Reverse Aging? Epigenetic Secrets Revealed with Expert Hannah Went

Overview

In this episode, I sit down with Hannah Went, co-founder of True Diagnostic and creator of the Everything Epigenetics podcast, who at 26 years old has built one of the largest private epigenetic health databases in the world with over 15,000 patients tested. Hannah breaks down the difference between genetics and epigenetics, explains how biological age testing actually works, and shares what the research is showing about which lifestyle interventions and supplements genuinely move the needle on slowing and reversing the pace of aging. This is one of the most science-forward episodes the show has done.

You’ll Learn

• The difference between genetics and epigenetics, why genetics is the fixed hardware of a computer and epigenetics is the software that controls which genes are turned on and off, and how DNA methylation is the specific marker True Diagnostic measures to assess biological age
• What the DunedinPACE metric is, why it measures how quickly you are aging for every one chronological year rather than giving a single biological age number, and how it is the only clock validated in published randomized controlled trial research to detect meaningful change
• What the Rejuvenation Olympics leaderboard is, how it quantifies percentage of change in pace of aging across thousands of participants including Brian Johnson, and why the top performers have reversed their pace by as much as 25 percent over six months
• Why a 10 percent caloric restriction in healthy non-obese adults was the first ever proof of concept study to detect change in the pace of aging, what that looks like practically such as switching from breakfast sausage to turkey sausage, and why it must be approached carefully in women with menstrual cycles, pregnant or breastfeeding women, and athletes
• The lifestyle factors with the strongest epigenetic evidence including Mediterranean and DASH diets, reducing alcohol and smoking, managing insulin sensitivity, lowering toxic load, maintaining healthy body composition, and getting enough quality sleep and varied movement including strength training three to four times per week
• Why MTHFR is a genetic variant not an epigenetic marker, and the specific finding that women with the MTHFR 677CC variant show faster biological aging that reverses almost immediately with supplementation of methylated cofactors like methylfolate or methylcobalamin
• The supplement interventions with the best current epigenetic evidence including DHEA at gender-appropriate dosing for lowering cortisol, vitamin D at 4,000 to 6,000 IU, NMN and NR as NAD precursors, and sulforaphane or broccoli extract for mTOR pathway inhibition
• Why treating yourself with kindness and managing your internal monologue actually matters at the epigenetic level, and how the way we process our thoughts and talk to ourselves is part of our environmental input that influences gene expression

Resources

Rejuvenation Olympics – https://rejuvenationolympics.com/

Bryan Johnson Blueprint – https://blueprint.bryanjohnson.com/

True Age book – https://amzn.to/40HbVXp

Calorie Restriction Study – https://www.thelancet.com/journals/la…

Connect with Hannah Went:

Website- http://www.everythingepigenetics.com/

Tru Diagnostic- http://www.trudiagnostic.com/

Treat yourself with kindness. Even the way you talk to yourself internally has an impact on your epigenetics. Make a mistake, brush it off, try not to do it again. That internal environment is part of your biology.