Experts have revealed the two times in your life when your body ages the most and, more importantly, how to delay it.
While many think we age gradually as the years roll by, it turns out there are two points in our life when our body undergoes huge changes related to the ageing process.
A 2024 research study from Stanford University went and got 108 participants, aged between 25 and 75, to identify the 'molecular markers of aging'.
5,405 biological samples were collected from from a group of male and female participants, consisting of 1,440 blood samples, 926 stool samples, 1,116 skin swab samples, 1,001 oral swab samples and 922 nasal swab samples.
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After all that, it was determined that humans rapidly age at around 44 and around 60.
Allison Aiello, a Longevity Professor at Columbia University, told Men's Health: "I think the social, psychosocial part is really important."
How to slow down the rate of ageing
Eat healthy and exercise
Michael Snyder, the Director of the Center for Genomics and Personalised Medicine at Stanford University, said that your biological age doesn’t have to match your chronological age.
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By adopting a consistent exercise routine, along with eating healthy, this can 'push that off even further'.
"My guess is that it's due to rather poor habits leading into that time," Snyder said of people turning 40.
"They're not quite as active by the 40s, and so maybe it's catching up with them."
He explained that people tend to be active if they have small children in their 30s, but tend to slow down as they hit their 40s.
The NHS notes: "A brisk 10-minute daily walk has lots of health benefits and counts towards your 150 minutes of weekly exercise, as recommended in the physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64."
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Strength training
The older you get, the more muscle you lose. And Snyder said strength training helps to keep your muscle in the right places.
"People lose something like one to two percent of their muscle mass every year, and so they lose their mobility, and their health just plummets," he added.
Drink less booze
I think we all know the downsides of regular drinking, but it can actually make you age faster.
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"Knowing that you’re becoming more susceptible to alcohol as you hit your 40s, maybe take one less drink," he said.
Protect immune system
"We expected changes in the 60s, because we know that some people's health, risk for cancer, cardiovascular disease, all goes up—their immune system declines," Snyder noted.
"Of course, that's why you try to get vaccinated when you hit your 60s, so that you'll be protected, because your immune system isn’t as good."
Anish Vij