Who wants to live forever? Perhaps not forever, but a longer, healthier life at the very least? Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, you’ll probably be familiar with the rising popularity of longevity training — and its high-profile, high-net-worth acolytes. But what is it? Combining cutting-edge research and science, and harnessing powerful analytics that look at everything from your genetics to biomarkers, it is creating a new standard for health and wellbeing. It’s biohacking 2.0.
If that all sounds rather costly, you’re not wrong. There’s a reason that public figures such as Bryan Johnson are poster boys for this (with a personal estimated fortune of $400 million, or £313m). Access to labs with the best facilities for tests, at-home tech and an appropriate scientificunderstanding of how to interpret the data can be overwhelming. But that’s not to say the average person can’t dabble in it with a growing number of health clinics and wellbeing destinations around the world offering travellers the insight that they might be craving.
The first, and easiest way, to access a successful longevity protocol is literally at your fingertips, explains LA-based Kayla Barnes, CEO of LYV The Wellness Space. As one of the few women who have jumped into the space, transparency is her north star and she regularly updates her 370k Instagram followers with very clear direction on what labs to do, what habits to adopt and what the goal for lab markers should be. ‘Unfortunately, most of the scientific literature has been based on males for a variety of reasons. Due to female cycles, we are harder to conduct human trials on, but the industry is so new; there are only two people I am aware of quantifying data at this level that I am aware of: Bryan Johnson and me. There are definitely incredible female scientists and physicians who are furthering the conversation around longevity, which I love; we just have not had a female disclose all data and a protocol.’
Of course, she enjoys a unique position as a co-owner of a longevity health clinic, which gives her access to various treatments and biology upgrading equipment. What would cost the average person hundreds of thousands of pounds to test can be done for much less. But there are specialist units that can knit together the data for you. One of the market leaders is undoubtedly the Lanserhof group, praised for its holistic approach to health starting with the gut. With outposts in Austria’s Tyrol, Germany’s Sylt and a dedicated clinic here in Mayfair, the aim is to look at personalised data rather than a ‘standard range’ and focus on prevention and early diagnostics.
The functional medicine unit is particularly insightful, headed up by Dr Nikita Grover in the capital and godsend for those who can’t reach its Continental counterparts: ‘We are unique in the way we utilise functional medicine to identify changes in an individual’s biology that mightindicate the presence or risk of illness.’ While it offers a host of conventional medical specialists and a suite of services that support lifestylechange — key drivers of longevity — Lanserhof is proud to be ‘world renowned for our so called “fasting programme”, which taps into the body’s innate healing and longevity mechanisms. What we offer is a safe environment for introducing and facilitating this potentially challenging process.’
The SHA Wellness Clinic, which has recently added a new base in Mexico’s Riviera Maya as a sister to its Spanish original, has quietly become a leader in the longevity space, too. The latest addition is an advanced cellular regeneration therapy — the first clinic in the world to do so. Whatdoes that mean? It’s only physical treatment that recharges cells, using trademark CAP technology. Often, states of low voltage in cells are caused by disease, exhaustion and other degenerative processes associated with age, so the design of the CAP machine allows the cold plasma to penetrate the natural fibres of clothing to be absorbed by the skin and fluid by the body. As reassurance to visitors, it’s a comfortable, painless process with virtually no downtime and best for those suffering from extreme exhaustion from no specific cause, menopausal women and even those with long Covid.
Another major player that should be on the radar for 2024 is Six Senses. This May, its annual seven-day wellness summit in Ibiza, called theYoung Forever Retreat, returns with a renewed focus on longevity, spearheaded by physician and chief medical officer for the group, Dr Mark Hyman. The idea that underpins it all is that wellbeing isn’t just about lifespan but rather health span and integrates the medical and spiritual practices (the location itself is fairly transcendental, poised above the shimmering Xarraca Bay). Hyman says: ‘The programme marks a paradigm shift in our approach to aging and longevity. It’s not just about adding years to our lives; it’s about adding life to our years. By integrating cutting-edge strategies and personalised guidance, we empower individuals to live with vitality and purpose.’
The biggest challenge, however, is how you can integrate it all into your daily life. A glance at Barnes’ daily routine — with the noted absence of alcohol or restaurant dining — could be enough to ward you off, and she agrees: ‘The most common negative comment that I receive is that I can’t have any joy in my life due to the strictness of the protocol. A structured routine such as mine is not the norm for our society.’ True, but there are small steps that Londoners can take to start (checking vitamin D levels, taking supplements or using a high-quality air purifier in their bedroom to combat city pollution), creating their own blueprint for optimal health. Failing that, a retreat might be the thing to set you on your longevity journey: meals cooked, beds made and more time to devote to a deeper learning about yourself.
