Jay Campbell, co-founder of Biolongevity Labs in Florida, United States, claims he has a biological age of about 30, while his chronological age is 55.
Scientists have discovered that people’s biological age – which is how old their cells, tissues and organs are – often differs from their chronological age, i.e. the number of years they have been alive.
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Campbell attributes his low biological age to a daily cocktail of seven to 10 peptides for more than a decade.
“My lab work is the best it’s ever been in my entire life.
“It’s like I am getting younger cellularly and through my biomarkers.
“So, I know that these things do work,” said the author of five books on the topic.
“Of course, it’s all within the context of living the correct lifestyle.”
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As researchers study ways to slow down or reverse a person’s biological age, Florida is now considered a hotbed for clinics, treatments, trials and supplements.
University of Miami researchers are studying biological age to predict who’s at risk for developing colon polyps – a known risk factor for colorectal cancer.
Voluntary associate professor Dr John Lewis has led multiple clinical studies on cellular repair and biological ageing.
He has looked at how a plant-based diet could reverse your biological age and whether certain supplements, including aloe polymannose, can help too.
“This isn’t just about ‘good genes’, it’s about cellular health that can be measured,” said the nutrition scientist.
University of Florida researchers are pioneering the reversal of biological age by specifically focusing on “brain age”.
Their studies have shown that lifestyle choices can cause the brain to age faster or slower than the body, and that healthy habits – including regular exercise – can make the brain appear up to eight years younger.
At the same time, longevity clinics are popping up across Florida, where patients can receive comprehensive assessments, peptides and other therapies aimed at slowing ageing.
These Florida clinics charge anywhere from a few hundred dollars to more than US$150,000 (RM594,780) a year for scans, customised treatments and diets to identify health risks, track how fast your cells are ageing and build an optimisation plan.
For now, individuals in the US can test their biological age with a commercial at-home blood or saliva test that costs US$200 (RM793.04) to US$500 (RM1,982.60).
Different testing methods examine cellular, chemical or physical markers in your body and analyse them using certain biological-age clocks.
But companies, researchers and the US federal government are racing to develop more accurate and reliable ways to measure biological age, including a possible test based on brain scans.
“All these things will tell us not only what our biological age is, but also why it is a certain level.
“That is what is going to be all the rage over the next three to five years,” Campbell said.
Longevity researchers are also looking to use artificial intelligence (AI) to identify which biomarkers are most predictive of disease, and they are examining the potential of various drugs or therapies to delay ageing, or even reverse it.
University of Miami Health System Osher Center for Integrative Health director Dr Edward Schwartz said stress, poor sleep, poor nutrition, a sedentary lifestyle and heavy alcohol use can contribute to a higher biological age.
“Lifestyle issues are important factors in slowing down or speeding up the ageing process,” he said.
Every lifestyle intervention, medical therapy or physical reset that successfully lowers your biological age is effectively buying you more time to enjoy life and move without pain.
That concept is driving increased marketing of anti- ageing supplements and extensive screenings in Florida.
“Even people in their 30s, 40s and 50s are interested in longevity,” Dr Schwartz said.
“We want to live as long as we can, but we want to live healthy.” — By Cindy Krischer Goodman/South Florida Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service
