The Difference Between Chronological and Biological Age

In this health video you will learn the difference between chronological and biological age.

Lyle Hurd: It is a real pleasure to welcome Dr. Hyla Cass back again. I would like to ask you today if we can talk about the whole concept of wellness. What I would like to begin with is asking you is how that fits into the problems that we have today with the health care system, with aging, with biological aging, as well as chronological aging, and just exactly what do we mean by a total theory of wellness? Dr. Hyla Cass: Well we look at people. You can look at two different people that are 60 years old, and you can see someone who’s wrinkled, slouching, potbelly, and holding a bag full of medication. And they’re watching because they’ve got their morning medication, my statins for my cholesterol, my blood pressure medication, my diabetes medication, and on and on. That person has not taken care of themselves. Take another 60-year-old. She’s somebody who’s holding a tennis racket. She’s looking really fit—no extra fat, well maybe a little extra fat, but I mean, that’s not extraneous, with good energy who is living a life that they’re enjoying, they feel fulfilled, that they’re spiritually connected, that they have relationships, that they have a joy of living—and that person is healthy. They’re aging well. Same age, same chronological age with a very different biological age. The interesting thing is that there’s an actual bottom line—there’s a bottom line financial on this—there are health care costs as we age and this is a reality—as we age in the U.S.—and this is an unfortunate situation—our medical care is not as well covered as say in other countries. Even with Medicare, which is kind of limited, you’re going to be out of pocket for a lot of medical expenses. This can certainly cut into your quality of life if you’re spending money, not only are you spending your time being ill, which is really a terrible quality of life, but it’s also costing you. So if it doesn’t convince you about quality of life, just think about the actual costs and the cost to the health care system. The real truth is that so much of the health care system costs are money, that I think, is not very usefully spent on hi-tech medicine, on drugs for people who simply should be eating right, exercising, and taking nutrients and supplements—they won’t be like the person I described with the potbelly and the statin drugs and all that. If that person were eating properly and exercising properly, they wouldn’t need those drugs. Those are not diseases. Those are conditions that are pretty much caused by diet. Yes, you can have a genetic predisposition. But trust me. If you are really committed, you can actually combat—most people can combat those conditions. Lyle Hurd: So what you’re saying is that, first of all, we’re given an extra 20 years over the generation that our parents grew up in, and you have a lot to say about whether you are locked into a body or a brain that doesn’t work. But the other thing it seems to me that you’re saying is that if two people are 60 in the same union, one of them could literally be biologically 45, the other biologically 75 or 85, and you become a caretaker for 5 to 10 or 15 years and have to restart their lives when they’re 70 because of the fact of the choices that each of them made. Dr. Hyla Cass: Yes. And you have to make the choices early. What’s really scary is our young people with obesity and arteriosclerosis and very serious diabetes very early on because of the diet and the environment all the toxins in the food, too much sugar, too much of the wrong fats, not enough of the right stuff; and I won’t emphasize the right stuff, it’s all in my books, it’s in everything I write. Eat right, exercise, have a spiritual connection, really take care of your body, and it will take care of you for many, many years. Lyle Hurd: So as you said before in another episode, we really need to be co-captains of our own health care team. Dr. Hyla Cass: Absolutely. Lyle Hurd: Thank you very much. Dr. Hyla Cass: You’re welcome. Pleasure.