I am 63, but my biological age is TWENTY years younger
Is there really a secret to eternal youth?
Dr. Mark Hyman, a 63-year-old man who says his biological age is 20 years younger than he actually thinks, claims he knows how to turn back the clock on the aging process.
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He was born in 1959, but said he discovered after a DNA methylation test that his biological age is only 43.
And he argued that we shouldn’t sit back and accept that growing older is a part of life.
“We don’t have to accept this decline, this deterioration, this frailty as normal. We can reverse that biological process and age as we get younger,” he said on the podcast Feel Better, Live More with Dr. Rangan Chatterjee.
He explained that our diet, our sleep habits, our stress levels and the amount of exercise we do can either speed up or slow down the aging process.
Read more anti-aging stories
Dr. Mark said that research into longevity has shown that when you adopt a healthier lifestyle, your body repairs and renews its cells, reversing the aging process.
He added that signs of aging, such as weakness and heart disease, are in fact “abnormal processes” resulting from an unhealthy lifestyle.
And he made another important claim: in just eight weeks, it is possible to turn back your biological age by three years.
Although he aims even bigger.
“I’m 43 and I’m trying to be 25,” he joked.
When Dr. Mark turned 60, he started strength training and changed his diet to include more protein and fewer carbohydrates.
He said the change really helped him become stronger.
“As I got older, I saw my strength increase, which doesn’t happen very often,” he added.
“The body can change rapidly at any age.”
He added that he has seen people in their 80s and 90s who have slowed their aging process by taking up exercise.
And that some foods contain ingredients that are important for longevity, such as onions and garlic, broccoli, green tea and mushrooms.
“We can use these foods in part of our daily consumption to activate these life-extending processes and switches,” he said.
Not only will these lifestyle changes help you live longer, Dr. Mark added that they will also make you feel better right away.
Tips for aging well
There are a number of habits you can adopt to help maintain your health and well-being as you age.
Age UK shared the following tips:
- Do things you enjoy every day, like cooking, meeting friends, or enjoying a good book.
- Stay hydrated – drink six to eight glasses of water per day
- Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables to reduce your risk of heart disease and certain cancers, eat beans, legumes, fish, eggs and meat to help your body recover after an injury, starchy carbohydrates for energy, dairy products to keep your bones strong
- Manage long-term health conditions to prevent them from getting worse or having a greater impact on your health
- Stop smoking and limit your alcohol consumption to a maximum of 14 units per week
- Prioritize mental health and seek treatment for it as it can also impact physical health
- Make sure you sleep well
- Stay social – and call a friend or loved one if you can’t get out
- Be physically active to reduce your risk of depression and dementia, heart disease, stroke, Parkinson’s disease and some cancers
“It means you’re adding more life to your years, not just years to your life,” he said.
Dr. Mark added that many mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression, are also influenced by the foods we eat, such as ultra-processed foods.
He said, “And we can change that. That can give us a sense of purpose and the ability to do what we want.”
The doctor also said that it is important to avoid unhealthy foods.
“I think it’s important to add more things that are good for us, and slowly eliminate the things that are bad for us,” he explained.
Dr. Mark also recommended a ten-day detox, where you completely eliminate “bad” foods.
He said his research has shown that this gives the body a chance to reset and improve itself.
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