|Reſlections| There’s More to Life … The future – one in which the process of getting old can be slowed with medically proven therapies – has arrived. Here’s a look at the global clinics and resorts where “antiageing” is far more than a buzzword. By Mary Holland ILLUSTRATION PATRIK SVENSSON 58 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM
We used to think that ageing was totally out of our control; that hip replacements and dementia were inevitable. Sure, we could do things to slightly mitigate; exercising, sleeping well and limiting alcohol are known to help slow the ageing process, and Botox can certainly help us look younger, but there was no avoiding the unavoidable. Or at least, that used to be the case. The global anti-ageing market is booming. Estimated to be valued at billion, it’s expected to grow by 6.5 per cent between 2023 and 2028. Discoveries have been fuelled by a rise in research, funded by high-flyers such as Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Peter Thiel, who have invested millions. “We know more about longevity in the last three to five years than we’ve learned in all of human history combined,” says Darshan Shah, MD and founder and CEO of Next|Health, health optimisation and longevity centres in the US. Ten years ago, Shah would have seen around 10 scientific papers published on this topic a month, now he’s seeing 10 or 15 papers coming out per week. “We're discovering this stuff rapid-fire now,” he adds. Further driving demand are best-selling books and podcasts launched by longevity pioneers such as Harvard genetics professor David Sinclair and the Canadian-American physician Peter Attia, making information readily available to everyone. “Years ago, who would have sat through a Stanford lecture for two hours?” asks Shah. “It’s more than just ‘eat better, sleep well and exercise’,” says Tamsin Lewis, MD and medical director at RoseBar at Six Senses in Spain. While those are still key pillars, people are now looking to more advanced practices to slow the ageing process: biohacking, such as hot and cold therapies, nutritional interventions, techniques for optimising exercise and sleep, and tools for addressing emotional and mental health – as well as treatments like stem-cell therapy and exosomes therapy to repair damaged cells. CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM 59
