Biological age testing

Biological age testing

A biological age test reveals the difference between your biological age and your chronological age. Essentially, your chronological age is how old you would tell someone you are if asked; it is the age that is calculated based on the birthdate on your birth certificate. Your biological age, on the other hand, is the biological age of your cells. This number tells you how quickly or slowly your cells have aged relative to your chronological age and can be revealed through epigenetic testing.
Your biological age is based on your surrounding environment. For example, your biological age may be lower or higher than your chronological age based on a combination of factors such as past or present illnesses, dieting, and other lifestyle choices. By revealing your biological age through epigenetic testing, you can see how much your lifestyle choices have helped in slowing down the aging process, or you can see if you need to make changes in your surrounding environment and/or these lifestyle choices in order to slow down this process. As such, epigenetic testing is an avenue to show how you can be healthier, and live your best life. If you are interested in epigenetic testing or finding out your biological age, AgeRate offers a product that allows you to test your biological age and optimize your health and longevity.

The biological aging clock

The model of the biological aging process is based on what is referred to as “Horvath’s clock”. This theory was founded by Steve Horvath, hence the name “Horvath’s clock”, yet it is not as simple as a clock mounted on the wall that tells time. Essentially, the clock is the scientific theory used to give you your biological age, as well as help to find what causes your cells to age quickly, and how you can reverse your age acceleration.

From a simplified point of view, Horvath’s clock theory estimates your biological age based on 353 markers within your DNA. These markers can help to show what has resulted in the aging of your cells, no matter what your biological age may be.
In a practical sense, Horvath’s clock serves a number of purposes. It helps display what lifestyle choices have led to greater age acceleration. It is also helpful in the study of biological age testing and what causes age acceleration. It aids in displaying the relationship between age acceleration and issues such as obesity, as well as showing this relationship as it relates to diseases. In some cases, Horvath’s clock can even be used to predict and diagnose various diseases, including cancer.

Takeaways

This is just a simplified explanation of biological age testing, the basis of how it works, and how it can be applicable to you. This post is by no means meant to cover everything there is to know about epigenetic testing and the scientific process behind how it works. If you wish to learn more about the biological aging process and how Horvath’s clock theory works, you can find a link to a Horvath article here, which goes further in-depth on the process behind age acceleration and the epigenetic clock.

Back to blog