvg.com, 1(784)570-9300 (Office), 1(784)455-0376 (WhatsApp)
Disclaimer: The information provided in the above article is for educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a medical professional or healthcare provider if you are seeking medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment. Dr. C. Malcolm Grant, Family Care Clinic or The Searchlight Newspaper, or their associates, respectively, are not liable for risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information provided above.