What are the 12 Hallmarks of Aging?

You can imagine DNA as a blueprint for our body. Over the years, however, damage to the plan accumulates—caused by UV radiation, environmental toxins, or simply errors during each cell division.

In young age, the body can still repair such damage well; however, with age, these repair processes become increasingly less efficient. The consequences of this genomic instability are mutations that can lead to loss of cell function and diseases (including cancer).

What can you do?

• Protect from excessive UV radiation
• Sufficient sleep (for DNA repair phases)
• Nutrients such as NAD+ boosters to support repair processes

Chromosomes carry our genetic information and are located deep in the cell nucleus. Telomeres – protective caps on the DNA that shorten slightly with each cell division – sit at the ends of our chromosomes.

If a telomere becomes too short at some point (known as the Hayflick limit), the cell can no longer divide and becomes dysfunctional. Telomere shortening is thus a ticking clock for cell division and aging.

What can you do?

• Stress management and a healthy lifestyle, as too much stress accelerates telomere shortening
• Adequate selenium intake also helps reduce DNA damage and slow down telomere shortening-induced cell aging

Epigenetics controls which of our genes are switched on or off – similar to markers in the blueprint of our DNA that determine which chapters are read.

With age, this gene activity becomes disrupted because epigenetic markers are lost or located in the wrong places. As a result, some programs in older cells run incorrectly, which can contribute to age-related diseases such as cancer or metabolic disorders.

What can you do?

• Some nutrients and cofactors (e.g., methyl group donors such as betaine) support normal DNA methylation and can thus mitigate epigenetic aging.
• Exercise and sufficient sleep also help to extend the epigenetic clock.

Proteins are the central building blocks and tools of the cell. They control virtually everything—from metabolism and signaling pathways to repair processes. For this to work, protein production, folding, and degradation must remain in balance. This process is called proteostasis .

With increasing age, this balance shifts: damaged or misfolded proteins are no longer completely disposed of, while important proteins may no longer be produced in sufficient quantities.

This leads to the accumulation of "protein residues" that burden the cell and limit its performance. Many age-related diseases—such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's—are closely linked to impaired proteostasis.

What can you do?

• Increase the body's own autophagy - it is the cellular "garbage disposal" and ensures that damaged proteins are recognized and recycled (see next point)
• Fasting and regular exercise are effective methods to stimulate this process.
• In addition, sufficient protein intake and certain nutrients – such as spermidine – can help maintain protein stability and thus cell function for longer.

Autophagy is the body's "garbage disposal" process, in which cells break down and recycle old components, waste products, or damaged organelles. However, with increasing age, autophagy activity declines. .

This means that more cellular waste remains – e.g. defective mitochondria or clumped proteins – which further impairs cell function.

Disturbed autophagy is associated with age-related diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, and general loss of cell function.

What you can do:

• Fasting is the most natural way to boost autophagy – after just 16 hours without food, recycling in the cells increases.
• Certain dietary supplements such as nicotinamide riboside (NR) or urolithin A are considered autophagy boosters that can restart the degradation process.
• Regular exercise also plays a role here, as sport has been proven to stimulate autophagy in muscles and organs.

Our cells have built-in sensors that detect how much nutrient—such as sugar or protein—is currently available. They are in a constant decision-making process: Is the available energy sufficient for growth and development, or should the body now burn fat and promote autophagy?

With increasing age, this system becomes unbalanced. Often, the "growth switch" (mTOR) remains permanently switched on, while the "fat-burning switch" (AMPK) is underactivated. The result: Cells continue to grow but focus less on repair and self-cleaning. In the long term, this accelerates the aging process.

What you can do:

• Consuming fewer calories—for example, through calorie restriction or intermittent fasting —rebalances these signaling pathways. In animal studies, a 30% reduction in calorie intake even led to a lifespan up to 30% longer.
• Nutrients such as alpha-ketoglutarate or resveratrol are able to promote special longevity enzymes that boost repair and protection programs.

Mitochondria are the "powerhouses" of our cells and produce energy in the form of ATP—our body's universal energy currency. Over time, mitochondrial efficiency decreases—less energy is produced, and oxidative stress from damaging free radicals increases.

In addition, damaged mitochondria can emit inflammatory signals or trigger cell death. The result: reduced performance and increased cell damage.

