October 21, 2025
When it comes to aging, most of us don’t want to hear that it is like falling off a cliff. But research from Stanford Medicine suggests that there are 2 major molecular shifts in our bodies around the ages of 44 and 60.
“This study, they took billions of measurements. They measured blood, urine and stool. They had an actigraph on people, they had them fill out questionnaires and they followed people for an average of about 2 years. Over those short periods of times, these biological measurements changed in individuals, and they thought that there were clear peaks at these different ages. What I'm concerned about is, were there enough people involved? There were about 108 people. There are other studies that look at thousands of people, and we should be cautious about extrapolating from 108 people,” says Bruce Troen, MD, director of the Landon Center on Aging.
In fact, experts from the health system and the University of Kansas School of Medicine, encouraged caution when interpreting these study results.
“I'm not sure all those measurements really are directly related to how people feel or how they function,” says Dr. Troen. “Most people don't think that all of a sudden they've stopped being able to do something just over the past year or 2. So while biochemically and molecularly, we might have these changes, it's not quite clear what that means for us as we move forward in our functional capacity.”
Additionally, because the study looked at people for a couple of years, versus a couple of decades, there could be injuries, illnesses or life changes that are making it appear like there is a burst of aging.
“Are these truly abrupt changes or are we getting a snapshot of changes that are more progressive?” asks Dr. Troen. “It's hard to tease apart some of the illnesses that many of us encounter as we get older as opposed to normal aging.”
“I think there are a lot of life changes that happen at those times for a lot of people, and maybe that could impact how people are living their lives,” says Jessica Kalender-Rich, MD, associate chief of geriatrics and medical director of Post-Acute Continuum of Care at the health system. “I see a lot of people in this 40 to 60 range that are called the sandwich generation, where they're caring for parents or older adults around them, and they're caring for young people. So, they're really stretched thin, and now they can't find the time to do a lot of these (healthy lifestyle) things.”
Regardless of the causes or rate of aging, it is happening to all of us.
We can't stop aging. The train is on the track, but we can certainly slow it down.” Jessica Keller, PhD, RDN
Nutrition researcher at the University of Kansas Medical Center
Eat a diet rich in whole foods
Keller says that food is information for our bodies. “What we eat, what we drink, every bite, every sip, informs our body of our surroundings, of our environment. We're literally turning our genes on and off,” she says. “We are impacting the structure and function of our cells. We are eating our information and directly influencing our quality of life, not just today, not just tomorrow, but 20 years down the road.”
The methylation diet or the mediterranean diet often come up as recommendations. Both emphasize eating foods that are lightly processed and rich in nutrients. Examples are:
- Dark greens
- Colorful vegetables
- Berries
- Nuts and seeds
- Lean proteins
- Eggs
More than following one specific plan, Heather Wilkins, PhD, neuroscientist and assistant director of the KU Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, stressed eating a balanced diet.
“You're not going to want to eat heavily processed foods. You want to eat a mix of carbohydrates, protein and fats,” says Dr. Wilkins. “It's really difficult to cut out all carbs or cut out all of fat. I think we have to have that balance. Our body needs different kinds of information or fuel to be able to function.”
Be as active as you can
“There's nothing like exercise. If we could put it into a pill, everybody would take it. It's not so easy, unfortunately,” says Dr. Troen.
There are a lot of benefits to high intensity interval training (HIIT), but it’s good to get any kind of regular movement and exercise, no matter what type it is. There are lots of physical benefits, but exercise can also have additional positive effects.
“We know that if you exercise, you're more likely to sleep better. We know that you're more likely to have mental health improvement consistently,” says Dr. Kalender-Rich.
Manage your health
There are no specific tests you should be taking to gauge whether aging is accelerating.
“Make sure that you're following up with your primary care and specialist physicians,” says Dr. Wilkins. “Take care of your health overall, whether you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, type 1 diabetes, cardiovascular risk and disease. Make sure that you are taking those medications, keeping up with those yearly labs and keeping everything like that under control.”
Maintain social connections
“We now know increasingly that people can age better if they can maintain social contacts,” says Dr. Troen. “So we could talk about all the biological measurements in the world, but if you don't have the right social support system, then you're probably going to age faster.”
Social support can be family members, but it can also be engaging with friends and community organizations.
“So many of our changes with aging are through physical disabilities, and those aren't always avoidable, but if we can get the social support, we feel better, we can have a better health span,” says Dr. Troen. “It's not just about the years in our life; it's about the life in our years.”
For more information and resources on aging, check out the Landon Center on Aging and the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.