Ageing – Beyond the Digits
Would you agree that the stigma around ageing is uncalled for? If you do, welcome aboard!
No one is exempt from going through the human life cycle. How ageing is regarded as a negative thing is confusing at best. Besides, as the infamous saying goes, age is just a number, right? SRW Laboratories, being the curious, brilliant, ground-breaking, and innovative company that they are, had other ideas. Turns out, being acquainted with these numbers would lead us to some very vital information, most of which can actually help you make lifestyle changes to influence your biological age and help increase your chances of a long, healthy life.
First up, we must bring clarity to the concept of biological age. Simply put, the number of years lived determines our chronological age. Our biological age, however, is the more telling of numbers as it relates to our cellular makeup. Figuring out the latter and getting an indication if our cells are ageing faster (or slower) is a game-changer. Our biological age, and not so much the age we know of based on the birthday candles we blow, is a better parameter for our health, wellbeing, and life span.
Knowledge is power, and this power is made available to us thanks to SRW Laboratories‘ latest offering, the DNAage. Unlike the social media sensation, this DNA test kit doesn’t determine one’s ancestry breakdown. DNAage is New Zealand’s first at-home epigenetic DNA test kit that allows customers to see how quickly their cells are ageing. Your test result provides you with your biological age based on your DNA methylation and also the age you are predicted to be when compared to the larger population based on your methylation results. Recent research has shown that factors such as sleep, pollution, alcohol consumption, stress, exercise, obesity, and diet can speed up the process of biological ageing. If your biological age is older than the predicted age, this suggests you are ageing faster than the general population, and vice versa – if the biological age is younger than it suggests, you are ageing slower. Getting a hold of this information could assist you in safeguarding your future as studies suggest that an accelerated biological age may mean you experience some of the health conditions associated with advancing age earlier.
Understandably so, there could be concerns and worries about the test, especially when the word DNA is dropped in the mix of things. However, just like every product under the SRW umbrella, the DNAage have gone through rigorous rounds of studies, researching, testing and have been sifted through the minds of some of the industry’s most reputable scientists. The test is a painless salvia-based DNA test, which is conveniently boxed up, delivered to your door, so it can be done in the comfort of your own home. Once your sample is ready, you drop it off in the provided pre-paid envelope at your nearest post shop and await your results.
If your results come back and it reveals that your biological age is older than my chronological age, this doesn’t mean that your body is a hopeless case. Is it a red flag? Yes, but one that could be addressed head-on. Epigenetics is different from genetics in a substantial way. Our biological age is potentially reversible by dietary interventions and environmental or lifestyle changes. Preliminary studies show that dietary changes can cause the deceleration of the epigenetic clock in certain people. Lifestyle adjustments in the right direction can do some wonders too. While more data about the most advisable changes are required, exercise and healthy dietary habits have been recommended by national medical associations for some time.
With all that to consider, we must punctuate that the DNAage test simply serves as an indicative tool, a better way to determine your age. It’s not a scientific pause button on ageing. Greg Macpherson, SRW Founder, says “We have discovered in the past decade that DNA methylation marks can be influenced by our very lifestyles, stress levels, exposures to pollution, and experiences. What we put into our bodies, such as the food we eat and alcohol consumed, all adds up and impacts our DNA methylation and other epigenetic marks.”
Circling back to our point earlier – KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. May the discovery of your biological age be a key diagnostic to motivate you towards a healthier ageing trajectory.
Discover more by visiting SRW Laboratories’ website.
Find out your biological age with SRW’s DNAage test
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