Aging backwards: How to measure, slow, or reverse your biological age

What is biological age?

You might think aging is an inevitable, linear process—each birthday marking another step toward decline. But what if the rate at which you age isn’t actually set in stone? And you have more control over it than you might think…

Your chronological age, or calendar age, simply reflects the number of years that you’ve lived since birth. Alternatively, biological age indicates the rate and quality of aging on a genetic, cellular, and molecular level. Faster biological aging increases your chances of developing age-related diseases: cardiovascular disease, prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, kidney failure, cognitive decline, dementia, cancer, hormonal imbalances, autoimmunity, muscle and bone loss, and macular degeneration.

When cellular damage accumulates, biological aging occurs. That impacts a cell’s ability to repair, rebuild, and function. Take this example: two people have identical calendar ages. One is 60 years old with a biological age of 40. The other is 60 years old with a biological age of 75.

What makes the difference?

Everything. Literally. Everything we do impacts our biological age: from diet and exercise, to environmental toxins, and physical or emotional stress. When you improve those inputs and others–like prioritizing quality sleep or reducing your exposure to environmental toxins–you can effectively reverse your biological age. On the flip side, things like eating a diet high in refined sugar, starch, and ultra-processed foods, being sedentary, chronically stressed, and sleep deprived will all accelerate biological aging.

So, you can’t change your chronological age, but you can biologically age in reverse.

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Key biomarkers

Key biomarkers reveal the health and function of your liver, kidneys, inflammation, immune response, blood sugar, and more–all of which greatly impacts the way your body ages over time. Moreover, keeping a healthy baseline of these biomarkers positively impacts epigenetics (chemical changes that affect how genes are expressed), while the opposite can negatively impact biological age, as well.

Track and monitor the biomarkers below to improve your biological age. Persistent abnormalities in these biomarkers can mean an increase in your risk of illness.

Albumin

This protein, produced by the liver, distributes essential nutrients throughout your body. Low albumin levels can be a sign of liver or kidney dysfunction–or protein deficiency. Changes in DNA methylation can impact albumin production in the liver.

Creatinine

This biomarker measures kidney function, which is impacted by diet, medications, blood pressure, blood sugar, autoimmune diseases, and more. Creatinine is a waste product of your muscles during regular activity. Your kidneys filter out creatinine from the blood and eliminate it through urine. Abnormal levels may indicate kidney disease or failure.

Glucose

Glucose levels offer a snapshot of metabolic health. When consistently elevated, they can contribute to the development of major chronic diseases. Insulin resistance is a leading factor in accelerating biological aging, and increases the risk of many age-related diseases: heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and dementia. Elevated glucose levels can be a result of insulin resistance.

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (Hs-CRP)

This immune messenger protein is produced by the liver and detects systemic inflammation, a key driver of accelerated biological aging known as "inflammaging."  Chronic inflammation is linked to major diseases like cancer, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cognitive decline. Further, abnormal DNA methylation patterns accelerate all inflammatory age-related diseases.

White blood cell (WBC) count

Aging is accompanied by a decline in immune function, referred to as immunosenescence, which leads to increased risk of diseases, cancer, autoimmunity, and inflammatory disorders. A healthy baseline of WBCs indicates that your body is fit to fight off disease and other invaders. If abnormal for long periods of time, this can negatively impact your biological age by increasing your risk for illnesses and infections.

Lymphocyte %

These white blood cells are critical for fighting infections by targeting pathogens like viruses and bacteria. Abnormal levels weaken immunity, increasing infection risk and disease severity. Age-related DNA methylation changes disrupt lymphocyte development and function, reducing the body’s ability to combat threats effectively and accelerating immune decline.

Mean corpuscular volume (MCV) 

This measures the average size of your red blood cells (RBCs): whether they’re too big, too small, or just right. Properly sized RBCs efficiently carry oxygen to every cell. Abnormally high or low MCV (often from nutrient deficiencies or diseases) reduces oxygen delivery, forcing your body to work harder. This added strain accelerates cellular aging by increasing oxidative stress and damaging tissues over time.

Red cell distribution width (RDW) 

MCV measures if red blood cells are properly sized to carry oxygen efficiently, while RDW detects size variation—indicating whether your body produces consistent, healthy cells. RDW tends to increase with age and is strongly linked to higher risk of mortality, heart disease, and cancer.

Alkaline phosphatase (ALP)

This enzyme reflects bone, liver, and tissue health, with abnormal levels signaling accelerated biological aging. Chronically elevated ALP (common in aging) predicts higher mortality from cardiovascular disease and organ failure, while age-related increases in women correlate with bone loss and osteoporosis. High ALP levels act as a "stress signal" that speeds up aging by damaging tissues and organs over time.

Science of epigenetics

To measure your biological aging rate is to assess the impact of all your life choices–and their impact on your genes. Like keys on a piano, your genes are fixed. But how the genes are expressed–or played–is not. Within your body, a certain system is responsible for regulating gene expression, instructing cells to turn “on” or “off.” That system is your epigenome. That’s the maestro behind the piano, determining which keys or songs are played–and, in turn, the status of your health.