What you can do:

• Strength and endurance training is considered an effective way to keep mitochondria healthy – it stimulates the formation of new mitochondria.
• NAD+ precursors such as nicotinamide riboside can support mitochondrial function because NAD+ is essential for energy production.
• Antioxidants in the diet (e.g. from fruit/vegetables or quercetin ) help to counteract free radicals.

Typically, cells don't divide infinitely—after the final division, the immune system initiates cell death to eliminate nonfunctional cells. Senescent cells, on the other hand, have reached the end of their division but remain alive in the tissue, contributing nothing to life.

These "zombie cells" accumulate with age and also release inflammatory messengers (SASPs) that damage surrounding tissue, thus contributing to chronic inflammation and tissue deterioration.

What you can do:

• The body normally clears senescent cells through the immune system—but this works less well with age. This is where senolytics come into play: These are active ingredients that specifically kill senescent cells.
• A well-known example is quercetin , which has been shown in studies to reduce inflammatory markers in patients by eliminating senescent cells.
• Sufficient sleep and stress avoidance also have an indirect effect by reducing the accumulation of cell damage.

Stem cells are self-renewing cells that can develop into different cell types to renew used tissue.

However, with age, the stem cell pool becomes exhausted: the ability of stem cells to divide decreases.

Fewer fresh cells are produced, which slows regeneration in areas such as bone marrow, skin, or muscles. The result: wounds heal more slowly, the immune system weakens (fewer new immune cells are produced), and organs regenerate less effectively.

What you can do:

• The entire lifestyle – no smoking, a balanced diet and exercise – protects the stem cells.
• In medicine, work is being done on stem cell therapies (e.g. blood stem cell transfusions) to slow the effects of aging.
• Fasting also shows an effect experimentally: Fasting-induced autophagy can rejuvenate stem cells by breaking down old cell parts.

Our cells are constantly exchanging information and communicating with each other via messenger substances. As we age, this signaling between cells shifts to the negative: The immune system releases more inflammatory substances and detects harmful cells less effectively.

Substances from aging tissues (e.g., fat cells or senescent cells) also have a harmful effect on other organs. For example, chronically elevated levels of inflammatory messengers throughout the body can promote aging processes.

What you can do:

• An anti-inflammatory diet (lots of fruits, vegetables, omega-3 fatty acids) and exercise help keep inflammation levels low.
• The trace element selenium supports immune function and can reduce cell damage through its antioxidant effect.

"Inflammaging" refers to the condition in which inflammation levels in the body increase with age. Even without an acute infection, constant mild inflammatory reactions occur in the body.

The causes are diverse: for example, age-related deposits in blood vessels (which trigger immune reactions), senescent cells, a disrupted microbiome, or visceral fat tissue that secretes inflammatory factors. Inflammaging is associated with virtually all age-related diseases—from arteriosclerosis to diabetes to Alzheimer's.

What you can do:

• Maintain a normal weight (to keep visceral belly fat low)
• Reduce stress (excess cortisol promotes inflammation)
• Consume anti-inflammatory nutrients. Antioxidants such as vitamin C, quercetin, or selenium are particularly effective here, as they neutralize free radicals and thus reduce the chain reaction of inflammation.

Billions of beneficial bacteria (the microbiome) live in our intestines, which are important for digestion, immune defense and nutrient production, among other things.

With age, the composition of the intestinal flora often changes unfavorably – beneficial bacteria decrease, while inflammatory or pathogenic bacteria increase. This so-called dysbiosis contributes to weakened immune defenses and chronic inflammation.

What you can do:

• A fiber-rich diet promotes a healthy microbiome. Probiotics (good bacteria supplements) and fermented foods can help restore balance in the gut.
• Exercise also indirectly has a positive effect on the intestinal flora. Since a healthy microbiome influences inflammation and metabolism, maintaining it is increasingly recognized as an anti-aging strategy.

The 12 Hallmarks of Aging provide an excellent overview of why we age – and at the same time show approaches to how we can influence the aging process.

The sooner you start protecting your cells – through a healthy lifestyle, regular exercise, adequate regeneration, and targeted nutritional supplements – the better you can prevent the signs of aging.

While there's no elixir for eternal youth, science clearly shows that preventative measures have the potential to keep us vital, clear-headed, and energetic for longer. Ultimately, it's often the small adjustments we make that help us age gracefully—and in the best possible health.