朱莉·吉布森·克拉克從不指望昂貴的醫(yī)療,、各種小玩意或科學(xué)家團(tuán)隊(duì)“生物破解”自己的年齡,。她堅(jiān)持多吃蔬菜、鍛煉和冥想,。健康方面最大的支出是每月27美元的健身房會(huì)員和每月79美元的保健品。
這位55歲的單身母親住在美國(guó)亞利桑那州菲尼克斯,,當(dāng)克拉克得知自己在網(wǎng)絡(luò)長(zhǎng)壽競(jìng)賽“重返青春奧運(yùn)會(huì)”(Rejuvenation Olympics)中全球排名第二位時(shí),,她非常驚訝。該競(jìng)賽跟蹤并為約4,000名參賽者的“生物”衰老速度排名,。排名主要根據(jù)表觀遺傳學(xué)DNA測(cè)試,,可以從中深入了解環(huán)境和生活方式對(duì)人類基因的影響??死俗钚聹y(cè)試的結(jié)果顯示,,每過(guò)一年她會(huì)衰老0.665歲,測(cè)試會(huì)計(jì)算參與者六個(gè)月或更長(zhǎng)時(shí)間后衰老速度得分的平均值,。
在排行榜上,,克拉克比美國(guó)最著名的生物黑客之一的排名還要靠前。有報(bào)道稱,,生物技術(shù)企業(yè)家,、億萬(wàn)富翁布萊恩·約翰遜每年在抗衰老方面花費(fèi)200萬(wàn)美元,包括每天服用數(shù)十粒藥物,,還有30名醫(yī)生組成的保健團(tuán)隊(duì),。約翰遜是這份排行榜的聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人,,目前排名第六位。
近年來(lái),,長(zhǎng)壽市場(chǎng)逐漸興起,,如今規(guī)模超過(guò)260億美元,估計(jì)未來(lái)不到十年會(huì)接近翻一番,。近來(lái)提供全身掃描,、預(yù)防醫(yī)學(xué)建議、保健品和鍛煉方案的精品診所激增,,也讓一直以來(lái)硅谷流行的追求長(zhǎng)壽不再局限于小眾市場(chǎng),。隨著高端醫(yī)療保健行業(yè)的蓬勃發(fā)展,以前用戶總體偏向男性,,如今女性的人數(shù)和影響力也在增加,。
《財(cái)富》雜志采訪了幾位在抵抗衰老影響方面比較成功的女性,發(fā)現(xiàn)很多人拒絕接受“生物黑客”這一說(shuō)法和概念,。她們介紹了如何用自己的方式定義長(zhǎng)壽的目標(biāo)——往往更追求全面的身心健康,。一些人感覺(jué)比較排斥傳統(tǒng)醫(yī)學(xué)和研究,更愿意將健康掌握在自己的手中,。不少人表示,,追求長(zhǎng)壽的初衷是想跟愛(ài)的人和關(guān)心的人多在一起。
“像刷牙一樣”
克拉克既沒(méi)有時(shí)間也沒(méi)有資源跟科技界著名的生物黑客相比,。據(jù)報(bào)道,,推特(Twitter)的前首席執(zhí)行官杰克·多爾西每天冥想兩小時(shí),徒步5英里(約8.047千米),,每天洗桑拿和冰水?。籅ulletproof的創(chuàng)始人戴夫·阿斯普雷深信生物振動(dòng)平臺(tái)和冷凍治療室等高科技療法,,他經(jīng)常說(shuō)打算活到180歲,。
克拉克說(shuō),她的方法要超越“黑客”這一概念,?!拔也幌矚g這個(gè)詞?!睆氖抡衅腹ぷ鞯目死藢?duì)《財(cái)富》雜志表示,,自己的收入不到10萬(wàn)美元。她認(rèn)為自己“有健康意識(shí)”,,不過(guò)當(dāng)她得知在排行榜上的排名時(shí)(她提交生物標(biāo)志物的渠道是長(zhǎng)壽產(chǎn)品公司NOVOS的一項(xiàng)臨床研究,,她從該公司購(gòu)買保健品),“還是驚訝得‘哇’了一聲?!彼a(bǔ)充道,,“也證明了追求長(zhǎng)壽這種事情其實(shí)就像刷牙一樣?!?/p>
克拉克的每一天從凌晨4點(diǎn)45分到5點(diǎn)之間開(kāi)始,。送17歲的兒子上學(xué)之后,,去健身房做力量和有氧運(yùn)動(dòng)。一夜禁食約16個(gè)小時(shí),,上午10點(diǎn)至11點(diǎn)之間吃第一頓飯,。克拉克喜歡先蒸20分鐘桑拿再洗個(gè)冷水澡,,每周至少三次,。工作時(shí)她每天吃16盎司(約453.59克)的蔬菜,其中包括生芹菜,、蘿卜,、胡蘿卜、辣椒和白灼西蘭花,,還有沙拉或湯,。下午早些時(shí)候,她會(huì)冥想20分鐘,。
