How Healthy are we in Middle Age?
Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health & Development Study originally had 1037 participants. There were 1007 remaining in 2010.
Reasons for early death are interesting:
10 died in accidents
12 died from cancer, disease or genetic defects
8 committed suicide
When the participants were 38 they were tested using 18 biomarkers as follows.
The 18 Biological Markers
Blood Test Markers (9)
Glycated hemoglobin. (Tests the stability of blood sugars)
C-reactive protein. (Measure of inflammation)
High density lipoprotein. (HDL - That's the "good cholesterol.")
Lipoprotein(a) (Risk factor for CVD)
Total Cholesterol (Once considered a risk factor for CVD)
Triglycerides (Fatty acids in the blood)
White blood cell count ( A measure of your immune system)
Leukocyte telomere length (The caps that protect the ends of gene strings.)
Apolipoprotein B100/A1 ratio (Identifies small, dense LDL particles)
Kidney Function (2)
Urea nitrate. (Ability of the kidney to remove nitrogen)
Creatinine clearance. (Measure of kidney health)
Exercise Related (3)
Forced vital capacity ration. (FEV1/FVC)
Forced expiratory volume in one second. (FEV1)
Cardio-respiratory fitness. (VO2Max)
Physical Condition (4)
Blood Pressure
Periodontal disease. (Gum disease)
Waist-hip ratio
Body mass index
Diet Related Aging Tests
Your diet will influence all of these.
Glycated hemoglobin.
C-reactive protein.
High density lipoprotein. (HDL)
Lipoprotein(a)
Triglycerides
Apolipoprotein B100/A1 ratio
Blood Pressure
Periodontal disease.
Waist-hip ratio
Body mass index
The results were like this:
There are 954 people in this study.
About half the members showed a biological age close to 38 or a little older.
Less than 100 were younger.
The youngest group were 30-32, biologically.
A significant number of people were biologically older than their chronological age.
The oldest small group were 56-59 years old, biologically.
What can we do about it?
Firstly understand basic human metabolism. You need energy to run your body. That energy has two possible forms, glucose or ketones. If excessive use of glucose is causing your ill health, the obvious strategy is to convert to a ketone based metabolism. The first step in that process is to change what you eat for breakfast.
So MOST of the participants were biologically older than their 38 chronological years. Why is that? We might begin by questioning the dietary guidelines first issued in 1997. This is the basis of the New Zealand Guidelines which I believe are unhelpful.
We should also understand that we live in "prosperous times" and our diet is not typical of diets through history at all.
What then is normal aging like? I think we don't really know. But certainly it need not include all the obesity and lifestyle diseases we currently see.
