Tim vs. Aging – T minus 8 days – Choosing the Epigenetic Test

Tim Kaelin

4 years ago

Since I have never done any of these tests before, I decided to use more than one and then compare the features. There are two categories I wanted to do, the first is biological age.

Because of my lack of experience, the criteria were very simple. First, do they provide a biological age based on the epigenetic method of testing from the Horvath research? Second, how much does it cost? Third, how good are their copywriters in convincing me to buy their product?

I bought:

Mydnage.com – $299. They specifically mentioned Horvath.

TruMeLabs.com – $99. Epigenetic test, not as expensive.

Muhdo.com – $249. I liked their marketing copy.

Since I sent these three back on the same day, two of them using equivalent spit, they should provide exactly the same results, right? But Mydnaage was a blood test, what if it is radically different? If they don’t match up then one or more of the companies is doing it wrong, or perhaps the whole field of research is bunk. I will, of course, do a more scientific comparison of the products once I get the results and perhaps even make a recommendation.

These were not difficult to do, the most difficult part was getting them “registered.” I had to work on logging into Trumelabs a couple of times, but I finally got in. This was basically spit on a piece of paper, let it dry and then stick it into the envelope. The Muhdo app would not read the test barcode, and then when it finally did it said the number was not valid. I sent the number into the info email provided and they fixed it within minutes. Muhdo gives you a tube with a funnel and tells you to spit into it until you get a gallon (Kidding, it was actually to the 4 mL mark). All easy enough.

No problems with the Mydnage.com test except I spent a few minutes with the capillary collection tube upside down (it should point upwards toward your finger so the blood flows down…). This was a bit messier than I thought, but almost painless. The kit was well organized.

Something I didn’t like was they all asked me a bunch of personal questions. It was almost as if they were a fortune teller claiming to give unbiased results but asking for clues to the right answer. I gave my correct birthday, but I lied on the rest wherever I could. THEY are supposed to be telling ME the right answers based on the test itself. Maybe this was foolish of me, but, I don’t like leaving personal details where I don’t need to, and I don’t want to contribute to a guessing game. Either give me the answer based solely on the objective tests or get out of the business.

These are the ones I did not choose.

insidetracker.com – $299. This is the one that Dr. Sinclair supposedly uses but I did not see where it said specifically “epigenetic.” So I passed.
epiagingusa.com – $169. Would perhaps have been a good choice, but I was not satisfied with the marketing copy as compared to the others (trying to be honest here, a certain randomness prevails…).
zymoresearch.com – these guys sell a lot of tests, but they are well beyond my comprehension. These are more for doctors and researchers.
donotage.org – $650. A bit pricey. I might pick them next time if it turns out my other choices are defective.
labtestanalyzer.com – $297 for lifetime membership. I considered this, but I did not see “epigenetic” in there and it was a bit short on details.
epi-age.com – $169. Looked good, just didn’t make the cut.
elysiumhealth.com – $499. Was a bit pricey, excellent marketing copy, but too much emphasis on their own products.

The second category, since the hyperbaric chamber is specifically supposed to be affecting telomere length, was to get a test specifically for telomeres. I found two.

teloyears.com – $89. I didn’t buy this because their website says they are “sold out” (probably died because their telomeres were too short).
lifelength.us – $410. I bought this because it was the only one left. Includes a doctor’s consultation.

There was a note with the test to not send it over a weekend, I’m assuming that was because the samples might spoil for this particular test. I will take the sample and send it next Monday.

As you can see I have a lot to learn. When I test again at the end, there will again be a delay in getting results. Such is the price of accurate and diligent science!

It occurs to me that there are a number of critical path areas that could invalidate my 60-day program. Testing is one of these. If the testing process fails to any degree, then the data I gather will be useless. I’m glad I have some redundancy here.

Let me know in the comments below if you have any thoughts.

Here is some of the background data I ingested to have confidence in this sort of testing. Enjoy!