Inflamaging: The Silent Driver of Ageing and Chronic Disease

 

And why understanding your DNA changes everything

For decades, ageing was viewed as an inevitable decline. Something that simply happened to us with time. Wrinkles appeared, energy dipped, inflammation rose, and chronic disease followed. But modern longevity science is challenging that narrative in a powerful way.

One concept sits at the centre of this shift. Inflamaging.

It may sound like another buzzword, but inflamaging represents one of the most important breakthroughs in our understanding of ageing, disease risk, and long-term health resilience.

At Life X DNA®, we see inflamaging not as an abstract theory, but as a measurable, biologically driven process that varies significantly from person to person. Crucially, it is also something we can influence when we understand the underlying drivers.

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What is inflamaging?

Inflamaging refers to chronic, low-grade, systemic inflammation that increases with age, often without obvious symptoms. It is not the acute inflammation you feel after an injury or infection. Instead, it is a constant background immune activation that quietly damages tissues over time.

This persistent inflammatory state accelerates biological ageing and significantly increases the risk of chronic disease. Many people experiencing inflamaging feel “off” long before a diagnosis appears. Fatigue, brain fog, poor recovery, joint stiffness, mood changes, sleep disruption, and declining resilience are common early signals.

Inflamaging is now recognised as a central hallmark of ageing, alongside mitochondrial dysfunction, epigenetic drift, genomic instability, and impaired nutrient sensing.

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Why inflamaging matters more than ever

Inflamaging is not just associated with ageing. It actively drives many of the conditions people fear most as they get older:

• Cardiovascular disease

• Neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s

• Type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance

• Autoimmune and inflammatory conditions

• Sarcopenia and frailty

• Osteoarthritis

• Accelerated cognitive and physical decline

What makes inflamaging particularly challenging is that standard medical testing often misses it. Conventional markers usually detect disease after damage has already occurred. Inflamaging, by contrast, begins years or even decades earlier.

This is where preventative, precision-based health approaches become essential.

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What actually causes inflamaging?

Inflamaging is not driven by a single factor. It is the result of multiple biological systems drifting out of balance over time.

Key contributors include:

Immune system dysregulation
As we age, the immune system becomes both overactive and less effective. Pro-inflammatory signalling increases, while the ability to resolve inflammation declines.

Mitochondrial dysfunction
Mitochondria are central to energy production and immune regulation. When they become inefficient, oxidative stress rises and inflammatory pathways are triggered.

Epigenetic changes
Gene expression patterns shift with age and environmental exposure. These changes influence inflammatory signalling, detoxification, and cellular repair.

Impaired methylation
Methylation underpins DNA repair, neurotransmitter balance, detoxification, immune regulation, and antioxidant production. Poor methylation capacity is a major but often overlooked driver of chronic inflammation.

Gut barrier breakdown and microbiome imbalance
Increased intestinal permeability allows inflammatory compounds to enter circulation, driving immune activation.

Chronic stress, toxins, and latent infections
These create constant immune stimulation that the body struggles to switch off.

Lifestyle mismatch
Ultra-processed foods, sedentary behaviour, disrupted circadian rhythms, and nutrient depletion further amplify inflammatory load.

Importantly, genetics influences how strongly each of these factors affects you.

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Why some people age faster than others

Two people can eat similarly, exercise similarly, and appear equally healthy, yet age very differently internally. This is because genetic variation shapes inflammatory tone, immune signalling, detox pathways, antioxidant capacity, and methylation efficiency.

Some individuals are genetically more prone to:

• Higher baseline inflammatory cytokine activity

• Poor inflammatory resolution

• Reduced glutathione production

• Slower detoxification of inflammatory byproducts

• Greater oxidative stress under pressure

• Heightened immune reactivity

Without understanding this genetic backdrop, interventions often become guesswork.

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This is where Life X DNA® comes in

At Life X DNA, we take a fundamentally different approach to ageing and inflammation. We do not wait for disease to appear. We look upstream.

Our testing analyses thousands of genes, around 20 million SNPs, and millions of variants, providing one of the most comprehensive functional genomics assessments available. This includes deep analysis of the biological systems that directly drive inflamaging.

Advanced methylation analysis

Methylation sits at the core of inflamaging. Life X DNA offers the most in-depth methylation testing available, analysing 26 key methylation genes alongside hundreds of related variants influencing:

• Folate and methionine cycles

• Neurotransmitter metabolism

• Immune regulation

• Detoxification

• Antioxidant production

• DNA repair

When methylation is impaired, inflammatory signalling tends to rise, oxidative stress increases, and recovery slows. Understanding this allows for targeted, personalised support rather than blanket supplementation.

Inflammation and immune signalling pathways

We assess genetic variants involved in:

• Cytokine production

• Immune activation thresholds

• Inflammatory resolution

• Oxidative stress response

• Mitochondrial resilience

This helps identify whether someone is genetically predisposed to heightened inflammatory responses, prolonged immune activation, or poor inflammatory shutdown.

Detoxification and antioxidant capacity

Inflamaging is tightly linked to the body’s ability to neutralise and clear inflammatory byproducts. Life X DNA™ analyses genes involved in glutathione production, phase I and phase II detoxification, and oxidative stress defence systems.

When these pathways are compromised, inflammation becomes harder to control.

Polygenic risk insights

Beyond single genes, Life X DNA uses advanced polygenic risk scores to assess cumulative genetic risk for chronic inflammatory conditions. This provides a more realistic picture of long-term susceptibility and allows earlier, more strategic intervention.

Turning insight into action

Information alone is not enough. What sets Life X DNA apart is the translation of complex genetic data into clear, practical, personalised guidance.

Clients receive access to an intuitive online portal with over 1,200 reports covering inflammation, immune health, methylation, detoxification, mitochondrial function, brain health, cardiovascular risk, and more. There are no subscriptions and no ongoing costs.

Where appropriate, reports include highly personalised supplement suggestions, with a strong preference for bioavailable, methylated forms when relevant. These suggestions are generated using advanced AI software that integrates genetics with functional genomics and cofactor needs.

This allows individuals and practitioners to focus on precision support, not generic anti-inflammatory advice.

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Inflamaging is not inevitable

One of the most empowering aspects of inflamaging research is that it reframes ageing as modifiable. While we cannot change our genes, we can change how they are expressed.

When inflammation drivers are identified early, it becomes possible to:

• Improve immune balance

• Support methylation efficiency

• Reduce oxidative stress

• Enhance detoxification

• Improve energy and cognitive resilience

• Slow biological ageing

This is not about chasing youth. It is about preserving function, clarity, strength, and vitality for as long as possible.

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A new way to think about ageing

Inflamaging represents a shift from reactive medicine to proactive longevity science. It explains why so many chronic conditions overlap, why symptoms often appear long before diagnoses, and why one-size-fits-all approaches fail.

At Life X DNA, we believe the future of health lies in understanding your biology before it breaks.

Inflamaging is not just a buzzword. It is a signal that the conversation around ageing is finally catching up with the science.

And with the right insights, it is a conversation that can lead to meaningful, lasting change.

Stay informed, stay healthy
Robbie Van der Moigg
Founder – Life X DNA®