“Age is just a number.” And more research is telling us that statement is truer than we think. Every year the calendar increases your chronological age by a year, but not everyone ages in the same way. We all age differently when it comes to our physiological age and our mental functioning.

Researchers are now looking at aging as more than just the number of years we’ve been alive. They are starting to understand that how a person functions physiologically and mentally are important indicators of how old or young someone really is.

That’s why instead of chronological age, researchers now use epigenetic age and biological age as more accurate representations of how people get older. Two people with the same chronological age might be very different in their epigenetic or biological age.

Epigenetic Age refers to changes that occur over time on a person’s DNA. Methylation is the process by which the activity of a DNA segment is modified while its sequence is kept intact. An example of Methylation at work is graying hair that occurs with age. Methylation allows scientists to look at someone’s DNA for signs of aging.

Biological Age is a measure of someone’s physiological and functional state—it represents their risk for disease and death based on inflammation, metabolic function, and immune function. There are several different ways to determine biological age that involve looking at blood pressure and other medical biomarkers.

Epigenetic and biological age are both indicators of how old someone really is. We are seeing that people who live to be 100 are younger on these age scales. And we are seeing the people who die in their 60s may be older on these age scales.

Omega-3s Only Reduced Epigenetic Aging

In a recent study, researchers examined the effects of omega-3s, vitamin D, and exercise on epigenetic and biological age.

For 3 years, one group of participants took 2,000 IU of vitamin D per day, another took 1 gram of omega-3 fatty acids per day, and another performed a simple at-home exercise program for 30 minutes three times a week.

Other groups were assigned to a combination of the interventions. There was a group who took vitamin D, and omega-3, a group who took vitamin D and exercised, a group who took omega-3 and exercised, and a group who received all interventions (vitamin D, omega-3, and exercise).

In this study, omega-3 fatty acids were the only intervention that consistently reduced epigenetic aging.

In contrast, vitamin D and exercise individually did not affect any measures of epigenetic aging. Their benefits for epigenetic aging were not unlocked until omega-3 fatty acids entered the picture.

Omega-3s, Vitamin D, and Exercise all Reduced Biological Aging

All combinations of omega-3s, vitamin D, and exercise reduced biological aging. Any combination of the three had a positive effect. In fact, combining all three led to the greatest reduction in biological aging. The reduction was an estimated 3.8 months over the three-year treatment period, compared to 3.3 months when omega-3 was combined with just vitamin D or just exercise.

In both scenarios, the reduction in biological aging was huge. The ability to slow down the aging process by three months over a three-year period is something I want to take advantage of.

But What About Exercise?

Other studies have shown that exercise offers one of the most potent anti-aging interventions we know of. One problem with this study: the subjects were asked to engage in light exercise at home with dumbbells. Not a very challenging form of exercise. Let’s look at a couple of studies that included more intense exercise.

In 2018, Dr. Ben Levine put subjects on a 2 year intensive exercise program that reversed heart aging by an estimated 20 years. In this study, sedentary 50-year-olds were asked to exercise for 30 minutes four to five times a week. One of the weekly exercise sessions was high intensity, like what we do at Exercise Inc.

The researchers looked at the structure of the subjects’ hearts before starting the exercise program and after doing the exercise program for two years. After two years of intense exercise training, the size and thickness of the hearts of these 50-year-olds looked like the hearts of 30-year-olds. Intense exercise reversed 20 years of cardiac aging! We’ve seen similar results in other studies.

Other studies from the DO-HEALTH trial have found that combining omega-3s, vitamin D, and exercise reduced the risk of pre-frailty by 39% and cancer risk by 61%. Omega-3 supplementation reduced the risk of infections and falls.

Slowing Down Aging

We’ve been encouraging our clients to supplement with vitamin D and omega-3s for a long time. And we do safe, intense exercise at Exercise Inc. This study suggests that combining all three interventions has a synergistic effect.

According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, approximately 70% of adults in the US are Vitamin D INSUFFICIENT. This means their blood serum levels of Vitamin D are less than 30 ng/mL. And approximately 28.9% of US adults have deficient Vitamin D levels, meaning their blood levels of vitamin D are below 20 ng/mL.

Most people can reach sufficient blood levels of vitamin D by supplementing with 2000 IU of vitamin D daily. I recommend a high quality source like Carlson. It’s safe to supplement with as much as 4,000 IU/day. Talk to your doctor about where you should be.

Omega-3 fatty acids aren’t as prevalent in our diet as they used to be. The meat, fish, eggs, and vegetables we eat contain fewer essential fatty acids like alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DGA). To make up for the deficit, we recommend taking about 2 to 4 grams of a good fish oil supplement every day. Again, I like the Carlson brand.

And of course, Exercise Inc has been doing safe, high intensity strength training for over 20 years. We have watched our clients reverse diabetes, get off blood pressure meds, reduce inflammation, and cure osteoporosis. Our program can help anyone increase their health span and their life span.

Stay Strong,

Bo Railey