Your lifestyle and environment significantly influence this process. To help you understand biological age a bit better:

• Cells contain the biological machinery that produces proteins, chemicals, and signals that control every single bodily function. Healthy cells are essential for healthy aging. Your cells house your DNA.

• DNA is responsible for building and maintaining your human structure. Your DNA—the blueprint for everything in your body—sits within the nucleus of cells. It’s fixed and cannot be changed (except for gene editing, which is not yet ready in clinical practice).

• Genes tell your body which proteins to make. Proteins are the communication systems that regulate everything in the body. You inherit genes from your biological parents. But you control how your genes are expressed–through your lifestyle choices. 

• Epigenetics is the control system that tells genes what to do, and dictates which genes are either silenced or expressed. 

Think of your DNA as your book of life. It contains 8 billion letters–those are the nucleotides that make up your DNA. The letters that get "read" are controlled by your epigenome, which changes based on how you live. 

For example, if one identical twin chose to eat a whole-food diet, never smoke, and exercise regularly while the other ate an ultra-processed diet, smoked consistently, and was mostly sedentary… these two individuals would age very differently, despite having identical genes. That’s controlled by your epigenome.

In his book Young Forever, Dr. Mark Hyman compares the epigenome to software that runs your life program. You can create different outputs by changing the inputs: food, exercise, stress, sleep, pharmaceuticals, supplements, etc. Again, the epigenome controls which genes are turned on or off, shaping your health and biological aging. This is great news, according to Hyman, because you can modify your gene expression—and choose health. And control your future.

DNA methylation

Remember, your epigenome is controlled by various mechanisms, including DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNAs, but DNA methylation plays a particularly central role in regulating gene expression, protein production, repair, hormones, and metabolism. 

More specifically, this is the process by which small chemical compounds called “methyl groups” wrap around your DNA to either turn certain genes on (by removing methyl groups) or off (by adding methyl groups). This speaks to our ability to affect which genes are actually expressed.

Most chronic diseases and hallmarks of aging are not typically caused by any one single gene, but rather by changes in patterns of DNA methylation and other epigenetic mechanisms that regulate your epigenome. The key is to learn how to influence your epigenetics in a way that positively impacts your health, longevity, and disease prevention.

How to age in reverse

While you can’t reverse your chronological age, you can reverse the age of your cells—and in doing so, turn back your biological clock.

Your body naturally cleans up old or decaying cells and proteins as it builds new molecules, cells, and tissues. That said, aging means there’s an imbalance between the rate of decay and rebuild. So, one goal with biological age is to rebalance the two: to slow down or reduce the rate of decay as you improve cell regrowth and resilience.

How can you improve this balance, and your aging rate?

Focus on nutrition

Food is the building block of your body’s biology. It carries the code that shapes the function of your biological software. With every bite, you’re either upgrading or downgrading your system performance.

A diet high in ultra-processed foods, refined sugars, and starches will speed up  biological aging. Instead, choose a diet rich in whole, nutrient-dense foods, healthy fats, high-quality protein, fiber, probiotics, and phytonutrients.

For more information, visit Nutrition 101, a science-based review of foundational nutritional principles and eating practices that promote health and well-being.

Prioritize sleep quality

Poor sleep and sleep deprivation can accelerate aging by increasing cortisol levels, as well as inflammation, and making it harder for your cells to repair. To get 7-9 hours of restorative sleep, try to:

• Maintain a consistent sleep schedule–even on weekends.
• Avoid harsh, artificial blue lights before bed.
• Keep your sleep environment cool (60-67 degrees Fahrenheit).
• Get natural sunlight first thing in the morning to reset your circadian rhythm.
• Try a sauna or a hot bath/shower to help you wind down.

Visit Sleep 101 for practical tips on how to improve your sleep.

Exercise regularly

Movement is essential to keep your body mobile and strong. 

• Strength training 3 times per week for 30 minutes will help you maintain and build muscle mass. It also improves mitochondrial health. 
• Aerobic exercise 4-6 times per week for 30 minutes can help you build cardiovascular fitness.
• Low-impact exercise, like brisk walking, swimming, or tai chi, can help to improve fat metabolism and insulin sensitivity.

For more detailed information on exercise, please refer to Exercise 101.

Manage stress

Chronic stress and inflammation worsen many chronic diseases—and over time, accelerate biological aging by damaging cells and disrupting key repair processes. To better manage your stress, try spending time with friends and family–not your phone. Prioritize recovery and explore your hobbies and passions. Get outside in nature, even just 20-30 minutes can make a difference. Or, you can try Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR), meditation, or breathwork techniques.

For more information on stress management, visit Stress Management 101.

Reduce toxin exposure

Environmental toxins impact your aging rate. Drink filtered water to avoid any heavy metals. Ditch household products or personal care products in packaging containing BPA (Bisphenol A) or PFAS––often referred to as "forever chemicals" because they do not break down easily in the environment or the human body. PFAs are also commonly found in products like non-stick cookware, water-repellent fabrics, and stain-resistant carpets, as well as fast food packaging.

For more information, visit Environmental Health 101.

By slowing or reversing your biological age, you can extend your healthspan and gain more quality years of life. Get ahead of your long-term health–today.