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How far would you go to look and feel younger for longer? Would you remove all the blood from your body, wash it out, and then replace it?
There are a growing number of longevity clinics helping the wealthy slow the ageing process through rigorous testing, personalised diets and exercise plans – provided you have more than £50,000 a year to spare. I don’t have the budget of a multi-millionaire, but at 50 I am in the throes of perimenopause, with brain fog, hot flushes and sleep disturbances.
So can a longevity clinic help me? I tested four of London’s most exclusive private health clubs to find out…
Change the stress
apply.health, membership from £5,950 per year
Mayfair-based Solice offers everything from a 24/7 healthcare service to cutting-edge alternative therapies such as sound healing and physiotherapy. Membership starts at £5,950 a year and goes up to £54,000 a year for additional services such as personalised dietary services and a car to collect you for your consultation.
The clinic feels like a billionaire’s pad. I’m greeted by founders Dr Liza Osagie-Clouard, orthopaedic surgeon and longevity guru Dr Tamsin Lewis, and given extensive blood tests.
Membership starts at £5,950 per year and goes up to £54,000 per year for extra services, including personalised dietary services and a car to collect you for your consultation. The clinic looks like a billionaire’s flat.
When I got the results three weeks later, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that, according to a test that measures telomeres, protein structures that shorten and wear away with age, I am eight years younger than my actual age. And, thanks to taking Ozempic for the past year, I also noticed that my cholesterol level, which was previously high at 6.6, had dropped to 5.6.
However, the Dutch test that measures hormonal balance reveals that I am stressed, I breathe shallowly and I have depleted cortisol levels. This explains why I am so tired, as a low cortisol level can lead to low blood pressure (which is what I have), joint pains and low mood – cortisol is responsible for regulating blood pressure and the immune system and also affects our energy levels.
I was prescribed a course of breathwork classes, with guru Rob Rhea, whom fans call a natural psychedelic, to lower my blood pressure and relax my nervous system.
Lying on a heated infrared mat, I breathe through my mouth in a series of intense exercises. After five minutes I feel nauseous and dizzy, but I persevere. Then I feel a fizzing sensation under my palms, as if I were holding two large spheres of energy. After the session, my brain fog clears. And for the next week I sleep more deeply and longer—eight hours instead of the usual six. A blessing.
Economic advice: Why not download the ‘Breath with James’ app from self-proclaimed ‘nervous system professor’ James Dolwer and follow his classes?
The brain impulse
Hooke.london, from £15,000
Founded by former hedge fund manager Lev Mikheev, the Hooke Clinic serves concerned wealthy individuals with advanced diagnostic tests.
For an initial fee of £15,000, a comprehensive work-up is carried out, including an ultrasound of the major organs, a colonoscopy, an endoscopy, blood tests, a mammogram, an electrocardiogram and whole genome sequencing, among other tests.
These tests detect the risk of cancer, diabetes and heart disease long before the NHS does. Early detection is key to ensuring an additional 20 to 30 years of optimal health, according to the clinic.
Olivia Falcon was hooked up to a computer to assess her brain processing ability
I sign up for Hooke’s signature new test, the WAVi scan (£250, for members), an electroencephalogram (EEG) that helps diagnose conditions such as ADHD, sleep disorders, chronic fatigue syndrome and dementia. WAVi looks like a cycling helmet, but contains electrodes applied to the scalp.
I am hooked up to a computer to test my brain’s processing ability. The first test measures brain voltage and reaction time and I am asked to click with the computer mouse on arrows flashing on the screen.
My brain reaction time is fast, meaning my senses (sight, hearing, and touch), which inevitably decline with age, are in good working order, but my ratio of theta (slow) to beta (fast) waves is unbalanced, indicating anxiety and stress. I have no history of anxiety, although the week I took this test I was worried about my workload.
Hooke believes the best way to improve brain function is through personalized nutrition and physical activity at their state-of-the-art gym, which they say is clinically proven to outperform “brain exercises.”
Economic advice: Commit to exercising regularly and eating more protein-rich foods and colorful fruits and vegetables.
Fast track to fitness
Surrenne.com, annual membership from £10,000 plus £5,000 joining fee
Beneath the Emory hotel in Knightsbridge, the Surrenne private club is part spa, part clinic and part gym. There’s a pool that emits underwater meditation mantras and a snow shower.
I head to Tracy Anderson’s (trainer to J Lo and Gywneth Paltrow) first UK gym, which is heated to 30 degrees to detoxify the skin. I start with an iso-kentic bands class which involves a pulley system with coloured latex bands suspended from the ceiling to increase cardiovascular function whilst sculpting lean muscle.
Olivia tries an iso-kentic band class that involves a pulley system of colored latex bands.
I then try blood flow restriction training (BRT), which costs £165 a session. During the twenty-minute weight training session, my arms and legs are strapped with electronic bracelets that restrict 30 per cent of my blood flow, meaning my muscles have to work harder. A small amount of exercise with a big impact on the body – it’s a lazy girl’s dream. The workout is quite painful – my muscles burn and ache – but thankfully the short duration makes it semi-bearable.
Economic advice: If you want to try BRT at home, you can buy blood flow restriction bands from £10 on Amazon.co.uk, and I would recommend investing in the electronic bracelets (£199 uk.saga.fitness)
Clean the blood
thegalenclinic.com, consultations from £500
The Galen Clinic is a luxury townhouse converted into a multidisciplinary wellness clinic in Marylebone. Founded by plastic surgeon Dr Andreas Androulakakis, patients enjoy architectural light installations and a polished marble bar serving mood-boosting mushroom teas, plus a state-of-the-art operating theatre for mini facelifts and breast and body contouring and a dermatology clinic.
Olivia undergoes EBO2 therapy (Extracorporeal Blood Oxygenation and Ozonation)
Olivia, pictured at the Galen clinic, says her personal trainer has noticed she is putting in a lot more effort at the gym.
I’m trying EBO2 (extracorporeal blood oxygenation and ozonation therapy; from £3500). A dialysis-like treatment, where blood is drawn from my arm and injected with oxygen and ozone for the maximum energy boost.
It is then passed through ultraviolet and infrared light to calm inflammation and filtered to remove fats, cholesterol, heavy metals, mold, dead diseased cells and Beta 2 microglobin, a cellular protein associated with cancers and inflammatory diseases.
Although 99% of my blood is strengthened within an hour, only 10% leaves the body at a time. I felt tired at first, but woke up the next morning at 3 a.m. wanting to sleep for another four hours. Fans of the treatment claim that stimulating cells in this way can provide a much younger person with energy reserves.
Four weeks later, my personal trainer has noticed that I’m pushing myself harder at the gym and haven’t suffered from my usual 4pm burnout.
Economic advice: Unfortunately there is no cheaper alternative, but I am so convinced of the results that I am going to save up and do it again.