If you’ve heard about billionaire Bryan Johnson, you may have come across the term “bio age testing.”
Johnson, featured in the Netflix documentary Don’t Die, claims he is on a mission to attain the lowest possible “biological age” (often referred to as bio age).
He is reported to invest millions annually in anti-aging procedures—countless daily supplements, weekly skin acid peels, injections to enhance collagen production, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and plasma infusions sourced from his 17-year-old son.
To evaluate the effectiveness of his efforts, Johnson has taken multiple tests to measure his bio age. He states these assessments indicate his age is now 5.1 years younger than when he started his anti-aging journey.
It seems he’s reversing the aging process.
However, not everyone is convinced. A New York Times investigation, for instance, suggests Johnson’s biological age has actually increased by a decade.1
Nonetheless, Johnson’s “don’t die” initiative is gaining momentum.
Bio age testing frequently comes up on popular podcasts hosted by Peter Attia, Joe Rogan, and Andrew Huberman. A quick search for “bio age testing” will reveal numerous advertisements for mail-order blood or urine testing kits that claim to disclose your biological age, rate of aging, and more. With prices becoming more accessible, many are left to ponder…
Should you or your client consider bio age testing?
If yes, which test is the most suitable? Equally important, how should you interpret the results?
This article will cover:
What is your bio age?
Your biological age (bio age) represents the functionality of your cells. It doesn’t necessarily align with your chronological age, which denotes the number of years you’ve lived.
For instance, imagine Chang, a 50-year-old male, who sits at a desk, spends his free time watching television, resides in the most polluted city globally, indulges in a candy bar for lunch, and smokes. Conversely, there’s Jabari, another 50-year-old man, who visits the gym several times a week, lives in the mountains, doesn’t smoke, enjoys five portions of vegetables daily, meditates, and spends most of his evenings tending to his garden.
Health factors aside, it’s prudent to assume that Jabari’s bio age is likely younger than Chang’s.
How do these tests measure bio age?
Bio age testing kits evaluate one or multiple biological markers of aging, known as biomarkers.
For instance, some tests concentrate on the length of your telomeres, which are the protective ends of chromosomes. Others assess DNA methylation, a biological process that chemically modifies DNA.
After a company extracts and assesses these markers from your blood or urine, it enters the bio data into an equation that computes your bio age.
However, if you regularly visit a healthcare professional, you’re probably already keeping track of some aging biomarkers. For instance, biomarkers like blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and blood sugar can help forecast your risk of future cardiovascular issues, a primary cause of early mortality.
What’s the purpose of biomarker testing?
Biomarker testing can assist in proactively managing your health rather than waiting for disease indicators to surface.
For some individuals, it acts as an encouragement. Discovering that you have the bone density of someone two decades older might motivate you to start a consistent strength training regimen.
Moreover, biomarkers offer objective information, enabling you to monitor and assess different health-related choices quantitatively. By tracking your blood pressure, you may find that regular exercise benefits you while your late-afternoon energy drink has the opposite effect.
5 FREE biomarker tests
You don’t need to be a billionaire (or even a millionaire) to monitor aging biomarkers.
This section will explore several significantly undervalued, scientifically supported tests you can use to gain insights into your bio age—at NO COST.
Before the advent of advanced blood-based bio age tests, researchers utilized these free tests to estimate the aging rate in their study subjects.