What is InnerAge 2.0?

Isn’t it interesting how some people remain independent and active well into their 70s and 80s while others may look frail and need assistance with daily activities? Genetics, diet, exercise, stress management, and sleep all play a role in determining the rate of the aging process. Calculating your biological age is one way to quantify your body’s internal, or InnerAge. InsideTracker’s InnerAge 2.0 is a biological age score that tells you how efficiently your body is aging given your chronological age and can be a powerful catalyst in improving your healthspan. 

Here’s what you need to know about InnerAge 2.0.

How does the InnerAge 2.0 algorithm work?

Blood biomarker analysis is the foundation of the InnerAge algorithm. Currently, blood biomarker testing is the most well-studied and scientifically validated health evaluation tool. Blood biomarker testing is commonly used as a screening measure in preventative health services and is utilized by healthcare practitioners to diagnose, guide treatment, and monitor many diseases and conditions. The extensive use of this tool in healthcare has resulted in decades of robust data linking blood biomarkers to health. However, scientific studies are typically conducted in sick populations, so the findings may not be relevant to healthy individuals.

InnerAge 2.0 builds upon existing research by using InsideTracker’s own dataset to identify biomarkers strongly linked to aging in an active, health-conscious population using tens of thousands of data samples.

So based on the scientific literature and InsideTracker data, there are two key aspects of blood biomarker testing that make it especially relevant to calculating a biological age. 

1. Some blood biomarkers are closely associated with aging and are predictive of longevity 
2. Blood biomarkers continuously shift in response to lifestyle habits (diet, exercise, sleep, etc), making them some of the most actionable markers of aging   

Additionally, each biomarker has been weighted for its importance to your InnerAge, which is based on the strength of a biomarker’s correlation with age. For example, both glucose and the liver enzyme GGT are components of the InnerAge 2.0 calculation. Since glucose is more strongly correlated to age, it is weighted greater, having more influence on your biological age when compared to GGT, which comparatively is not as strongly correlated with age.

The algorithm also compares your biomarkers to those of your peers in age and sex to calculate the distance between your values and the average. Taking this variability and weighting into account, each biomarker uniquely contributes to your InnerAge.

And the technology continues to achieve greater accuracy and precision over time as our dataset grows. InnerAge 2.0 uses machine learning to consistently update reference data, ensuring that your InnerAge accurately represents your biological age.

What biomarkers does InnerAge 2.0 measure?

Biomarkers for InnerAge 2.0 have been objectively selected through careful analysis of InsideTracker customer data. Markers that were significantly correlated with age are factored into the InnerAge calculation and can impact your biological age score. Some biomarker levels increase as people get older while some biomarkers have been found to decrease as people age. An InnerAge analysis will show exactly how many years each biomarker is either adding to or lowering your InnerAge. 

Biological sex is also a factor that influences what biomarkers correlate with aging and how strong that correlation is. For example, the correlation between hsCRP and age in InsideTracker’s data set was significant only for males, but not for females. This is why hsCRP is not included in the female panel. While there are more markers included in the male panel, the InnerAge analysis for both sexes offers a scientific approach to evaluating your biological age. 

InnerAge 2.0 currently analyzes 17 blood biomarkers for males and 13 blood biomarkers for women.

How you can improve your InnerAge for optimal health?

When you set your goal to InnerAge, you’ll receive personalized recommendations in your Action Plan based on your biomarker levels to help you lower your InnerAge score and continue to optimize your healthspan.

Here are some examples of evidence-backed ways to improve some of the biomarkers most strongly related to longevity:

1) Eat anti-inflammatory foods

Chronic inflammation is a major contributor to many age-related diseases, and even has a term associated with it—“inflammaging.” Pro-inflammatory foods high in sugars, fats, and heavily processed ingredients can lead to an increase in free radicals in the body, causing damage to cells and accelerating the aging process when left unchecked. To manage and prevent these inflammatory effects, eat a diet that contains plenty of anti-inflammatory foods like fruits, vegetables, and foods high in fiber.

2) Keep your plant-to-animal protein ratio high

Reducing meat intake and replacing it with more plant-based proteins has been shown to reduce CVD risk (the number one cause of death in the U.S.) and many biomarkers related to it, including cholesterol, triglycerides, and glucose.

