Two people who are born at the same time do not age at the same rate, although the time elapsed since their birth is exactly the same.
Why then are some people described as “ younger than they are ” while others seem to be “ years old ”?
To explain this phenomenon, we need to distinguish the chronological age from the biological age.
You will discover that time is not the cause of aging!
In today’s video you will learn: – the differences between chronological and biological age – how to evaluate the biological age of a person – how to fight biological aging – and much more.
Unfortunately, our society lacks an aging model.
If you think about it, this is normal, or at least it has been up to now.
In fact, nature has programmed us to be at our full strength only until the period of reproduction.
In fact, once the point of maximum physiological and reproductive form is exceeded, we become less useful from a biological and evolutionary point of view and for this reason our body begins a slow, but inexorable degradation.
Up to now we have been content to lengthen our lives while paying the consequences in terms of health and functional capacity.
Today, however, the deepest needs have changed and each of us wants not only to live longer, but above all to live fully, at the best of their health until the end.
Transcript of the video
Welcome to this new episode which is all about a concept that is very, very important and little known: the difference between chronological age and biological age .
Quite often when we meet someone who looks good we tell them how good it is for years , well actually that phrase doesn’t make much sense. What does it mean to bring the years well? We should understand that what we are giving is not a qualitative judgment, but really a quantitative judgment, that is, the person to whom we say are good years is a person who has actually aged less than another person in the same age.
And this is precisely the difference between the concept of chronological age and biological age, that is, two people who were born on exactly the same day actually age at different speeds depending on the life they lead and the lifestyle they adopt. He even thinks this is true for twins; twins, even identical ones, therefore born not only on the same day, of the same year, but with the same DNA, if they expose themselves to different stimuli and adopt a completely different lifestyle, they age at different speeds.
So the chronological age is what actually tells us “how old are you”, but the biological age is what tells us “how well it works” and therefore there is an important difference between the concept of age understood as “past years” and the concept of age understood as “lost functionality”, because we know that the passage of time does not change, the speed of aging does not change, but it is extraordinary to think how in the entire first part of life, let’s say up to age of the young adult, this passage of time has a completely opposite effect compared to the passage of time in the following years of life. The 10 years for example from the age of 10 to the age of 20, well they have very different characteristics from 10 years that characterize the age from 50 to 60 or from 60 to 70, yet it is always 10 years that have passed.
So it is not time as we often think the cause of what happens, but it is something that lies within ourselves, in the sense that in the first part of life we are programmed for growth, tissue repair, optimization of functionality to reach (and this is a developmentally fundamental task) the reproductive age at the best of our physical condition. This was the intended goal of nature.
Everything that happens at a later stage actually depends on the fact that there is no biological program to protect us, and I want this to be a concept that is very clear to you; that is, in our DNA it is written that we must reach the peak of our health around the age of reproduction, it is not written that we must reach the 60, 70, 80, 90 years and much less it says how we must get there.
This makes sense when you think about it; the evolutionary program that has been selected throughout our history plans to bring you to the age of reproduction. What happens next is not a consequence of a program, but rather the consequence of civilization and the fact that we no longer live in the wilderness allows us to compensate for functional decay through many aids: technology, medicine, surgery, clothes. that protect us from the cold, the house, a lot of what we have built around it protects us from the dangers of nature and allows us, therefore, to reach a more advanced age. However, it allows us to reach a more advanced age, but does not allow (at least if we don’t do something concrete) to avoid this slow but constant degradation of the organism.
Here is the speed of this degradation actually expresses the biological age of a person, that is I can be 40 years old 50 years old but have the biological age of a 50 year old or I can be 40 years old and the biological age of a 30 year old.
A lot of this, if not all, depends on the lifestyle I have adopted. I did sports, I ate correctly, I used the correct dietary supplementation, I gave space to relaxation techniques that allowed me to manage my emotional and mental sphere, the famous four foundations of a healthy life. I have spoken many other times. Here I will have regulated my epigenetics in such a way as to slow down the effect that the passage of time has on my body, and therefore be able to express a lower biological age.
Scientists have been trying to measure biological age for a long time, there are systems to do it, there are methods that can lead us to derive the biological age from a series of parameters that can be biochemical, partly genetic, also exist functional tests to do this, some of these also validated with rather solid scientific research. However, it is also true that we have never developed a true consensus on how exactly to capture the concept of biological age to give a person a point number and say “look you are 60 but your biological age is 40”.
