One of the coolest and most empowering things about epigenetic testing is that your results can change year to year showing your hard work paying off!
Your epigenetic test results can look very different a year later from your previous test, especially if you’ve made meaningful lifestyle changes. Think of your epigenome as a kind of biological diary — it records what your body has been exposed to and how it’s been treated. If you used your last set of results to see where your lifestyle needed some improvements, and stuck to those improvements you could see some much better results on your labs next time around!
🔄 How Fast Can Epigenetic Changes Happen?
Surprisingly fast. Research has shown that some DNA methylation patterns can shift in weeks or months in response to:
- 🔥 Improved diet (e.g., anti-inflammatory or nutrient-rich)
- 🏋️♀️ Exercise (especially consistent aerobic or resistance training)
- 😴 Better sleep habits
- 🧘♀️ Stress management (like mindfulness or breathwork)
- 🚭 Smoking cessation or alcohol reduction
In studies, people have even reversed biological age by several years after just a few months of high-quality lifestyle changes. (One clinical trial had participants drop their biological age by 3 years in just 8 weeks — using diet, sleep, stress reduction, and movement!)
📊 But What Changes and What Doesn’t?
Here’s a breakdown:
Epigenetic FeatureLikely to Change Over Time?Influenced by Lifestyle?DNA sequence❌ No❌ NoMethylation patterns✅ Yes✅ YesBiological age (epigenetic)✅ Yes✅ YesPace of aging (DunedinPACE)✅ Yes (more gradual)✅ YesDisease-related risk markers⚠️ Sometimes⚠️ Possibly
So, while your actual genes are locked in like a tattoo, your gene expression is more like dry-erase marker — smudgable and refreshable based on how you live.
🔁 Why Retesting Matters
Because epigenetics is dynamic, many biohackers, longevity enthusiasts, and even some health coaches now use epigenetic testing as a progress tracker — like:
- “Did my intermittent fasting affect my biological age?”
- “How’s my body handling this new high-intensity workout plan?”
- “Did cutting back on stress actually show up in my cells?”
It’s essentially biological feedback, more sophisticated than just stepping on a scale or checking your heart rate.
🧪 So Should You Retest Yearly?
If you’re actively working on improving your health, testing once a year (or every 6–12 months) can give you incredibly useful data on how your body’s responding. You’ll actually see the cellular-level changes from all that smoothie-making, meditation, and foam-rolling. 🧘♂️🥬✨