The Consensus 14: A New Standard for Biological Age

The End of the “Guesswork Era”

For decades, biohacking was a game of trial and error. We measured success by how we “felt” or by vanity metrics that had little correlation with actual mortality.

In early 2026, an international panel of longevity scientists finalized a consensus on the 14 definitive biomarkers of aging. These markers move beyond chronological age to measure the actual rate of systemic decay and functional resilience.

I. The Physiological & Inflammatory Panel

These five markers, found in standard and specialized bloodwork, track the “internal climate” of your biology. High levels of inflammation or metabolic stress are the primary drivers of “Inflammaging.”

• IGF-1: Tracks growth hormone activity and nutrient sensing.
• GDF-15: A key protein that rises in response to mitochondrial stress.
• hs-CRP: The gold standard for systemic, low-grade inflammation.
• IL-6: A cytokine that acts as a primary messenger for the aging process.
• Blood Pressure: A critical, non-invasive proxy for arterial stiffness and vascular age.

II. The Functional Pillars (The Hardware)

Longevity is not just about staying alive; it is about maintaining the “hardware.” The consensus panel included six physical metrics that are the strongest predictors of late-life independence.

1. Muscle Mass & Strength: Your primary metabolic sink.
2. Hand Grip Strength: A proxy for total body strength and cardiovascular health.
3. Gait Speed: Fast walking is now considered a “vital sign” for neurological and physical health.
4. Standing Balance: Measures the integration of your visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive systems.
5. TUG (Timed-Up-and-Go): A fundamental measure of functional mobility.
6. Frailty Index: A composite score of your overall biological “reserve.”

III. The Cognitive and Epigenetic “Speedometer”

The final three markers address the brain and the cellular “clock.”

• Neurocognitive Testing: Measuring processing speed and executive function.
• DunedinPACE: The “Speedometer.” Unlike other epigenetic clocks, DunedinPACE measures the pace of aging right now. A score of 0.8 means you are aging at 80% the speed of a normal human. A score of 1.2 means you are aging 20% faster.

“The goal of the Forge is not to live forever, but to ensure that your DunedinPACE stays consistently below 0.9 while maintaining peak physical hardware.”

How to use this data

If you aren’t tracking at least 10 of these 14 markers, you are “flying blind.” In the next update to the Forge Protocol, we will provide the optimal ranges for each of these markers, which often differ significantly from “standard” lab reference ranges.

References

• International Journal of Longevity Science (2026): “Standardizing Biological Age: The Consensus 14 Statement.”
• Nature Aging: “Epigenetic Clocks and the DunedinPACE validation.”