How to Change Your Biological Age

Gray hair, wrinkled skin, growing flabbiness and reduced resistance to injury and disease are part of growing older for most people. To most Americans, these are harbingers of old age, inevitable milestones along a path that leads inexorably to the grave.

In fact, recent research suggests that the body's gradual decline stems not from the passing of years, but from the combined effects of inactivity and poor nutrition. So, no matter what your present health status or your chronological age, regular exercise and improved eating habits will lower your biological age.

To lose fat and gain muscle: Be sure to combine a low-fat diet with regular exercise.

• Aerobic capacity is most important. To gauge fitness, doctors often measure the body's ability to process oxygen during exercise. The greater this aerobic capacity, the faster oxygen is pumped throughout the body and the fitter the individual. Like other biomarkers, aerobic capacity often declines with age. Typically, by age 65 it is 30% to 40% below its level in young adulthood.

oBlood-sugar tolerance is of great importance. For most Americans, aging brings about a gradual decline in the body's ability to metabolize blood sugar (glucose). This problem is so common that by age 70,20% of men and 30% of women are at an increased risk of diabetes, a potential killer.

At special risk for problems are the overweight, the sedentary and those who eat a fatty diet.

Now the good news is that a low-fat, high-fiber diet, combined with regular exercise, will cut your diabetes risk. Be sure to include both strength-building and aerobic exercise in your routine.

• Cholesterol ratio. As most of us know, high cholesterol boosts your risk of heart disease. But total cholesterol isn't the only thing that counts.

An important aspect to keep in mind is the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL (good cholesterol). For older people, the ideal ratio is 4.5 or lower. A person whose total cholesterol is 200 and whose HDL is 50, for example, has a ratio of 200/50, or 4.0.

To lower your HDL/LDL ratio. Stop smoking, lose weight, reduce your intake of fatty, cholesterol-rich foods and exercise regularly

• Blood pressure. In many parts of the world, advancing age brings little if any change in blood pressure. In the US, however, where older people tends to be both overweight and sedentary blood pressure does rise with age. To keep pressure in check: Stay slim, don't smoke, get regular exercise and limit your consumption of fat, salt and alcohol. If these steps fail to regulate pressure, pressure-lowering drugs may be necessary.

• Bone density. As we age, our skeletons slowly become weaker and more brittle. While some mineral loss is inevitable, the severe and potentially deadly condition known as osteoporosis is not.

Bone loss prevention can be accomplished with supplements. Although consuming 1,000 to 1,200 milligrams of calcium a day will retard the loss of bone, that alone rarely does the trick. You also need vitamin D and weight-bearing exercise, such as walking and running. Some exercise is not helpful. For example swimming and other forms of exercise that do not subject the long bones to the stress of gravity will not help prevent bone loss but it is still good for cardio vascular health so do not abandon it but supplement it with weight training exercises.