How To Slow Aging: Effective Methods Explored

The aging process changes our bodies and minds. You may have had a change of mind about aging itself. Instead of trying to avoid aging, you may have begun to view aging as the privilege that it is. When the mindset shifts, your thoughts will naturally change to ways you can live longer and age more healthfully. 

Anti-aging is more than just a miraculous wrinkle cream or an herbal supplement that promises increased energy. To focus on healthy aging, you have to start in the cells. The foundation of our total health and wellness is found in our cells; they hold the key to helping us achieve longevity.

Together, we’ll explore what causes the body to age. We’ll also review the most scientifically researched and supported ways to help slow the aging process so that your biological age is much lower than your chronological age. 

What Is Aging?

The two types of aging we just mentioned (biological aging and chronological aging) are very different. 

• Chronological aging. This type of aging refers to the years, months, days, and even minutes you are alive. Simply put, your chronological age is your birthday. There’s no way to change your chronological age (without Doc’s DeLorean, of course). 

• Biological aging. This type of aging refers to the age of your cells based on quantifiable, physiological evidence. Biological aging, as we will learn, can be modulated.

Chances are your chronological and biological age are not the same. We’d all like our biological age to be less than our chronological age, but sometimes illness, environment, and lifestyle choices can make our biological age higher than our chronological age. 

Biological Aging Explained

Researchers have identified the mechanisms by which our bodies age. These are referred to as the 12 hallmarks of aging, and not surprisingly, they’re all biomarkers that occur at the cellular level. 

Genomic Instability 

Changes in our environments that have biological and chemical effects on the cells change how they function and continue to proliferate throughout our lifetime. 

Telomere Attrition

At the end of our chromosomes, protective coverlets called telomeres stand guard and play an active role in the transfer of DNA from one cell to the next. During the aging process, these become shorter, and each time the cell proliferates, a small portion of DNA is lost. 

Weakened Cellular Communication

Our cells are in continual conversation with each other, ensuring our bodies remain in a balanced state called homeostasis. When cells can no longer communicate properly, the balance is altered, and we may experience illness and disease. 

Disabled Macroautophagy

Numerous links between autophagy and aging exist. Autophagy is your body's process of reusing old and damaged cell parts, and it declines with age. Evidence suggests this reduction plays a role in physiological aging and age-associated disorders. 

Studies indicate that defects in autophagy can increase age-related diseases and that enhancing autophagy has beneficial effects on healthspan and lifespan. 

Chronic Inflammation

Mild chronic inflammation is considered a biomarker of biological aging. High levels of pro-inflammatory markers are often seen in older individuals and can predict the risk of cardiovascular diseases, multimorbidity, frailty, and a decline in physical and cognitive function.

Dysbiosis 

Dysbiosis is a change in gut microbiota. An imbalance in the natural colonies of microflora can cause a range of diseases and can contribute to aging. 

Less intestinal motility associated with aging can result in changes in nutrient exchange and can affect overall microbiota composition. In addition, reduced physical activity in elderly individuals can decrease gastrointestinal (GI) tract motility. 

Epigenetic Alterations

Alterations you make to your body through diet, exercise, sleep patterns, surgeries, and exposure to certain toxins play a role in how your body ages. 

Loss of Proteostasis

Cells use specific pathways to create proteins, put them to use, and then eliminate them once they are no longer needed. This process, called proteostasis, can lose function with age. 

Deregulated Nutrient Sensing

Your cells require specific nutrients to perform cellular activities. Over time, your cells can lose their ability to recognize the nutrients they need, which leads to cellular decline and a loss of cellular function. A classic example of this is insulin resistance, where cells have become unable to regulate glucose uptake.

Mitochondrial Dysfunction

Mitochondria power our cells, but with age, their function declines. They produce less of the energy molecules (ATP) that our cells need, which has a trickle-up effect on functions that support the entire body. Simultaneously, they also begin to produce more reactive oxygen species (ROS), a molecule directly associated with aging. 

Cellular Senescence

Cells have a programmed death date, known as apoptosis. Once a cell becomes unable to carry out its functions, it should naturally reach this date, die, and be consumed by phagocytes (cells that consume dead cells). 

With age, this programmed death sequence begins to fail. Cells lose their function completely, but they don’t die. Instead, they hang around in our bodies like zombies, creating an atmosphere of inflammation. 

Stem Cell Exhaustion

Your magical stem cells are like cellular gold. They can change into any type of cell your body currently needs. As you age, your stem cells lose their magical morphing powers. 

If you really want to tackle biological aging head-on, these are the 12 areas of focus to consider. Many people (usually called biohackers) are now focusing on ways to improve their cellular health. 

We’ll discuss the science behind some of the most popular and effective methods they’re using to slow down aging and live a longer, more healthful life. 

Six Effective Methods To Slow Aging

Want a longer lifespan? These six methods could be the key to helping you achieve it and protect your health. These interventions focus on tackling some of the hallmarks of cellular aging that often underlie age-related diseases that can shorten our longevity. 

1. Load Up on Antioxidants

The reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced naturally by your mitochondria can damage your cells. While some ROS are produced naturally in the body due to mitochondrial function and dysfunction, some are produced from exposure to external stimuli. Free radicals are ROS produced when we are exposed to stressors like UV rays, pollution, and toxins like cigarette smoke. 

Antioxidants are your cells’ defense against these aggressors. Antioxidants volunteer themselves to free radicals, intervening on behalf of your cells and keeping them safe. You can find antioxidants in everything from food to skincare. 

