{"id":29457,"date":"2026-07-27T10:35:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T15:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/?p=29457"},"modified":"2026-07-27T10:44:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T15:44:52","slug":"a-hungarian-man-is-aging-just-0-62-years-annually-and-could-rewind-nearly-two-decades-but-his-method-stays-hidden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/okdiario.com\/metabolic\/en\/health\/a-hungarian-man-is-aging-just-0-62-years-annually-and-could-rewind-nearly-two-decades-but-his-method-stays-hidden-29457\/","title":{"rendered":"A Hungarian man is aging just 0.62 years annually and could rewind nearly two decades, but his method stays hidden"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At 31, Hungarian filmmaker and art teacher Martin Helst\u00e1b sits seventh on an unusual global leaderboard that rewards people whose blood markers make them look biologically younger<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hungarian reports said his age gap had reached 18.2 years, while the live official table listed a 16.6-year reduction on July 21, 2026. His rise followed a strict routine he began after an autoimmune joint diagnosis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does that mean he has secured 18 extra years of life? No. The result is generated by an aging clock<\/a>, an algorithm that turns lab measurements into an age-like score, while his broader approach is often called biohacking because data guides the experiments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n

Read More: Cancer’s deadliest move isn’t spreading blindly, it’s a protein shield, and Brazilian scientists just found how to strip it away<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

It can flag favorable markers, but it cannot certify lifespan or prove that every organ has become younger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How the ranking works<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Longevity World Cup is open to participants who submit qualifying lab results. Its professional track for 2026 uses the Bortz Age clock, while the amateur path uses PhenoAge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Competitors are ranked by the gap between calendar age and calculated biological age, and same-day blood results are required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The model behind Bortz Age came from research led by Jordan Bortz with colleagues at Imperial College London. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using UK Biobank data from 306,116 people, the team built a mortality-risk model from circulating blood markers and reported an 11% relative improvement in predictive value over PhenoAge in its test group. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In simple terms, it compares a person\u2019s lab pattern with patterns seen at different ages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Hungarian filmmaker Martin Helst\u00e1b ranks high on the Longevity World Cup leaderboard by using data-driven lifestyle changes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One claim, two different measures<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Earlier coverage connected Helst\u00e1b\u2019s reported 18.2-year age reduction with a pace of 0.62 biological years for every calendar year. Those figures sound interchangeable, but they are not. They answer two different questions about the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One number asks how much younger today\u2019s biomarker profile appears than a person\u2019s actual age. The other tries to estimate how quickly biology is changing over time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You cannot turn one into the other with simple subtraction, so the 0.62 figure should be treated as a separate test result rather than proof created by the World Cup score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some aging clocks examine DNA methylation, small chemical tags that affect how genes are used, but scientists still lack a single gold-standard biological age. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 2025 study of 18,859 adults found newer epigenetic clocks were more useful than older ones for predicting disease<\/a>, yet the field still needs careful validation. Promising, yes, but not a life-expectancy certificate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Illness changed his daily life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Helst\u00e1b said he was diagnosed with autoimmune polyarthritis at 24, after experiencing widespread joint pain<\/a> and severe fatigue. \u201cI wake up with energy and can live my days without pain,\u201d he later told Blikk, describing his current condition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n

Read More: It’s not that pineapple upsets you, it’s the timing: eat it at the wrong moment and its enzymes can’t do their work<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

That improvement is self-reported and should not be read as a clinical trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He made sauna sessions part of his routine and once used deposits from returnable bottles to help cover a portable sauna\u2019s electric bill. After living in Malta, he returned to Budapest and said Hungary\u2019s cold, dark winters make his symptoms harder to manage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heat may ease stiffness<\/a> for some people, but that is not evidence that sauna reverses autoimmune disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n