Wine is fine: The effects of lifestyle choices on aging clocks

What's the news: Lifestyle choices affect epigenetic age clocks — but the effects are far from straightforward.

Why should we believe it: This news comes from a review study published last week by a group of scientists from private companies (Deep Longevity), research institutes (Buck Institute), and universities (Shanghai University).

The researchers pooled the latest available studies on the effect of lifestyle factors on epigenetic age clocks. The results:

• Effects varied a lot across different epigenetic tests. For example, a time-to-death clock, GrimAge, was accelerated by smoking in youth. Two other clocks (DunedinePoAm, PhenoAge) were only affected by adult pack-years.

• Some very reasonable longevity interventions, such as exercise, were frequently not picked up by epigenetic clocks as slowing aging.

• Some results were quirky. For example, while "liquor, beer, and total alcohol amount are associated with higher biological age, wine consumption displays no such association."

Why is this a big deal: Aging clocks are growing in number and popularity. They are very attractive because they can tell us how well longevity interventions work, right now, without having to waiting until the end of life. But as the results above show, interpreting the results from aging clocks is still far from straightforward.

So what specifically can you do now: Aging clocks or not, the standby lifestyle recommendations still hold. Get your sleep and reduce stress. Eat moderately and naturally. Exercise. Eliminate smoking and alcohol — except for wine. Wine is fine. (That's an attempt at a joke. I'm sorry to kill it if it's obvious. But I'm not actually recommending any kind of alcohol for longevity, whatever the aging clocks say.)