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Healthy ageing: A three-step plan to live longer
Summary
Yes, there’s a lot of hype around ‘longevity programmes’ and anti-ageing treatments, but there is no replacement for sleep, diet and exercise to live longerIt took two personal tragedies for Prashant Desai, 54, to adopt a healthier lifestyle. “I’d lost my father, when I was a kid, owing to a heart disease but losing my brother to a heart attack in 2014, when he was only 35, was a jolt," the Mumbai-based entrepreneur recalls. That loss pushed Desai to seek solutions for leading a healthier life. The motivation came from the acute responsibility he felt for his daughter and his niece. “As a child growing up without a father, my early years were rather painful and I didn’t want the girls to experience that," he says. Soon, Desai’s pursuit turned into a passion that upended his life—in a good way.
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“I found myself going down a rabbit hole and learning all I could about healthy ageing," he says. Desai’s “education" included reading voraciously and interacting with proponents of longevity science like David Sinclair. He took short-term online courses such as “Health & Wellness: Designing a Sustainable Nutrition Plan", taught by the Harvard Medical School and “Exercise Physiology" and “Gut Health and the Microbiome" at Stanford University School of Medicine. Today, Desai doles out self-taught information on “nutrition, gut health and exercise physiology" to his one million followers on his Instagram handle @itsprashantdesai.
As a health seeker, Desai is not entirely alone. There is a growing tribe of people in the country, in the 30s-50s cohort who are looking for solutions to age healthily. Some take the time-tested, longer route of watching their diet and exercise, and others put their faith in the latest anti-ageing treatments, such as hyperbaric oxygen treatment, or intravenous therapy (IV therapy, where a combination of essential nutrients are infused into the bloodstream through an intravenous drip), and longevity programmes that are yet to deliver quantifiable results.
“The word ‘longevity’ has entered the zeitgeist," says Dr Marcus Ranney, 40, a longevity physician and founder & CEO of Human Edge. Headquartered in Mumbai, the digital health startup he founded in 2020 offers “customised longevity programmes", which are, in reality, guidance on diet, exercise and taking a host of supplements.
“Around 90% of the clients who come to our clinic are aspirational Indians, between 30-50, who are entering a phase of life where health has become their big priority. These people are entrepreneurs, Bollywood celebrities, corporate leaders and homemakers, who are looking at trends in the West (such as cryotherapy or the expensive and unregulated stem cell therapy) and seeking similar solutions here," he says.
Early this year, the smart-tech-enabled healthcare platform GOQii released its annual India Fit report. Titled Thriving at any Age: The Blueprint for Healthy Longevity, the report threw up a mixed bag of results based on a survey of six million users — from teens to 60+ living across 16 cities— of the app. While stress and lifestyle diseases like diabetes and high BP continue to be major causes of concern, a positive change was a drop in the percentage of overweight people (those with a BMI between 25 to 29.9), from 43% in 2021 to 38% in 2023. Health and wellness behaviours in India are evolving, says Vishal Gondal, founder and CEO of GOQii. “There is increased health consciousness among those in their 20s and 30, who are now adopting preventive measures earlier in life. And individuals in their 30s-50s are planning for a healthy old age by maintaining active lifestyles."
Routines for Slow Ageing
For Rukmini Bobde, 42, a Supreme Court lawyer, a slew of health issues that hit her at the onset of her 40s, including vocal cords paralysis and pachymeningitis, forced her to take stock of her situation. “Your 40s are when there’s more pressure on you. You are at the peak of your career, you have a family to take care of, and you also want to lead a socially active life," she says.
Bobde hired a personal trainer, switched routines to add calisthenics and jogging along with yoga to improve her fitness levels. Breathing and meditation became a part of the daily routine too. “Practising yoga, breathing and meditation helped me face my health problems. Now, they help me calmly face whatever the day throws at me," she says.
As proponents of the science of longevity, Desai and Ranney, too, follow protocols to age actively. Desai’s self-designed health protocol factors in sleep, diet, exercise and supplements. “Sleep is important to me, and I track it like a hawk on my Whoop (a fitness and health wearable). I exercise six days a week, where three days are spent on cardio, two on strength training and one day is focused on exercises to improve stability." As for nutrition, protein remains a constant in his meals as do vegetables. “In addition, I eat ghee every single day. It’s a superfood and the most stubborn fat burner," he says. The supplements he takes include B12, omega-3, magnesium citrate and vitamin D.
