How to slow down aging by six years: scientists have named ways

The issue of prolonging life, and especially a healthy and active life, is of concern to many. And doctors say that while science is inventing medicines and devices that could help with this, everyone can take eight simple steps right now to add about 6 more years to their life expectancy.

The Guardian wrote about the recommendations of the American Heart Association (AHA) in Philadelphia. They all relate to lifestyle, do not require much effort, and have been confirmed by research.

Eight recommendations were made based on the study of health data from more than 6,500 people, with an average age of 47. This is the sample on which the AHA conducted its study. Based on its results, scientists said that people who maintained good heart and vascular health were about six years younger biologically than their actual age.

"These findings help us understand the relationship between chronological age and biological age, and how adhering to healthy lifestyle habits can help us live longer," said Donald Lloyd-Jones, chairman of the Life's Essential 8, which is the AHA's health assessment tool. The tool assesses heart health based on four lifestyle variables and four health variables.

To determine the phenotypic or biological age of a person, researchers studied metabolism, organ function, and inflammation in the body. They also studied the phenotypic acceleration of aging, which is the difference between biological age and actual age. High rates of this difference indicate too fast biological aging. The study also took into account social, economic, and demographic factors.

After examining all the data, the authors of the study said that having the highest Life's Essential 8 score means good cardiovascular health and corresponds to a biological age that is about six years lower than the actual age. "We found that higher cardiovascular health is associated with a slowdown in measurable biological aging," said Noor Makarem, assistant professor of epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health at the Irving Medical Center of Columbia University in New York, senior author of the study. He also noted that the relationship shows that biological aging slows down as heart health improves. Therefore, we can conclude that it is never too late to start taking care of yourself.

For example, in those subjects who did not have heart problems and whose average age was 41, the average biological age was measured at 36. But in the group of study participants who had heart disease, the average actual age was 53, while the biological age was 57.

What did the doctors advise those who want to improve their health and reduce their biological age? The recommendations were very clear. Here's what you need to do:

• follow a healthy diet;
• be physically active;
• not smoke or quit smoking;
• make sure you get enough sleep;
• maintain a healthy weight;
• control cholesterol levels;
• monitor blood sugar levels;
• keep your blood pressure under control.

Earlier, OBOZ.UA told you about a simple exercise that you can do at home every day and which will help you live longer.

Subscribe to the OBOZ.UA channels in Telegram and Viber to keep up with the latest events.