2. Intermittent Fasting

Few people love the idea of skipping a meal (or two), but fasting has some scientifically backed benefits that could help you lead a longer life. Fasting is another way to decrease oxidative stress (the damage done by ROS and free radicals) in your body. It also plays a role in supporting mitochondrial function, helping you avoid mitochondrial degeneration. 

Intermittent fasting doesn’t necessarily mean consuming a lower amount of calories. It simply means consuming your calories during a specific period. For instance, you might consume all your calories between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., fasting between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. 

3. Exercise 

We’ve known about the biological benefits of physical activity for decades. Now, we’re learning more about how the right amount and type of regular exercise can improve our longevity and lower our risk factors for age-related illness. 

In addition to cardiovascular exercise, weight-lifting or resistance training, and mobility exercises, high-intensity interval training (also known as HIIT) might be the best way to protect yourself against premature biological aging. In one study, this type of training (which involves short bursts of energy followed by brief periods of rest) better supported telomere health when compared to resistance training and cardio training. 

4. A (Seriously) Balanced Diet

Your healthcare provider has been telling you for decades to eat a balanced diet, but many of us struggle to know exactly what that means. The American diet is riddled with foods that raise cholesterol and keep us on a trend toward obesity. An abundance of red meat, processed meats, and excess sugar can rob us of good health and shorten our lifespans. 

A healthy diet focuses primarily on whole foods or foods that are as close to their original state as possible. Think fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein sources like chicken, fish, and legumes. A diet comprised of these ingredients will also give you the added benefit of boosting your antioxidant levels and even reducing your risk of heart disease. 

5. Get Enough Sleep

The importance of sleep can’t be overstated. In one study, researchers discovered that just one night of missed sleep caused cells in adults to age faster. Most adults need somewhere between seven to nine hours of sleep per night. You may need more or less due to your activity level and age. 

6. The Right Supplement

Many supplements claim to help you reverse aging biologically, but few have enough scientific backing to truly support those claims. One that does is C15:0. 

This supplement works directly within your cells to help support them as they age. In fact, C15:0 works directly on the hallmarks of aging to help you avoid developing the drivers that cause your body to age faster than it has to. 

Understanding C15:0 

C15:0 was discovered as a beneficial fatty acid by a veterinary epidemiologist studying how to continually improve the health and welfare of older dolphins. This epidemiologist found that some older dolphins, but not all, developed aging-associated conditions. One of the key differences? The healthier, older dolphins had more C15:0 in their diet.

She then spent 10 years studying if these findings could be translated to humans. She published her key findings in Nature’s Scientific Reports in 2020, which supported that this fatty acid could produce similar anti-aging benefits in humans.

What It Is

C15:0 is an essential, odd-chain, saturated fatty acid found primarily in whole dairy products like whole milk and full-fat butter. As such, it’s hard to get enough of it in your diet without adding additional calories and unhealthy, even-chain fats, which have consistently been associated with higher rates of obesity. 

The solution? Fatty15. Fatty15 is the first and only supplement to give you the pure, vegan-friendly version (read: no cow involvement) of C15:0, known as FA15™. It lets you skip the calories and the cows and reverses aging at the cellular level. 

How Does It Work?

Fatty15 increases cellular strength, boosts cellular energy, and repairs cellular damage through several key mechanisms.

• Keeping cell membranes strong. When cells age, they become weak and misshapen, leading to cellular function loss. Fatty15 is a sturdy fatty acid that integrates into cell membranes to help keep them strong. 

• Clearing “zombie cells.” The cells that lose their function and won’t die get the boot with fatty15. Fatty15 activates AMPK, which helps clear out these damaged cells. 

• Regulating inflammatory response. Fatty15 calms and lowers levels of proinflammatory cytokines, known to be key drivers in the aging process. 

• Supporting mitochondria. Fatty15 restores and repairs mitochondrial function, decreasing their production of ROS by 45% and increasing their ATP output by 350%, as evidenced in peer-reviewed studies. 

• Activating AMPK. Fatty15 restores your body’s natural balance (homeostasis) by activating AMPK. AMPK regulates glucose uptake and helps calm and balance the immune system. 

• Activating PPARɑ and PPARẟ receptors. These receptors regulate numerous homeostatic functions like metabolism, immunity, heart and liver health, and even mood and sleep. By activating these receptors, fatty15 helps restore balance and reduce the risk of dysfunction or illness in these areas. 

Taking just one fatty15 per day is enough to restore your circulating levels of C15:0 and help you reverse the signs of aging in your cells. It’s one of the most proactive ways you can support your health in addition to living a healthy lifestyle. 

Aging In Reverse

You won’t be able to change your chronological age, but your biological age? You can alter it. A few simple lifestyle changes and the benefits of a research-backed supplement can help you reverse aging at the cellular level and improve your overall health and wellness. 

Fatty15 is the cellular health supplement that should be at the top of your biohacking list. 

Sources:

The Hallmarks of Aging - PMC

Effects of Intermittent Fasting on Health, Aging, and Disease|NEJM.org

The American Heart Association Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations

Partial sleep deprivation linked to biological aging in older adults - American Academy of Sleep Medicine – Association for Sleep Clinicians and Researchers

Broader and safer clinically-relevant activities of pentadecanoic acid compared to omega-3: Evaluation of an emerging essential fatty acid across twelve primary human cell-based disease systems | PLOS ONE

Dairy consumption and overweight and obesity: a systematic review of prospective cohort studies - Louie - 2011

Effect of the glyceride of pentadecanoic acid on energy metabolism in hair follicles - ADACHI - 1993 - International Journal of Cosmetic Science - Wiley Online Library