Compass

So, our caveman biology is outgunned by the space age, what do we do?

First, we need a map of:

• our aging
• invisible threats
• hidden costs

Otherwise, how can we navigate them?

Second, we need to become realistic. Reality dictates that most goods including water and air are toxic. So, unless it has been proven beyond the shadow of a doubt something does NOT shorten lifespan, we should assume it does.

Third, we need to make health automatic. We should systematically implement known good defaults so that we are healthy “for free”.

We will address our map and our compass in this page. Making health automatic is addressed in the Habitat section.

Your Map

If you are young you will not only perform like a young person but have an expected lifespan like a young person. In other words, if you are 60 years old but perform in every way like a 45 year old and expect another 35 years of life, then you are 45 year biologically.

In software this is called duck typing as in, if you quack like a duck and look like a duck, then you are a duck.

So, how do we duck type our age?

Genetic Baseline

You first need to know what you’re made of and what your risks are. Whole genome sequencing is a one-time test that lets you tailor interventions and flag personal risks. This is an absolute must. What you don’t know can definitely kill you.

Measure	Method	Vendor	Cadence
Whole Genome	DNA sequencing	Nebula	Once (lifetime)

Rationale

• Measure: Whole genome sequencing surfaces personal risk factors (e.g., APOE for Alzheimer’s risk, BRCA1/2 for cancer, MTHFR for methylation) that determine which downstream interventions matter most. Foundational for everything else.
• Vendor: Nebula offers 30x whole-genome sequencing (vs 23andMe’s much smaller SNP array) with portable data and no third-party data sales.
• Frequency: Once. Your germline DNA doesn’t change.

Why: uncovers hidden risk factors and genetic constraints that shape every other intervention downstream.

Epigenetic Age

Measure	Method	Vendor	Cadence
Biological Age	Multi-omic epigenetic clock	TruAge	Annual
Pace of Aging	DunedinPACE	TruAge	Annual

Rationale

• Measures: Biological Age = your body’s current age via methylation patterns. Pace of Aging = your aging velocity — how fast you’re aging right now. DunedinPACE is the most validated longitudinal pace clock.
• Vendor: TruDiagnostic is the leading commercial provider of validated epigenetic clocks; partnered with the original Duke researchers behind DunedinPACE.
• Frequency: Annual. Methylation patterns change slowly; sub-annual measurement is mostly noise.

• Why Biological Age? See where you are — your body’s current age, not your calendar age.
• Why Pace? See where you’re going — your aging trajectory over the last year. DunedinPACE is the most validated of the pace clocks.¹

Metabolomics

Measure	Method	Vendor	Cadence
Standard blood panel	Blood draw	Ulta Lab Tests	Quarterly
Epigenetic metabolomics	Saliva methylation	TruHealth	Annual

Rationale

• Measures: Standard blood panel = current snapshot (glucose, lipids, hormones, inflammation, organ markers). Epigenetic metabolomics = the same domains inferred from stable methylation patterns; smooths out daily noise so you see trend, not fluctuation.
• Vendor: Ulta Lab Tests — direct-to-consumer, no doctor referral required, ~half the price of typical hospital labs. TruHealth for the epigenetic complement (often bundled with TruAge).
• Frequency: Quarterly for blood (rapidly responsive to diet, sleep, training). Annual for epigenetic (slow-moving baseline).

Why two tests? Ulta measures current values directly (noisy snapshot). TruHealth infers stable trends from methylation patterns. View them in tandem — a single blood draw has noise; epigenetics smooths it.

Microbiome

Measure	Method	Vendor	Cadence
Gut composition + diversity	Stool sequencing	Biomesight	Quarterly to annual

Rationale

• Measure: Gut composition + diversity. Low diversity predicts gut barrier dysfunction (“leaky gut”), systemic inflammation, and weakened immunity. Trillions of bacterial cells filter every food and drug input you take.
• Vendor: Biomesight — 16S rRNA sequencing with high-resolution taxonomic reporting, longitudinal trend tracking, and open data export.
• Frequency: Quarterly to annual. Microbiome shifts within weeks of dietary change; quarterly catches intervention effects.

Why: everything that enters you is filtered by trillions of bacterial symbiotes. It’s part of your body. Low diversity → leaky gut, leaky skin, systemic inflammation.

Pollution Load

Measure	Method	Vendor	Cadence
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), heavy metals, microplastics	Blood	TruHealth, PlasticTox, Million Marker	Annual

Rationale

• Measures: PFAS, heavy metals, and microplastics bioaccumulate in tissues over years and predict elevated risk for cancer, neurodegeneration, and reproductive harm. Brain microplastic concentrations rose ~50% from 2016 to 2024 (Nihart 2024).
• Vendor: TruHealth bundles a pollution panel; Million Marker and PlasticTox specialize in microplastic and endocrine-disruptor measurement.
• Frequency: Annual. Detoxification is slow; tighter intervals don’t yield actionable signal.

Why: pollutants accumulate in the body and are a form of aging. Brain microplastic concentrations rose ~50% between 2016 and 2024.² As your body becomes more polluted your longevity decreases.

