How old is your body (biological age)?
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Cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes, hormonal deficiency. Taking good care of your health can slow down these accelerators of aging. Your biological age does not, however, correspond to your real age. How to measure your physiological age? Are there special tests? What parameters to trust?
Real body age and hormone deficiency measurement
Surely you have already heard of someone who seems "younger than her age" or on the contrary who seems "older". In fact, not everyone ages the same way, and in some people, chronological age does not correspond to physiological age.
What is physiological age?
Physiological age, also called biological age, reflects the exact physiological or functional state of a person. Thus, the physiological age may correspond to the person's chronological age (determined from her date of birth), sometimes it is out of phase. It's common to come across people who don't look your age at all, whether they look younger or older.
Why is it necessary to distinguish biological from chronological age?
Although our genetic inheritance largely determines our life expectancy, our lifestyle also plays an important role in the aging process (and acceleration): tobacco, alcohol, cholesterol, diabetes, stress, overweight, obesity. In a study published in early June in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), researchers include explaining that beginning in their thirties, some people's bodies age much faster than average.
You may not be the age listed on your filing status. "Aging is the culmination of two components: the occurrence of repeated stress, acute or chronic, together with the biological capacity of an individual to resist stress. The latter varies from person to person. From one tissue or organ to another. that, along with chronological age, there is a biological age", says Professor Jean Mariani, a specialist in the biology of ageing.
How to calculate age physiology? Is there a DNA test?
In 2015, scientists from King's College explained in a study published in Genome Biology that they had deciphered a genetic test to determine the actual state of aging of an individual from a simple blood test. This is also the case of Elysium Health, a biotechnology company based in New York, which confirmed in 2019 that it had launched a saliva DNA test to be carried out at home (called Index), capable of determining the biological age of a person.
But to calculate one's biological age without testing, one assesses the state of the main vital functions of the body through various parameters: cardiovascular, respiratory, renal. Here are the top 4 bookmarks.
How to determine biological age by checking cholesterol?
Why should cholesterol levels be controlled? LDL cholesterol is a factor of vascular toxicity. It damages blood vessels and increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. Therefore, you need to monitor your cholesterol level.
In addition to risk factors in adults (smoking, hypertension, diabetes, overweight, sedentary lifestyle), it is normal for total cholesterol to be less than 2.20 g/l of blood, LDL cholesterol less than or equal to 1.60 g /l and HDL cholesterol. greater than 0.40 g/l.
The test to be carried out: a blood test, from the age of 18, to be renewed every five years if the level is normal.
What to do in case of cholesterol?
The High Health Authority (HAS) recommends dietary and lifestyle measures before starting treatment with statins.
Thus, it recommends reducing the intake of saturated fatty acids (fats of animal origin, particularly meats and sausages, palm or peanut oil) and increasing the intake of fibers and polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3). It all comes down to Mediterranean eating and exercise.
How to determine biological age by monitoring blood sugar?
Why do you need to monitor your blood sugar level (glycaemia)? Diabetes would accelerate brain aging by about five years. Too much sugar (glucose) in the blood stimulates the production of insulin to regulate it. However, this hormone alters the functioning of cells, "wears out" the body and accelerates aging, being an important risk factor for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases.
The test to be carried out: blood tests or urine tests, from the age of 45 or earlier in case of history, to be renewed every three years.
What to do in case of diabetes?
According to neuropsychiatrist André Alemán, eating healthy and eating fewer calories reduces the activity of this system and prolongs a healthy life. It is about reducing sugary drinks, cakes, pastries, on the contrary, we must favor vegetables (rich in fiber) and low glycemic index sugars as proposed by the Mediterranean diet.
Your doctor will prescribe an antidiabetic medicine if your tests show a fasting blood glucose (glycaemia) level of more than 1.26 g/l on two occasions. In addition, the first drug prescribed for type 2 diabetes, metformin, slows down aging.
How to measure biological age with blood pressure?
Why do you need to monitor your blood pressure? Hypertension is a sign of aging vessels. It is a cardiovascular risk factor. It also increases the risk of kidney failure. It is diagnosed when values above 140 mmHg are measured three times in a row for the first figure (systolic pressure when the good test to detect it: the heart contracts), and 90 mmHg for the second (diastolic when the heart contracts).
The test to be carried out: measurement of blood pressure with a sphygmomanometer, once a year from the age of 40.
What to do against hypertension?
Physical resistance activities, at the threshold of shortness of breath without exceeding it, will help you lower it. Your heart will be able to pump blood with less effort, lowering the pressure of blood against the vessels.
Regular exercise lowers blood pressure by 4 to 9 mmHg without medication. If this is not enough, treating it allows you to normalize the numbers so as not to damage your vessels.
Real body age and hormone deficiency measurement
Why should you monitor your estrogen levels? In women, menopause occurs around the age of 50. However, estrogen protects the heart, blood vessels, and brain. Lack of estrogen can cause hot flashes, night sweats, headaches, tiredness, trouble sleeping, irritability, or joint pain.
What to do in case of hormonal deficiency?
Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) has been framed to limit the risk of breast or ovarian cancer.
Most doctors want to be reassuring: "French THM" is the only treatment that reduces hot flashes, improves sleep and mood, sometimes even memory.
If these markers are not within the recommended range, it is a serious problem that your biological age is exceeding your chronological age.
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