Humans have been searching for the 'Fountain of Youth' since the dark ages.

In this year's blockbuster sci-fi body horror movie, The Substance, Demi Moore plays an aging fitness instructor who will do just about anything, including taking a sketchy substance to clone herself, to turn back the clock. But this five-time Oscar nominated movie is more than just a gripping story. It taps into a very real cultural moment where everyone seems obsessed with aging... and how to prevent it.

While getting older is technically a good thing, it's also understandable to want to look and feel as young as possible. But we're not talking about Botox here. The idea of "reverse aging," or turning back your actual "biological clock" (a.k.a. the age of your cells) is really buzzy right now thanks to a bevvy of longevity bros, biohacking podcasts, and a general trend towards preventative health practices. And a growing body of research suggests it may actually be possible -- on some level.

The idea of "reverse aging" is a little complicated, but doctors say that it is possible to hack your health to get the most out of your lifespan. Here's the deal.

Meet the experts: John Fudyma, MD, clinical associate professor of medicine and interim chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo; Bert Mandelbaum, MD, sports medicine specialist and orthopedic surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Orthopaedics and co-director of the Regenerative Orthobiologic Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles; Alfred F. Tallia, MD, MPH, professor and chair of family medicine and community health at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Reverse aging isn't a scientific term, but it's generally used to describe the ability to extend your healthy years, a.k.a. your "playspan," says Bert Mandelbaum, MD, sports medicine specialist and orthopedic surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Orthopaedics and co-director of the Regenerative Orthobiologic Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Ultimately, reverse aging means dialing back your biological age, i.e. the measure of how old your cells are, says John Fudyma, MD, clinical associate professor of medicine and interim chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo.

And while you can't change your chronological age (how many years you've been on earth), there is science to suggest that you can dial back the age of your cells -- at least in some promising animal studies.

"What this [reverse aging] most often refers to is a series of experiments in mice and monkeys that has found different compounds of chemicals that, in certain instances, may be useful in slowing or possibly rejuvenating cells," says Alfred F. Tallia, MD, MPH, professor and chair of family medicine and community health at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

This is a little complicated. As mentioned, there has been some research on animals that seems to suggest it's possible. One study published in bioRxiv in 2023 that found that a certain cocktail of proteins helped elderly mice live twice as long as their counterparts who didn't get the cocktail. The mice who received the intervention also had DNA hallmarks that were similar to younger animals.

Another 2023 study published in the journal Cell gave engineered mice (i.e. mice that have been genetically modified in a lab setting) a certain drug that altered their DNA. The mice were first given a drug to speed up their aging, and then given a cocktail that seemed to reverse some of those changes in their muscles, kidneys, and eyes.

And a 2024 study published in the journal Cell found that monkeys who were given a daily dose of metformin (a medication used to treat diabetes) had slower age-associated brain decline than those who didn't get the drug. Those metformin-taking monkeys also had brain activity that was similar to monkeys that were about six years younger.

But despite these interesting results, research on the concept of "reverse aging" is still ongoing, and scientists are limited to animal cell data at this point. "There is a long distance between local effects on cells and rejuvenating the entire body's aging processes, which involve multiple cell types, organs, and function," Dr. Tallia says. "For centuries, humans have been looking for the 'Fountain of Youth,' but it is fair to say that we aren't there yet."

Right now, there's no magic drug or treatment that will help reverse your biological age, but doctors universally agree that certain lifestyle modifications can go a long way toward helping you to live a longer, healthier life -- and even potentially look and feel better than you do now.

To be fair, if you're already health-conscious, none of these "hacks" are all that surprising, and Dr. Fudyma says they're really just "the basics" of good health. But given how essential these steps can be in protecting your cell health, they're worth considering if you don't already have them in rotation:

There's no hard and fast answer to how many years you can clip off your biological age, and doctors are hesitant to pinpoint an exact range. One study that found following the American Heart Association's Life's "Essential 8" tips for longevity can help reverse biological aging by up to six years.

But in general, doctors say that making high quality lifestyle choices at any age can help you be the healthiest version of yourself. "The earlier in life you adopt healthy lifestyle choices, the better you'll be at extending your biological age," Dr. Fudyma says.