Sleep and exercise figure prominently in Ranney’s daily routine too, but what stands out is the micro-nutrient regime he follows. “I have a number of micronutrients that I consume throughout the day," he says pointing to the cup in his hand. “I am right now drinking a mix of 5g of collagen, 3g of creatine and 400mgm of magnesium," he says, before adding that his house is stocked with biohacking devices such as yellow lens glasses, red light wands, hydrogenated water and a chill tub in the shower (see box). “I believe that practising simple habits or biohacks consistently can deliver great results over a longer period of time," he says.
Healing Cells
In 2020, a study by researchers at Israel’s Shamir Medical Centre found that hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) helped reverse the ageing process at the cellular level. Spearheaded by Shai Efrati, an associate professor at the Tel Aviv University and a doctor at the centre, the study was conducted on a group of 63 participants aged over 65. Thirty-five of them were exposed to over 60 hyperbaric sessions, inhaling pure oxygen for two hours a day, five times a week, for three months. The analysis of their blood samples taken before, during and after the treatment showed that telomeres (chromosome ends) had lengthened between 20-38% and the accumulation of old, non-functioning cells had reduced by 11-37%.
It’s the only study done till date on the efficacy of HBOT on humans, and therefore, not the final word on the treatment. However, it is Efrati’s study that The Wellness Co., an integrative wellness clinic chain with branches in Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, quotes to explain the benefits of their hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
“Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a non-invasive modality that can help you fight the harmful effects of air pollution, post-covid effects and reduce inflammation," claims Rishabh Jain, co-founder of the company. The treatment involves lying in a narrow chamber and inhaling pure oxygen at a higher, programmed pressure for 60-90 minutes. The time may be shorter if you are trying it for the first time to assess how comfortable you are with the process.
Priced ₹6,000 plus taxes per session, Jain says that it is one of the more popular treatments in the clinic. “Besides individual concerns and weight loss, longevity is a key reason why people come to us. We design programmes and protocols based on in-depth consultations," says the 25-year-old.
At Human Edge, Ranney offers a longevity programme called “Ever" that claims to help people slow biological ageing. The month-long package gets you a health kit and analysis of 200 plus biomarkers, plans for your diet, movement and rest, and a kit of supplements. It also entails continuous monitoring of your sleep, weight and heart health. The programme, based on functional medicine principles, is similar to those offered in longevity clinics in Switzerland or London, where for a pretty penny, you have an army of doctors going right down to your cells to design a protocol unique to you. There are no studies that have been done to see if any of them work, probably because it’s only a small percentage of people— think tech billionaires—doing it.
And so, while plans like these entice people with their tall promises of slowing biological ageing, the question remains: Is there a magic pill to delay ageing?
No, says Desai. “It’s going to take years before longevity treatments become viable and commercially available to all of us. Right now, based on the conversations I’ve had with scientists in the field, it really boils down to having your foundation in place." What does this foundation rest on? “Sleep, diet and exercise." And back to the basics we go to live longer and better. For now.
Biohacking Devices
Yellow lens or Amber tinted glasses: These glasses help block out blue light emitted by digital devices. This supports the body’s melatonin production and enables deep sleep.
Red light wands: Non-invasive hand-held devices used on the face and neck to reduce inflammation, minimise wrinkles and boost collagen production using low-wavelength red light.
Hydrogenated water: Pure water infused with extra hydrogen molecules, it is believed to reduce oxidative stress, enhance athletic performance and have anti-ageing benefits. There is no conclusive research to prove this.
A chill tub: Used in cold immersion therapy where you sit in ice-cold water for a few minutes. Touted benefits of this therapy include reduced muscle soreness, improved circulation and reduced stress and anxiety.
Note: All products are available in India, but the spectrum of options is wide and confusing, so do due diligence and consult experts before investing. Research on the efficacy of these methods is not conclusive.
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