克拉克之所以下定決心從根本上改善健康,,主要是因?yàn)槭嗄昵耙淮慰只诺慕?jīng)歷:她感覺(jué)早晨起床困難,經(jīng)常疲勞,,頭發(fā)也掉得很快,。后來(lái)檢測(cè)出重金屬中毒,部分原因是大學(xué)學(xué)陶瓷專業(yè)時(shí),,混合有毒釉料沒(méi)戴口罩。治療病情期間,,她也開(kāi)始關(guān)注自己的健康,。
她說(shuō),十幾歲的兒子是最大的動(dòng)力,?!拔蚁氡M可能多陪在他身邊?!彼嬖V《財(cái)富》雜志,。“盡量減少衰老造成的負(fù)面影響,?!?/p>
追求長(zhǎng)壽熱背后的思潮
過(guò)去十年中,,逾4萬(wàn)億美元的健康行業(yè)快速增長(zhǎng),主要由女性消費(fèi)者推動(dòng),。但在更大的健康框架內(nèi),,近年來(lái)大規(guī)模發(fā)展的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)性、注重效果的追求長(zhǎng)壽的活動(dòng)更多偏向男性,。
Primetime Partners的管理合伙人,、創(chuàng)始人阿比·利維主要投資支持健康老齡化的保健公司,他表示:“在談?wù)撻L(zhǎng)壽經(jīng)濟(jì)時(shí),,經(jīng)常是指‘不老泉’神奇藥丸和渴望永生的男性領(lǐng)袖,,總是這種背景?!?/p>
一些人批評(píng)稱,,生物黑客似乎認(rèn)為衰老能夠當(dāng)成可以預(yù)防的疾病,而非不可避免的過(guò)程,,還指出衰老表現(xiàn)形式主要因素由遺傳決定,,不能僅看治療和生活方式的選擇。需要注意的是,,生物年齡測(cè)試相對(duì)較新,,市場(chǎng)上諸多測(cè)試的具體內(nèi)容各不相同,因此“有效性不同”,,精確程度也不一,,新加坡國(guó)立大學(xué)(National University of Singapore)健康長(zhǎng)壽中心(Centre for Healthy Longevity)的主任、Chi Longevity和健康長(zhǎng)壽協(xié)會(huì)(Chi Longevity and The Healthy Longevity Society)的創(chuàng)始人安德烈婭·梅爾表示,,健康長(zhǎng)壽協(xié)會(huì)負(fù)責(zé)為長(zhǎng)壽醫(yī)療機(jī)構(gòu)制定實(shí)證標(biāo)準(zhǔn),。
盡管如此,長(zhǎng)壽領(lǐng)域還是制造了一批明星,,其中很多人都持有長(zhǎng)壽業(yè)務(wù)公司,,或者是長(zhǎng)壽相關(guān)主題的作者和發(fā)言人。約翰遜,、大衛(wèi)·辛克萊和彼得·迪亞曼迪斯在20多歲時(shí)就投入時(shí)間和金錢(qián)嘗試生物黑客,,有時(shí)使用未經(jīng)證實(shí)存在爭(zhēng)議的療法,曾經(jīng)引起媒體的關(guān)注和嘲笑,。約翰遜最近因?yàn)樘岢瞿贻p血液療法而受到抨擊,,盡管美國(guó)食品與藥品管理局(FDA)警告稱存在潛在健康風(fēng)險(xiǎn)且缺乏臨床證據(jù),他還是將兒子的血漿輸入體內(nèi),,希望能夠減緩衰老,。
由于該領(lǐng)域太新,客戶群體性別細(xì)分的統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù)相對(duì)不足。盡管如此,,該領(lǐng)域幾家大型初創(chuàng)公司的客戶群表明,,用戶中男性居多。測(cè)試生物年齡的TruDiagnostic表示,,自2020年公司成立以來(lái)的30,000名“優(yōu)化工具”客戶群里,,男性占57%,女性占43%,。幫助約翰遜對(duì)抗衰老的醫(yī)生奧利弗·佐爾曼對(duì)《財(cái)富》雜志表示,,客戶中三分之二是男性。在追蹤生物健康指標(biāo)的應(yīng)用程序Groq Health上,,男性客戶占比為64%,。
當(dāng)約十年前尼古拉·康倫開(kāi)始參加長(zhǎng)壽科學(xué)會(huì)議時(shí),她告訴《財(cái)富》雜志,,性別差異極大,。“男性的主導(dǎo)地位非常非常明顯……這一領(lǐng)域的女性并不多,?!盢uchido公司的創(chuàng)始人康倫表示,該公司主要提供抗衰老保健品,?!伴L(zhǎng)壽行業(yè)初期吸引的人群可能是希望提升表現(xiàn),加強(qiáng)認(rèn)知功能等方面優(yōu)勢(shì)的人,。類似特征似乎天然比較吸引男性,。”
