Canberra medico Dr Nick Coatsworth is fronting a new national health program on Channel Nine called Do You Want to Live Forever?, which will be less about blue zone diets and advice from anti-ageing moguls and more about practical tips that anyone can try at home.
Alongside journalist Tracy Grimshaw, Dr Coatsworth is taking four pairs of everyday Australians through a 12-week journey in an attempt to turn back their biological age.
Among the participants are The Block sisters Eliza and Liberty Paschke, both in their 30s, and retired Olympic gold medallist swimmer Duncan Armstrong, 56, and his son Tom, 32. Armstrong survived a heart attack in 2020.
Joining them is a Victorian couple in their 20s and NSW couple in their 50s, all of whom are exposed to treatments and life tweaks and hacks in a bid to live longer.
"I can't spoil the results, but I've got a big grin on my face," Dr Coatsworth said.
The docu-series starts on Monday, June 17, at 7.30pm on Channel 9 and 9Now.
Dr Coatsworth said the show would focus on "the four pillars - exercise, nutrition, sleep and stress".
"It was more just to show the simple things that work," he said.
The 45-year-old father-of-three, married to Rebecca Pearson, adopted some of the strategies he learned on the show.
"Everyone who touched the production - Trace, production, camera, sound, everybody - picked up something in that 12 weeks and it was kind of infectious," he said.
"So, now I take a measured dose of olive oil every day. So I'll shoot 20ml of extra virgin olive oil in a shot glass because I don't do tequila anymore.
"But it actually made a difference. It brought up my good cholesterol and brought down my bad cholesterol."
What does he do for exercise?
"Not enough," he confessed. "Not what we recommended to the participants. And that's just a lesson for all of us. It's got to be at least 30 minutes of this so-called zone two exercise, when you've got to get your heart rate up."
Dr Coatsworth, who is also the Today show's medical expert, works as a physician at the Acute Medical Unit at the Canberra Hospital.
He filled in for Karl Stefanovic over the Christmas break on Today last year, and has since seen his star continue to rise on the network.
Do You Want to Live Forever? also interviews American entrepreneur Bryan Johnson who is spending millions in a bid to turn back the clock, even famously injecting blood from his teenage son. (Although, he's put that practice on ice after it reportedly showed no benefits.)
But, in the end, it's about making some common sense, everyday decisions such as use the stairs rather than the lift.
"I think it's got to be fun as well," Dr Coatsworth said.
"I have a minute under a cold shower every day. I have no idea if it's of any benefit, but, I tell you what, it makes me feel good."
Living in Reid, Dr Coatsworth and Ms Pearson have three children aged 13, 11 and nine. He says Canberra is a good city to be in to get healthy.
"We don't anticipate moving anywhere. It is too good," he said.