I have focused more on an overall assessment of the person’s functionality, i.e. how well it works, how well the sport holds up, how well it sees, hears us, how well the gastrointestinal tract works, how well the management of the stress: much of what we do in our check-ups is ultimately aimed at understanding the state of performance and health of a person and therefore the biological age and therefore building a form of protection that increases the body’s ability to counteract the passage of time.
So what is important to understand in this context is that the chronological age is out of our control, the biological age is not , and if we can create an intervention mechanism on our epigenetics through 4 fundamentals of healthy living , for example, we will certainly benefit from the speed at which our biological age actually advances.
Focus: what are the biomarkers of aging
So the chronological age is what actually tells us “how old are you”, but the biological age is what tells us “how well it works” and there is an important difference between the concept of age, understood as “past years” and the concept of age understood as “lost functionality”.
But what do the biomarkers (biomarkers) consist of that allow medicine to measure the degree of aging and, in a subsequent step, to evaluate the patient’s therapeutic response to the treatments to which you are subjected?
In simple terms, these are physiological values that change over the years.
Here are the main biomarkers to consider:
- Functioning of the liver and kidneys
- Function of the lungs
- Metabolic system
- Immune system
- Telomere length
- HDL cholesterol
- Check the cardiorespiratory system
- Dental health
- Good condition of fundus capillaries
- Physical, psychological and coordination test
There are also other basic biomarkers , generally kept under control:
- Hormone screening
- Oxidative stress
- Musculoskeletal function
- Dermo-aesthetic screening
This extended screening is important to understand how possible an anti-aging action is but above all they introduce the fundamental concept of functional organ reserve . This means that our body is able to activate an additional margin of functional abilities and therefore to restore its normal functions and canons from a physiological point of view.
But that’s up to you.
What to do to improve the biological age
A 10-year period of time, for example from the age of 10 to the age of 20, has very different characteristics from the same 10 years between 50 and 60 or 60 and 70. Yet we talk about the same time frame.
The fight against aging is therefore only apparently a fight against time.
In the first part of life we are programmed for growth, tissue repair, optimization of functionality to reach (and this is a developmentally fundamental task) the reproductive age at the best of our physical condition.
Everything that happens at a later stage actually depends on the fact that there is no biological program to protect us . This concept is fundamental and I would like it to be very clear: we have not been programmed to live much beyond the reproductive period. It is thanks to advances in science and medicine that we have extended our lives. But this too is evolution, so much so that we are adapting to having children later for example.
Obviously technology and the ability to live in safe environments, the availability of food do not ensure eternal life and an invincible shield against all diseases. However, the organism degrades.
It is precisely the speed of this degradation that actually expresses the biological age of a person: I can be 40 years old and 50 years old but have the biological age of a 50 year old or I can be 40 years old and the biological age of a 30 year old.
A lot of this, if not all, depends on the lifestyle I have adopted.
Ask yourself:
- Did I do any physical activity?
- Have I observed the principles of proper nutrition?
- Did I manage my psychological and emotional sphere correctly?
- Did I carry out preventive work, knowing more about how I am, checking if I have any deficiencies?
In essence, it is about observing the famous four foundations of a healthy life , which I have already spoken about on many other occasions.
This is exactly how you can regulate your epigenetics , in such a way as to slow down the effect that the passage of time has on your body, and thus be able to express an age lowest biological level.
Scientists have been trying to measure biological age for a long time.
There are systems to do this, there are methods that can lead us to link biological age to a series of parameters that can be biochemical, in part genetic.
There are also functional tests to do this, some of them validated by pretty solid scientific research. However, it is also true that we have never developed a true consensus on how to exactly “capture” the concept of biological age, to be sure to tell a person “look you are 60 but your biological age is 40”.
You can get close to it, but from my point of view it’s not so precise that it has absolute guarantees. Instead, we can check:
- what kind of physical or sporting performance can it guarantee
- how the gastrointestinal tract works
- how well stress management works
So, I remind you that in the end the choice is up to you and in this field, as in many other fields I talk to you about, always remember that you can accept the situation, play the victim, complain about the passing of time, say that it is so and there is nothing to do, or roll up your sleeves and understand that through an intelligent strategy you will not be able to live forever, you will not be eternally young, but you can try to get stronger up to at the end.