根據(jù)伊齊基爾·伊曼紐爾的假設(shè),,四五十歲的男性生物黑客的動(dòng)機(jī)是恐懼和自我,。“處在這一年齡,,男性氣概受到威脅,。身體開(kāi)始往下走?!彼麑?duì)《財(cái)富》雜志表示,。“也有努力跟后來(lái)者競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的感覺(jué),。”伊曼紐爾是賓夕法尼亞大學(xué)(University of Pennsylvania)佩雷爾曼醫(yī)學(xué)院(Perelman School of Medicine)醫(yī)療轉(zhuǎn)型研究所的聯(lián)合主任,,也是美國(guó)進(jìn)步中心(Center for American Progress)的高級(jí)研究員,。他曾經(jīng)撰寫(xiě)著名的專欄文章,講述為何希望在75歲時(shí)去世,而且一直對(duì)追求長(zhǎng)壽的行為持懷疑態(tài)度,。他告訴《財(cái)富》雜志:“每個(gè)人都想永葆年輕,,但不可能?!?/p>
50歲的波士頓營(yíng)養(yǎng)學(xué)家邁克爾·魯斯特加滕對(duì)《財(cái)富》雜志表示,,他認(rèn)為死亡是一種失敗,不過(guò)他承認(rèn),,“失敗是肯定的,,除非我能夠找到生物破解的方法?!濒斔固丶与嬖V《財(cái)富》雜志,,根據(jù)各種測(cè)試的平均值,他的生理年齡一直比實(shí)際小16歲到20歲,。每周有三天他在一個(gè)半小時(shí)內(nèi)吃掉90%的食物,,每年七次測(cè)試表觀遺傳年齡。自2015年以來(lái),,他已經(jīng)測(cè)了47次血液,,每天攝入85克纖維,每天早上5點(diǎn)左右起床,。
“我只是想讓曲線的平緩階段盡可能延長(zhǎng),,或者說(shuō)生理上盡可能延緩?!彼麑?duì)《財(cái)富》雜志表示,。“說(shuō)起早上起床的原因,,對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)是為了盡可能延長(zhǎng)生存時(shí)間,,盡可能保持健康,而且盡可能幫助他人實(shí)現(xiàn)同樣的目標(biāo),?!?/p>
他解釋道,在自己身上實(shí)驗(yàn)并與YouTube頻道上近2.2萬(wàn)名粉絲分享經(jīng)驗(yàn)可能有點(diǎn)讓人上癮,?!拔业目鞓?lè)在于解決一些沒(méi)有人弄清,或者很少有人弄清的事情,?!彼f(shuō)?!澳蔷褪俏业呐d奮劑,?!?/p>
女性是“長(zhǎng)壽運(yùn)動(dòng)的推動(dòng)者”
隨著追求長(zhǎng)壽活動(dòng)不斷壯大,越來(lái)越多的女性參與其中,,不過(guò)理由通常與男性不同,。在Tally Health的首席執(zhí)行官梅拉妮·戈?duì)柕峡磥?lái)非常明顯,該公司的業(yè)務(wù)是客戶提供表觀遺傳學(xué)年齡測(cè)試和預(yù)防性健康計(jì)劃,。2023年年初,,該公司的27萬(wàn)名候補(bǔ)名單中男性還占主導(dǎo)地位,如今其客戶群越發(fā)平衡:男性占53%,,女性占47%,。戈?duì)柕舷蚺钥蛻粲绕涫歉昶谂酝茝V產(chǎn)品時(shí),主要強(qiáng)調(diào)延長(zhǎng)健康壽命,,而不是一味對(duì)抗衰老,,迎合社會(huì)上偏好年輕外貌的標(biāo)準(zhǔn),即水靈靈光滑沒(méi)有皺紋的肌膚,。
“我認(rèn)為,,從成長(zhǎng)的角度來(lái)看,女性將是長(zhǎng)壽運(yùn)動(dòng)的重要推動(dòng)力量,?!备?duì)柕险f(shuō)?!芭允呛芏噘?gòu)買決策的制定者,。”事實(shí)上,,女性在醫(yī)療支出中占了很大的一部分,,而且仍然是家庭里主要的照顧者,很多人都夾在孩子和年邁的父母中間,。
