Age Types: Everyone Ages Differently, Find Out Which One Is Yours

It’s true that we don’t all age the same way, a phenomenon that has attracted attention almost since the invention of medicine. In fact, Hippocrates, who developed several explanations to try to understand what aging is, believed that it is an irreversible, universal and physical evolution, and that it is explained by the theory of the four basic fluids: blood, mucus, black bile. and yellow bile. For a long time it was believed that depending on how much of these humors were present in our body, so would our character, as well as how we would get sick and experience old age.

Modern science believes that the key to old age can be found in age patterns, patterns that reflect how each person experiences and manifests their own aging process. If this concept seems strange to you, it’s because it’s relatively new. This became known in 2020, just four years ago, thanks to an article published in the journal Nature Medicine. Titled “Personal markers of aging and age-related patterns revealed by deep longitudinal profiles,” it was the result of a study conducted by experts from Stanford University (USA), who analyzed the deep molecular patterns of “106 healthy people aged 29 to 75 years.” ” ” for four years.

“We have identified different types of aging patterns across individuals, called age-related types, based on the types of molecular pathways that change over time in a given individual,” said the experts, led by geneticist Michael Snyder. “Ageotypes can provide a molecular assessment of individual aging, reflecting lifestyle and medical history, and may ultimately be useful for monitoring and intervening in the aging process,” they added. That is, if we know what path our body will take as we age, and therefore where problems will come from, we could adjust our lifestyle to better follow the path we are on.

“Age type is more than a label: It can help people identify health risk factors and areas where they are most likely to have problems,” Snyder said when his study was published. “And most importantly, our research shows that it is possible to change the aging process for the better,” he insisted.

Although, according to the International Center on Aging (CENIE), “some researchers suggest the existence of an imprecise set of age types,” and Snyder and his colleagues speak of twenty types, in principle four have been identified:

– Immunity: You age according to how your immune system reacts.

– Metabolic: A person ages in accordance with how he accumulates and breaks down the substances of his body. For example, people of this age type have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

– Hepatic: Aging is associated with liver function, so people with this age type are at greater risk of liver disease.

– Nephrotic: The aging process in this case occurs due to the peculiarities of the kidneys.

“It is interesting to note that Snyder’s study did not look at cardiovascular problems, a factor that other researchers may consider to be an important cause of aging,” they note in CENIE. On the other hand, as Snyder himself explained, these age types are not waterproof boxes, and the fact that a person belongs to one or more of the four age types does not mean that he does not age through other biological mechanisms.

How do you know what age type you fit into? Payment. The company Snyder is part of, Iollo, offers analysis complemented by “AI-powered nutrition and health advice.” The most comprehensive product, “Perfect for Optimizing Health,” costs $459.