3) Consider supplements

While most nutrient deficiencies can be addressed with foods, sometimes a supplement is warranted, especially when nutrient amounts found in foods are not sufficient to meet the body’s needs. Here are a few nutritional compounds commonly found in the form of supplements that have been linked to healthy aging:

• Resveratrol is a polyphenol found in red wine, grapes, cocoa, peanuts, and blueberries. Numerous clinical trials have demonstrated the effect of resveratrol on reducing glucose levels, improving insulin sensitivity, and reducing inflammation markers [1-7].
• CoQ10, or “ubiquinone”, is an enzyme that works as an antioxidant in both the mitochondria and cell membranes, thereby helping to prevent cellular damage. Observational studies have found that CoQ10 levels tend to be lower in people with high blood sugar or diabetes, and controlled trials have found that CoQ10 supplementation lowered both glucose and HbA1c levels [8-10].
• Curcumin is a polyphenol found in turmeric that acts as an antioxidant and is known for its role in reducing inflammation. Studies have found that in populations that have higher levels of inflammation such as people with metabolic syndrome, obesity, and diabetes, curcumin supplementation has been shown to lower inflammation, oxidative stress, and other markers of inflammation like hsCRP [11-12].
• Hesperidin is an antioxidant commonly found in citrus fruits that have been shown to lower hsCRP in people with inflammatory conditions.

4) Engage in regular exercise

Making physical activity a consistent part of your routine can significantly influence your biological age and increase your healthspan. Working out regularly helps support your immune system, maintain a healthy body weight, and reduce inflammation risk. And on a biological level, biomarkers related to aging are more favorable, lowering biological age in those who engage in physical activity compared to people who lead a sedentary lifestyle [13].

What's included in the InnerAge 2.0 plan?

• Blood test and analysis of 13 biomarkers for women and 17 biomarkers for men
• Personalized optimal biomarker zones
• Breakdown of biomarkers that contribute to InnerAge, their degree of impact, and population variability compared to your InsideTracker peers
• Longevity-focused Action Plan with nutrition, exercise, supplement, and lifestyle recommendations
• Integration of physiological data through Apple Watch, Fitbit, or Garmin activity tracker via iOS or Android app
• Secure, online portal with a customized dashboard
• Access to InsideTracker courses, providing valuable information about biomarkers and lifestyle habits, and how they affect health

You deserve the most comprehensive view of your health

While you can purchase an InnerAge 2.0 plan, the Ultimate Plan + InnerAge 2.0 provides the strongest biological age calculation. The more biomarkers you include, the greater the accuracy of your InnerAge score.

FAQs

Why is a marker increasing InnerAge, but is optimal on the bloodwork page?

The ranges on your biomarker page (Optimal, Needs work, and At-risk) are based on clinical standards or determined from peer-reviewed studies. Your bloodwork page shows you where you are in relation to that standard. 

InnerAge 2.0 uses a different set of criteria. Using advanced technology and data, we developed an algorithm that determines the contribution of your specific biomarker level to your InnerAge, compared to your peers in age and biological sex to provide you with a more in-depth analysis of your bloodwork focused on aging and longevity. 

So it is possible to have a biomarker that’s optimized according to your bloodwork page but is increasing your InnerAge because that same value is being compared to two different sets of criteria.

Why are there no recommendations about how to improve some InnerAge markers?

The majority of the biomarkers tested at InsideTracker are modifiable through diet and lifestyle changes—meaning, enough research exists for InsideTracker to provide evidence-based recommendations for you to improve them. 

However, some research shows that a handful of biomarkers simply cannot be changed through our lifestyle choices. That also applies to select biomarkers included in InnerAge (like lymphocyte and neutrophil percent). These biomarkers are linked to aging, but there is insufficient research for us to provide credible, modifiable recommendations for them.  

To most effectively improve your InnerAge, we recommend setting your goal to “InnerAge” and developing your customizable action plan. The action plan provides personalized recommendations specifically designed to have a significant impact on your InnerAge.

References:

[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25138371/

[2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24695890/

[3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31475415/

[4] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29914666/

[5] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31065943/

[6] https://europepmc.org/article/med/31486447

[7] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24073011/

[8] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29365333/

[9] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28381349/

[10] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30568475/

[11] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27470399/

[12] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25618800/ 

[13] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0091743517301470