Health and longevity biomarkers

Three categories of human biomarkers, from the Longevity Diet: Discover Calorie Restriction – The Only Proven Way to Slow the Aging Process and Maintain Peak Vitality, by B. Delaney and L. Walford, 2005 (p. 6):

1. Functional Age: Vital capacity, breath holding time, maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max), kidney function (creatine clearance), diameter of pupil of eye, visual accommodation, hearing, level of DHEA hormone in, tests of mental function .

2. Predictive Value for Remaining Life Expectancy: Vital capacity, heart size, systolic pressure, hand-grip strength, presence or absence of autoantibodies in, immune-function tests, reaction time.

3. Segmental Aging (Aging if individual parts of, or systems in, the body) and/or disease Susceptibility: Glucose-tolerance test; levels of cho9lesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides, and homocysteine;  systolic pressure; level of parathyroid hormone.

These measurements are good indications not only of health (and absence of disease) but also of one’s longevity potential (and “relative” aging versus one’s chronological age.)

I highly recommend this very sensible and practical “guidebook.” Of course, I have always been a big fan of Dr. Roy Walford’s work (The 120 Year Diet), from which this table has been adapted from. IMHO, Dr. Walford’s book, and Dr. Fuhrman’s Eat to Live are the best references one can read (and re-read) relating to nutrition and health.