What is Aging?

Written By Zoe Palmer

What is Aging?

A privilege afforded to few? Absolutely! An accumulation of damage to the cells? Yes, that too.

I interviewed Longevity Scientist Dr. Sam Palmer who’s definition of aging, “the increase in mortality with chronological age”, brings me to an import distinction, the one between chronological and biological age.

I work on skin at a variety of ages and it varies in tone and elasticity depending on a lot more than just age which is one of the reasons it’s never sat right with me when beauty brands make blanket statements about collagen and elastin decreasing by an exact percentage at a particular age.

So one of my first questions to Sam was this… Exactly how much can our biological age differ from our chronological age? And the answer might surprise you!

This graph shows that biological age and chronological age can differ by as much as 20 years!

There are a few biological age tests available now. One of which takes each organ and measures its epigenetic code. The results (being the individuals biological age) are the sum of how each organ scores.

One of those organs is the skin.

“Increasing collagen production is good for your skin, but it’s also changing your biological age. Increasing or decreasing production of any gene (eg collagen) is done by changing the epigenome, for example by altering the placement of methyl molecules on the skin’s DNA.”

Here are some ways you can increase your skin’s collagen production:

  1. Facial exercises - Increase muscle tone and blood flow stimulating collagen production.

  2. Microneedling - Creates controlled damage to the skin, prompting healing which requires a surge in Collagen production.

  3. Facial massage - Increases blood flow and releases tension that could potentially be inhibiting collagen and healthy fat cells.

  4. Electric Muscle Stimulation (EMS) - Besides its aesthetic benefits, EMS stimulates the production of collagen by energising smaller muscles that are difficult to access through facial exercises alone, improving the overall health of the skin.

  5. Not collagen related but definitely important - Steer very well clear of any brand that uses scare tactics clumsily disguised as scientific fact to entice you into buying their products.

So once you’ve incorporated all of these and lowered your skin age, bringing down the average organ age, here are Dr. Sam’s Top Tips for lowering biological age (while you wait for more scientific advancements):

  1. Fasting

  2. Exercise

  3. Controlling muscle to fat ratio

  4. Supplement with Fisetin a natural senolytic meaning it mops up senescent cells, similar to fasting!

Have you tried Face Yoga yet?

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Zoe Palmer