MANILA, Philippines — Have you come across a person in her sixties running marathons while another in his fifties is struggling with the stairs, and wondered how such a stark contrast was possible? The first instinct may be is to attribute it to good genes, but what if that’s only part of the answer? What if people have more control over this process than they realize?
Longevity research is aiming to answer exactly that by shifting focus from calendar age to functional or biological age, a measure of how the body and mind perform irrespective of actual age.
In conjunction with Healthy Aging Month, Dr. Vipada Sae-Lao, Herbalife’s Nutrition Education and Training Lead for Asia Pacific, shares how our everyday choices can influence biological age and help us stay healthier for longer.
“Biological or functional age reflects the body on the inside, or the way organs, tissues, and processes work, linked to metabolism, inflammation, and cellular repair. Evidence increasingly shows that a person’s biological age can be significantly far from their actual age, in either direction, shaped by the choices they make in the years before,” according to Dr. Sae-Lao.
If ‘living young’ matters as much as ‘living long’, then it is worth diving deeper into what research says about what people can do today to improve their biological age.
Eating smart
Chronic low-grade inflammation can damage DNA and cellular function, increase disease risk, and hasten the ageing process, making smart food choices one simple way to support the body.
Anti-inflammatory foods like nuts and seeds, bright coloured fruits and vegetables like berries, tomatoes, broccoli, leafy greens, olive oil, fatty fish, help boost immune function. These foods are commonly included in the Mediterranean diet, which has been associated with brain health, immune function, and reduced cellular damage.
The Filipino diet, centered on vegetables, fruits, and oil, can also support an anti-inflammatory approach based on a 2025 study of more than 11,000 older Filipino adults that identified dietary patterns. This shows how the Filipino diet can help someone age in a healthy way.[1]
Eating smart also means getting enough protein. Protein is critical for the body’s structures like muscles, organs, skin, and hair, as well as hormones and enzymes. Gradual, progressive loss of muscle mass and function, called Sarcopenia, starts in the early forties, making it crucial to consume adequate dietary protein. Insufficient protein may force the body to break down tissues instead to provide amino acids needed for bodily functions.
Beyond protein, recent studies highlight the role of Vitamin D in slowing the ageing process by promoting healthy cell growth, calming inflammation, and clearing damaged cells from the body. Vitamin D boosts calcium absorption necessary for bone health. For example, you can pair vitamin D-rich fish, like salmon or mackerel, with calcium from leafy greens such as kangkong or talbos ng kamote, both Filipino staples.
A healthy gut microbiome is another key factor in improving biological age. Studies show that eating more probiotic foods like yogurt, kefir, kombucha, fermented cottage cheese, kimchi, burong mustasa, atsara, and other fermented vegetables encourages microbial diversity in the gut, decreasing inflammation.
Body and mind training
Physical activity protects heart health, boosts cognitive performance, enhances mood, and strengthens metabolism. Filipinos should aim for 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity, and at least two days of strength training to protect overall health. Studies show that higher cardiorespiratory fitness levels, especially during middle age, can lower the risk of heart, kidney, and other metabolic disorders.
Keeping the mind active is just as important. Activities like memory exercises, problem-solving and reasoning training, learning something new, and tasks that boost processing speed stimulate the brain, improve cognitive performance, and can shield against age-related decline.
Building genuine social connections is also vital for a happier, more active life, as sustained loneliness can impair both physical and mental health.
Rest matters
As people age, the body undergoes changes that can affect sleep quality. Keeping a regular sleeping schedule and building habits that support healthy sleep helps the body repair and recover properly.
Recent research suggests that too much or too little sleep could also be signs of other underlying issues in the body that can make you age faster. Sleep disorders like insomnia, sleep apnea, or even sleep disturbances caused by depression, gastrointestinal issues, menopause, or pain are important to address to protect sleep quality.
Checking unhealthy habits
While people can do a lot to enhance their biological or functional age, there are also habits that can undo all that hard work.
A highly processed diet that adds excess sugar or salt, unhealthy fats, artificial sweeteners, and harmful preservatives can, over time, negatively impact health and increase the risk of autoimmune or cognitive disorders and other chronic diseases.
Smoking and heavy alcohol consumption can also accelerate aging by affecting multiple organs in the body, especially the lungs, thyroid, heart, and food pipe. Smoking increases inflammation in the body, weakening the immune system and accelerating the aging process.
Adopting healthy habits and smart lifestyle choices can give the body the ability to navigate age-related changes. Small choices made every single day can help people live longer, but more importantly, live better.
