ANTI-AGING OR AGING BACKWARDS

Looking at Hollywood alone, it’s clear that there is a rhetoric of anti-aging that is embodied largely but not exclusively, by its celebrity populus. The desire to look forever young is fulfilled (at least to some extent) by many plastic surgeon and aesthetician applied techniques and remedies of varying degrees and dramatic results. However, it’s one thing to look younger on the outside, but what about the inside – does it actually matter if the exterior doesn’t match the interior? Ultimately yes it does, and the health of your body is dependent on how you treat the inside i.e., the more you nourish your body by eating healthily, drinking enough water, and getting sufficient sleep will help with your longevity in general, but will also ensure that your skin reflects this and maintains a healthier hue and ages slower. Of course, it also helps if you avoid things like prolonged sun exposure and damage and don’t partake in substances such as alcohol or drugs too.

In an age of social media though, people are going to extremes in order to secure a youthful appearance, even if it verges on the edge of looking unnatural. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a movie based on the short story by F Scott Fitzgerald that starred Brad Pitt and was about a man who lives a life in which he ages backwards. The ‘Benjamin Button’ effect has been sought after globally by those who wish to look younger than they are, or at the very least pause the aging process as much as possible. To be clear, it is impossible to stop aging altogether – it is a natural process.

There are some that believe it can be done, though at an immense expense. One such believer is tech entrepreneur and centimillionaire Bryan Johnson. He has a team of over 30 doctors dedicated to his cause of “rebooting his body” and taking it back to 18 years old. It only costs an estimated whopping $2 million a year. It’s not just celebrities that have been in the pursuit of evading time and maintaining insane levels of fitness, major athletes do too and invest substantial amounts of time and money into this maintenance including the likes of Novak Djokovic and LeBron James.

Bryan Johnson and his team of doctors are determined to “reverse aging in every one of his organs.” His team is led by Doctor Oliver Zolman who specializes in regenerative medicine and supports Johnson’s super strict and prescriptive daily routine. The routine consists of taking over 100 different supplements as well as a very specific calorific intake of exactly 1977 calories per day from a vegan diet as well as a wakeup call of 5am daily. Johnson is adamant so far that his current routine has already shaved 5 years off his age – experts remain skeptical, understandably so. His routine also contains an hour of exercise a day broken down into 25 specific exercises with three high intensity workout sessions on top of this weekly. It is important to note that too much of a good thing can be a bad thing and that is why it is crucial that everything is done in moderation – including maintaining some body fat which is important for cardiac functions.

While Johnson’s regime is interesting and the long-term effects have yet to be seen, it is also incredibly expensive and certainly not one for the everyday person.