Scouted selects products independently. If you purchase something from our posts, we may earn a small commission.
Longevity science is kind of hot right now, and I’m here for it. I recently downloaded the Death Clock app, which takes information about your personal health profile, inputted medical history, and lifestyle and compares it to stats from upwards of 1,200 longevity studies to predict, well… the day you’ll die.
As a seldom-drinker who walks at least 10,000 steps a day, does Pilates three days a week, nerds out on produce, and wants to be alive to meet my future grandchildren, I was pretty smug when my Death Clock results said I’d live to be 102. (For context, I’m a 36-year-old woman with two children.)
So, the types of things in my feed include content by the likes of Bryan Johnson, tech-billionaire-turned-one-man-longevity-experiment (aka Don’t Die Guy). Johnson was featured on a recent episode of The Kardashians. Kim Kardashian, who famously said she’d be willing to eat poop if it made her look younger (no shade, just respect), has a strong interest in longevity like Johnson—though the former is vanity-focused and the latter science-driven.
On another Kardashians episode, Kim, her sister Khloé Kardashian, and their mother, Kris Jenner, took a biological age test. Kim (chronologically 44) had a biological age of 35, Jenner (now 69) was 62, and Khloé (40) had a biological age of 28.
This piqued my interest.
What Is Biological Age?
Biological age tells you how “old” you are according to the current condition of biomarkers—think organs, cells, tissues, cholesterol, and proteins in the blood, to name just a few. On the other hand, chronological age is your actual age, counted from your date of birth.
At-home biological age tests aren’t to be taken too seriously and definitely shouldn’t replace monitoring or medical advice from a healthcare provider, but they can give you a rough snapshot of where you stand.
The idea is based on epigenetics, which studies how your environment and habits—including what you eat, how much you sleep, or how stressed you are—can affect how your genes behave, without changing your DNA.
What Biological Age Test Did They Take on The Kardashians?
The test they took on the show was TruAge from TruDiagnostic, which tells you your biological age, rate of aging, and risk of mortality and major diseases. I got my hands on a kit of my own, eager to send in my blood sample and hopeful my results would tell me I’m “in my 20s” like Khloé.
TruAge At-Home Sample Process
The TruAge Test calls for a self-administered blood sample. Before getting started, you create an account and register your kit.
It comes with two lancets for pricking your finger and a paper sample collection card. TruDiagnostic recommends taking your blood sample after at least 12 hours of fasting—ideally, first thing in the morning before food or coffee.
It was harder and more time-consuming than expected to get enough blood out of my finger. You have to fill a quarter-sized circle with blood from edge to edge and get enough that it soaks through and appears red on the other side of the collection card. For me, this was at least 30 drops of blood. I ended up pricking a second finger when the first one stopped producing blood drops. (Kim probably had people to help her with this step.)
The kit comes with a prepaid envelope to mail back the collection card. It says that once the lab receives your sample, your results will be available in two to three weeks. It was more like a month for mine—no biggie.
My TruAge Results
My first thought upon getting my results was, Woah! That’s a lot of information!
OMICm Age: Scrolling down from the top of the comprehensive report, the first number is the OMICm Age, a biological age assessment developed with Harvard. It clocked me at 36.3. This is considered “normal” and roughly my chronological age, albeit a smidge higher—at the time of this writing, I’m 36.06 years old.
I was hoping I’d be “younger,” but I suppose normal is acceptable. Most of my health data from this assessment was positive. My score appears to have been knocked down for low hemoglobin and hematocrit, related to red blood cells and oxygen in the blood. (This didn’t come as a shock, as my hemoglobin was low with both of my pregnancies, during which I was advised to take an iron supplement.)
TruDiagnostic says OMICm Age is “the most accurate biological age clock.” Each blood sample is compared to that of Harvard research participants and other people who mail in the at-home test to “emulate a population of average health.” It’s hard not to assume that competitively healthy folks like myself are more inclined to do a bio-age test than the general population—and the website says nothing about being graded on a curve—so I took this number with a grain of salt and kept scrolling down.
SYMPHONYAge: The next one offered better news, clocking me at 34.6. Developed by Yale, SYMPHONYAge analyzes 11 organs and bodily systems. Its algorithm takes data from around 8,000 participants and looks at over 130 biomarkers analyzed in your blood sample.
DunedinPACE of Aging: More good news! Based on numerous blood cell counts that affect immunity and inflammation, I’m aging at a rate of 0.8, meaning for every birthday, my body is just eight-tenths of a year (9.6 months) “older.” A pace of aging higher than 1.0 is associated with a 56 percent higher risk of death and a 54 percent greater chance of chronic disease in the next seven years. Whew!
OMICm Fit Age: This test put me at 33.9. It tells you your biological age “according to your physical fitness and functionality.” While this sort of assessment is usually done by measuring oxygen and taking a blood sample during or after exercise, the data here seems to be analyzed by several proteins and enzymes, along with other biomarkers detected in blood, like creatinine (a byproduct of creatine) and glucose.
Personal Takeaways From the TruAge Test
All in all, it looks like I’m in good shape. My report says all my organs are running smoothly. The only organ aging faster than my chronological age is my brain (37.1). Does this mean I’m smart or senile? (Don’t answer that.)
Other than that, my immunity and hormones could improve slightly. Based on my TruDiagnostic report and already healthier-than-average lifestyle, I chalk these up to low hemoglobin, mid-quality sleep, and what I believe are normal stress levels for a full-time working parent. Beyond adding an iron supplement to my routine, I’ll work on getting better shut-eye and maybe finding a little more time to chill (easier said than done).
TruDiagnostic provides general suggestions for improving one’s biological age, including what types of food to eat, supplements to take, and lifestyle interventions. A majority of the pointers are accessible to most people and not exactly breaking news (things like eating lots of vegetables, prioritizing protein, getting enough sleep, and strength training). But one recommendation is to spend some time in a hyperbaric chamber. Thanks for the helpful rec, but I don’t have the resources of Kim Kardashian or Bryan Johnson.
My plan? Keep doing what I’m doing (regular movement, healthy eating, minimal sugar, daily vitamins, etc.). Although my results were mostly good, I’m feeling competitive with myself and want to take the test again in a year to see if I’ve improved.
Is the TruAge Test Worth It?
The TruAge Test is expensive—$500 for one kit. A pack of four is $998, which you could split with a partner or use over the course of a couple of years and save 50 percent per kit.
The report is really robust. It’s gleaned from substantial data, and each assessment is developed by researchers at Harvard, Duke, or Yale. TruDiagnostic seems pretty legit, and the experience was fascinating from a health and science perspective—if you’re into that type of thing.
I think I’d probably cough up $499 annually to stay motivated and keep tabs on my biomarkers. But the price is undoubtedly steep, so I’ll keep my eyes peeled for sales.
Pros:
- Estimates biological age and rate of aging.
- Comprehensive report based on 130+ biomarkers.
- Simple recommendations for improving various biomarkers.
- Developed by researchers at Harvard, Duke, and Yale.
- Biological age algorithms trained on large sample sizes (5,000 to 8,000 participants).
Cons:
- Expensive.
- At-home blood sample collection was trickier than anticipated.
- May take longer than expected to get results.
MORE FROM SCOUTED:
The post Scouted: I Tried the Same Biological Age Test as Kim Kardashian—Here Are My Thoughts appeared first on The Daily Beast.
