Let’s take a deep dive into aging
What is aging?
“Biological aging occurs as a person gradually accumulates damages to various cells. Also known as physiological or functional age, biological age differs from chronological age and it considers not only the time elapsed, but also a number of different biological and physiological developmental factors, such as genetics, lifestyle, nutrition, and comorbidities.”
– NIH National Institute on Aging
The science of inflammaging
Inflammaging is chronic, low-grade inflammation that tends to increase with age. It often occurs in the background—without obvious symptoms—yet it can influence how you feel day to day and how your long-term health risks evolve over time. The goal isn’t to “turn off” inflammation (your immune system needs it). The goal is to reduce unnecessary inflammatory load and improve resilience.
At Lokahi Longevity, we treat inflammaging as measurable biology. We start with a structured assessment: clinical context, lifestyle factors, and advanced diagnostics when appropriate—such as specialized biomarkers and other objective measures that help clarify what’s driving inflammation in your body. From there, we build a personalized plan that prioritizes fundamentals (sleep, nutrition, movement, stress physiology) and adds targeted interventions when your data and the evidence support them. We then track progress over time and adjust based on results.
Below, you’ll find our five-part inflammaging series: what it is, why it matters, how to measure it, what interventions have evidence behind them, and practical steps you can take now.
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Chronic, low-grade inflammation that tends to rise with age and can quietly affect how you feel and function over time.
Read: What exactly is inflammaging, and why should you care? -
Inflammation isn’t just a symptom—it can be a driver of downstream risks across multiple age-related conditions.
Read: How inflammaging influences your risk for age-related diseases
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A useful plan starts with measurement: biomarkers, relevant labs, and (when appropriate) genetics and imaging to build a baseline.
Read: Measuring inflammaging: Advanced diagnostics to guide your longevity journey
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Interventions should be evidence-informed and safe: lifestyle foundations first, then targeted strategies based on your data.
Read: Reducing inflammaging: What science says about effective interventions
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Simple steps you can take now—plus when it makes sense to get more personalized guidance.
Read: Practical steps to reduce inflammaging: Take control of your healthspan today
A practical guide to inflammaging
Why do we age?
Excerpted from Athena Longevity Guide to the Adventure of Aging: A beginners guide to the bewildering world of anti-aging medicine, by Lokahi’s Medical Director, Robert Peterson, MD
The Two Main Principles Behind Aging
Genes and the environment: “Nature vs. Nurture"
The process of aging is a complex phenomenon that affects all living organisms. It involves various biological changes that accumulate over time, ultimately leading to the decline of physical and functional abilities. Aging is multifactorial, stemming from numerous intricate mechanisms at play, but it is fundamentally based on two core principles.
The first principle is the “Nature’s plan” concept
The ‘io hawk, which flies nowhere else in the world but on the Big Island of Hawaii, is believed to be an aumakua – a personal guardian god in the shape of an animal.
The "nature's plan" concept is premised on a pre- programmed lifespan encoded in an animal from birth. According to this idea, developmental changes that occur during youth progress to subsequent DNA- encoded stages, eventually leading to senescence and ultimately death.
This makes sense when considering how well the DNA program works during prenatal development and early life. Starting from a single cell, DNA directs cell division on a precise schedule.
Additionally, the proteins, RNA, and other molecules produced by DNA alter their surroundings, triggering different DNA segments that help cells differentiate into various types needed to create a functional individual. After birth, this complex interaction allows children to reach developmental milestones at expected ages.
Based on this, it is reasonable to propose that a similar process occurs later in life, leading to the inevitable declines associated with aging.
These programmed changes suggest that there might be an evolutionary blueprint dictating the lifespan and aging process of each species.
This concept aligns with observations that lifespan is relatively consistent within a given species, while varying significantly across different species. For example, while humans typically live around 70-80 years, other species like certain turtles can live for over a century, and small rodents may only live a few years.
These programmed changes suggest that there might be an evolutionary blueprint dictating the lifespan and aging process of each species. Understanding these fundamental principles provides a foundation for exploring the broader aspects of aging and efforts to potentially mitigate its effects.
The second theory of aging is often referred to as the “wear and tear” model
This theory suggests that the accumulation of minor injuries eventually overwhelms the body's ability to repair them, leading to a progressive decline in function and, ultimately, death. Some of this “wear and tear” results from byproducts of metabolism (such as free radicals) that can be harmful to the body, contributing to internal pollution that is partly unavoidable.
Some of these effects include:
Hormonal Aging: Hormone levels, particularly those related to growth and reproduction, decline with age, impacting various bodily functions such as skin health, muscle tone, bone density, and sex drive.
Accumulative Damage: Exposure to environmental factors like UV radiation, toxins, and pollution accumulates over time, causing direct DNA damage and promoting inflammation, which can accelerate aging.
Metabolic Aging: The byproducts of metabolism can harm the body, and their accumulation over time can contribute to the aging process.
Error Theories: These theories include the “wear and tear” theory, which suggests that cells and tissues deteriorate from repeated use, and the genome instability theory, which posits that aging occurs due to the body's diminished ability to repair DNA.
Discover what "inflammaging" means and why chronic inflammation quietly shapes your aging process. Lokahi Longevity co-founder David Watumull shares personal insights and explains how understanding inflammaging empowers healthier aging.