My alarm goes off before sunrise. I begrudgingly pull on my exercise gear and head to my local gym, where I join the class with others paying to have someone bark instructions at us.
Once home, I down several supplements with a glass of water mixed with a green powder that tastes like grass before eating a protein-rich breakfast. I pack a salad for lunch and slather on serums and sunscreen.
On the other hand, my husband runs marathons, but I can count the number of times I’ve seen him drink a glass of water, and he considers chocolate a food group. Yet he rarely gets sick, has an abundance of energy and would no sooner learn to fly a plane than take a handful of vitamins.
So you can imagine my surprise when it’s me sitting in front of Dr Adam Brown being told that I have high cholesterol, insulin resistance and low bone density.
He’s the founder of the Longevity Medicine Institute, a dedicated antiageing clinic. For $6000, it runs tests to assess your risk of developing major diseases and makes recommendations to help you turn the tide.
As part of the growing longevity movement, the GP has witnessed a shift in recent years. Patients were no longer content with looking younger; they wanted to feel younger too.
“The aim is not to live to 150. It is about proactively making early health interventions to slow the onset of chronic diseases and extend our health spans,” Dr Brown says. “We want people to have a good quality of life for longer.”
The problem, he says, is that the current medical model in our healthcare system focuses on treating chronic conditions like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia and osteoporosis only once they’ve developed.
According to the ABS, Australia has around 6192 people aged 100 and over. By 2050, it’s predicted that the figure will rise to 50,000, which is likely to put the health system under immense pressure.
“Evidence shows that many diseases begin years, or even decades, before they start showing in blood tests and as symptoms,” says Dr Brown.
“Longevity medicine can identify a patient’s risk of developing disease in the early stages and show us to what extent any disease has developed.”
A longer life unlocked
The longevity movement is synonymous with extremes. One of the best-known names is Bryan Johnson, the US tech entrepreneur spending millions each year on health interventions in a bid not to die. Claiming to be the “world’s most measured human” his regime includes taking over 100 supplements each day and having every bodily function monitored by a team of 30 doctors, which he dubbed “Project Blueprint”.
He also received a blood plasma transfusion from his 17-year-old son as part of his efforts to age backward. Last year the company’s chief marketing officer, 28-year-old Australian Kate Tolo, became the first person aside from Bryan to complete the strict protocol – but it wasn’t easy.
“Before doing Blueprint I stayed up late, ate poorly and didn’t exercise. I wasn’t in a good spot. I had to come up against all these psychological barriers.”
She committed to a month following Bryan’s rigorous routine, which involved eating exactly 1700 calories and doing 13 minutes of intense exercise and 39 minutes of moderate exercise every day.
The results were so profound she decided to stick to it indefinitely. Kate admits it’s tough, but ultimately the sacrifices – lattes and late nights – have been worth it.
“There’s a lot of forces at play to get you away from good health but even just simple things like going to bed on time and eating more vegetables, it’s something everyone can do at home.”
Testing, testing
Before my initial consultation I was sent for various pathology tests and filled in a questionnaire that covered everything from family history and exactly what I eat to how many hours of sleep I get and how often I socialise.
On the day, I’m told the appointment will take around four hours and to wear something comfortable because it involves exercise.
The first thing we go through is my blood biomarkers, which reveal that I have higher than normal cholesterol, increasing the risk of a heart attack or stroke, as well as insulin sensitivity, which can lead to type 2 diabetes. Not off to a great start.
Next, we completed the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale to measure my emotional health and assess my social networks, both of which I got the green light on.
Often, we think of longevity in terms of our physical health, but Dr Brown says our mental health is just as important.
“Deficiencies in these areas can lead to stress, a known cause of raised cortisol levels and blood pressure. Persistently high cortisol can impact glucose metabolism, predisposing us to hyperglycaemia, insulin resistance, and potentially diabetes and cardiovascular issues.”
In other words, not sweating the small stuff and regular catch-ups with friends might buy you a few more years.
Let’s get physical
It turns out that while it’s great for mobility (which is important as we age), my favoured workout, Pilates, does little for cardiovascular health.
When it’s time to test my VO2 levels, which measure how much oxygen your body uses while exercising, my lack of cardio is soon revealed.
As I cycle as fast as I can on a stationary bike while wearing a bulky oxygen mask, I realise I’m not as fit as I might think.
This is only reaffirmed by bone density and body composition scans. They find my bone density is below average, which can lead to osteoporosis and fracture risk, and my muscle mass is “satisfactory”.
Dr Brown recommends incorporating strength training and weightbearing exercises as well as upping my protein intake.
“Muscle mass and bone density are highly predictive metrics of how long you’re going to live. Seniors who develop sarcopenia [reduced muscle mass] or osteoporosis [reduced bone density] are at the greatest risk of dying from all causes,” he explains.
Luckily, my skin cancer check comes up clean, as does the ultrasound on my carotid artery, which carries blood from the heart to the brain and can lead to stroke if it becomes blocked.
I don’t have sleep issues and my spirometry test (which measures lung capacity) is straightforward.
You are what you eat
According to ABS data, only 4.2 per cent of Australians eat the recommended two servings of fruit and five servings of vegetables each day. I try to adhere to the five-and-two rule, but sometimes, life gets busy, or I have a bad day and I opt for biscuits over a banana.
After reviewing my diet and pathology results, clinical nutritionist Georgia Betts says the first step is to get my gut health in order, prescribing me a course of probiotics. “Everything starts with the gut,” she says.
“It’s important for digestion and absorption of nutrients. It also impacts our immune system, and inflammation, neurotransmitter and brain function, as well as hormones and blood sugar regulation.”
She suggests increasing my intake of cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, which assist with liver detoxification, support overall cellular health and may contain anti-cancer compounds.
“Long-term restrictive diets can negatively affect our gut microbiome,” says Georgia. “Focusing on what we can eat while improving digestion and gut function is a better approach.”
Several studies point to “Blue Zones” as the gold standard for longevity, which refers to the diets in regions with the longest average lifespans, such as Okinawa in Japan, Sardinia in Italy, and Ikaria in Greece.
Similar to the Mediterranean diet, it focuses on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes and nuts while reducing meat, dairy and processed foods.
According to researchers, a high consumption of antioxidants, fibre and healthy fats contributes to reduced inflammation and improved heart health.
Georgia also recommends protein at breakfast to help regulate blood sugar levels and eating without distraction.
“If we’re distracted, we’re not giving our digestive system the time to ramp up our enzymes and stomach acid.”
While I’ve been able to implement most of the changes, like upping my protein at breakfast and incorporating some resistance training, others, like running to help increase my VO2 max capacity, haven’t stuck. Time will tell if it helps me live until 100.
“If we slip up, we shouldn’t beat ourselves up about it. It’s about modifying our behaviour in the long term, not to any extreme, but enough so that we can satisfy most of the pillars, most of the time,” says Dr Brown.
I’m not sure Bryan Johnson would give Kate Tolo the same free pass.