Mechanical Age

Measure	Method	Target	Cadence
Body composition	DEXA (Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry) or smart scale	≤20% body fat (men), ≤28% (women); top-quartile skeletal muscle index	Quarterly
VO2 max (maximal oxygen uptake)	Wearable or lab	Top-quartile for age	Continuous
Resting heart rate (RHR)	Wearable	≤60 bpm	Continuous
Heart rate variability (HRV)	Wearable	>60 ms (age-adjusted)	Continuous
Movement volume	Wearable	10k+ steps/day	Continuous
Movement intensity	Wearable	Zone 2 ≥3h/week + VO2max work ≥30min/week	Weekly
Movement variety	Wearable + log	4+ modalities/week	Weekly
Grip strength	Hand dynamometer	Top-quartile for age	Quarterly
Posture	TODO — DEXA alignment or PosturePro	Neutral curve, no forward head	Annual

Rationale

• Measures: Cardiorespiratory fitness in the top quartile is associated with roughly half the all-cause mortality of the bottom quartile (Mandsager 2018). Step count above ~7,000/day cuts mortality risk substantially (Saint-Maurice 2020). HRV reflects autonomic recovery; grip strength is a robust sarcopenia screen; body composition tracks metabolic health.
• Vendor: Modern wearables (Oura, Whoop, Apple Watch, Garmin) cover continuous measures. DEXA at a clinic for body-composition gold standard. Hand dynamometers are cheap and accurate for grip.
• Frequency: Continuous for wearable measures (HR, HRV, sleep, movement). Quarterly for body composition + grip strength. Annual for DEXA + posture.

Why: life is motion, if you cannot move, you cannot live. Cardiorespiratory fitness in the top quartile is associated with roughly half the all-cause mortality of the bottom quartile.³

Checklist

Absolute Minimum

Check In Perform regular follow-ups by copying checklists:

• Recurring reminder for the Yearly checklist
• Recurring reminder for the Monthly checklist
• Recurring reminder for the Weekly checklist
• Recurring reminder for the Daily checklist

Adapt as you see fit.

Measure A single wearable gives you continuous proxies for biological age — VO2max, resting heart rate, HRV, and sleep stages — enough to see if you’re trending up or down.

• Wearable — Apple Watch, Oura, Whoop, or Garmin.

Why this is enough as a floor

A wearable alone won’t tell you about pollution load, microbiome, or genetic risk — but it gives you the single most actionable feedback loop: am I sleeping, recovering, and moving like a young person? Those four signals (RHR, HRV, sleep stages, VO2max) track biological age trajectory better than any single annual blood marker. Cheap, low-friction, daily. If you can only do one thing, do this.

Recommended

In addition to a wearable:

• Whole Genome Sequencing — Nebula (one-time)
• Epigenetic Age & Pace — TruAge / TruHealth (annual)
• Superpower membership ($199–649 base + add-ons) covering:
  • Baseline blood (100+ markers)
  • Heavy metals add-on ($129)
  • Environmental toxins add-on ($299) — BPA (Bisphenol A), phthalates, parabens, pesticides
  • Microbiome add-on ($239)
  • Hormone add-on
  • Galleri add-on ($849
• Microplastics — PlasticTox / Blueprint
• DEXA Body Composition — BodySpec (quarterly)

Why this stack

Each line answers a question the wearable can’t:

• Genome (one-time) — your hidden risk factors. APOE for Alzheimer’s, BRCA for cancer, MTHFR for methylation. Foundational because it shapes which interventions matter most for you specifically.
• Epigenetic age (annual) — am I getting older biologically slower or faster than the calendar? Methylation clocks (TruAge OMICm, DunedinPACE) are the most validated longevity biomarkers we have.
• Superpower membership (annual) — collapses 4–5 separate vendor relationships (blood panel + heavy metals + endocrine disruptors + microbiome + Galleri) into one membership with one dashboard. Not cheaper than buying separately, but dramatically less friction.
• Microplastics — only meaningful consumer test for tissue-level microplastic burden. Brain levels rose ~50% in 8 years — worth knowing your baseline.
• DEXA (quarterly) — only accurate body-composition measurement (visceral fat, skeletal muscle index). Smart scales lie; DEXA doesn’t. Quarterly catches intervention effects.

This tier covers everything that’s measurable and actionable for the average person willing to spend ~$2,000/yr on personal health diagnostics.

Ideal

In addition to the recommended:

• Annual full-body MRI — Prenuvo (~$2,500)
• Glucose Monitor, 1x/year for 14 days — Lingo (~$89)
• Coronary Artery scan — cash pay at imaging centers ($100–500)

Why this tier

Diminishing returns territory. Each item adds incremental signal at meaningful cost; useful only if the lower tiers are already in place.

• Full-body MRI (Prenuvo) — catches solid tumors and structural abnormalities your wearable and blood panels can’t see. The longevity case is “find cancer before it has symptoms.” Real false-positive rate; budget for the workup if flagged.
• CGM (Lingo, 14 days/yr) — see your actual glucose response to specific foods, sleep, and stress. Two-week snapshot once a year is enough to catch the patterns; continuous monitoring isn’t necessary.
• CAC scan — single best non-stress predictor of cardiovascular events for men 40+. Once every 5 years is enough.
• DUTCH Plus — urine hormone metabolites + full diurnal cortisol pattern. Catches what blood draws miss (single-timepoint cortisol is mostly noise). For anyone optimizing hormones or stress.
• STI screen — basic hygiene if you’re in any kind of non-monogamous arrangement. Annual.

Skip this tier if you’re not yet doing the Recommended consistently. The marginal value is real but small.

Proof

This stack works for us. Michael Mentele and Bri Pizana both rank in the top 1% on the Rejuvenation Olympics — the public DunedinPACE leaderboard for slowest-aging adults. Look us up.

Detailed case studies in Case Studies.

References

Footnotes

1. Belsky et al., “DunedinPACE, a DNA methylation biomarker of the pace of aging,” eLife (2022). ↩

2. Nihart et al., “Bioaccumulation of microplastics in decedent human brains,” Nature Medicine (2024). ↩

3. Mandsager et al., “Association of Cardiorespiratory Fitness With Long-term Mortality Among Adults Undergoing Exercise Treadmill Testing,” JAMA Network Open (2018). ↩