尤其隨著職場(chǎng)女性年齡的增長(zhǎng),,很多人感覺(jué)應(yīng)該以其他方式補(bǔ)償才可以維持優(yōu)勢(shì)并獲得群體的尊重?!芭韵胱屚饷部雌饋?lái)更年輕的門(mén)檻要高得多,。”美國(guó)退休人員協(xié)會(huì)(American Association of Retired People)的高級(jí)顧問(wèn)希瑟·廷斯利-菲克斯此前告訴《財(cái)富》雜志,?!芭栽谀挲g歧視方面的門(mén)檻更高;她們比男性更早也更頻繁遭遇年齡歧視,?!?/p>
埃米·哈迪森在“重返青春奧運(yùn)會(huì)”排行榜上排名第五位,,每年衰老率為0.73,,她并沒(méi)有每天吃保健品,,也從未想過(guò)如何延長(zhǎng)壽命,,只是健康飲食,堅(jiān)持運(yùn)動(dòng),,與他人聯(lián)系以降低孤獨(dú)造成的健康風(fēng)險(xiǎn),。63歲的哈迪森希望壽命盡可能延長(zhǎng),,與四個(gè)孩子和11個(gè)孫子女一起生活,并盡可能長(zhǎng)時(shí)間保持身心健康,。
“我還有20年,也許25年左右,我只是在想,,怎樣才可以把接下來(lái)的時(shí)間過(guò)好?”哈迪森說(shuō),?!盎畹?4、85,、86,對(duì)我而言已經(jīng)很理想了,?!?/p>
哈迪森自己做飯,,選擇少加工的食物,。她還堅(jiān)持每天一小時(shí)有氧運(yùn)動(dòng),,包括游泳和橢圓儀——她說(shuō)過(guò)去50年來(lái)一直堅(jiān)持,。她很重視跟孩子和孫輩共度美好時(shí)光。她并非一味追求年輕,,她說(shuō):“我只是珍惜生活的經(jīng)歷,,珍惜年齡增長(zhǎng)后更成熟的視角,。”
哈迪森的女婿建議參加一項(xiàng)保健品試驗(yàn)時(shí),她略有些矛盾地開(kāi)始嘗試。她同意把檢測(cè)結(jié)果提交給“重返青春奧運(yùn)會(huì)”,,但花了兩個(gè)月的時(shí)間才意識(shí)到躋身前列的重要意義,。
“其實(shí)有些諷刺,因?yàn)槲覐膩?lái)沒(méi)有吃過(guò)維生素和保健品?!惫仙f(shuō),。“我63歲了,,活了好幾十年,,目睹很多事情發(fā)生發(fā)展。所以,,我不會(huì)對(duì)新鮮的偉大的事情太興奮,。”
尼科爾·布拉德福德熱衷投資健康,對(duì)衰老心理學(xué)特別感興趣,。她對(duì)《財(cái)富》雜志表示,,自己并不是“生物黑客”,盡管每月花700美元,,每天吃106粒藥,,每六個(gè)月抽血一次,書(shū)中每項(xiàng)生物年齡測(cè)試都參加,?!吧锖诳褪菢O為男性的行為?!辈祭赂5抡f(shuō)道,。她說(shuō),在她看來(lái),,長(zhǎng)壽不是競(jìng)爭(zhēng),。
布拉德福德表示,照顧患有進(jìn)行性心臟病的老年人期間就看得比較透徹,?!按蟾琶恐芪叶紩?huì)被提醒,如果不抓住機(jī)會(huì)認(rèn)真對(duì)待衰老會(huì)變成什么樣,?!彼f(shuō)?!拔疫^(guò)50歲關(guān)口時(shí),,最重要就是活力……確保我的活力與生活中創(chuàng)造的東西,以及我對(duì)世界的影響相稱,?!?/p>
十年過(guò)去,康倫再不會(huì)是長(zhǎng)壽論壇和研究小組中唯一的女性,。布拉德福德說(shuō)想活到115歲,,即便她最終超過(guò)該年齡不會(huì)驚訝??死吮硎?,期待兒子長(zhǎng)大成人,計(jì)劃兒子離家后環(huán)游世界,,也對(duì)保持活力充滿信心,。
“到最后車輪總會(huì)從公交車上掉下來(lái),我只想說(shuō):‘好吧,我的車輪不會(huì)掉得那么快,?!彼f(shuō)?!八晕視?huì)盡全力把公交車維護(hù)好,。”(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:夏林
朱莉·吉布森·克拉克從不指望昂貴的醫(yī)療,、各種小玩意或科學(xué)家團(tuán)隊(duì)“生物破解”自己的年齡,。她堅(jiān)持多吃蔬菜、鍛煉和冥想,。健康方面最大的支出是每月27美元的健身房會(huì)員和每月79美元的保健品,。
這位55歲的單身母親住在美國(guó)亞利桑那州菲尼克斯,當(dāng)克拉克得知自己在網(wǎng)絡(luò)長(zhǎng)壽競(jìng)賽“重返青春奧運(yùn)會(huì)”(Rejuvenation Olympics)中全球排名第二位時(shí),,她非常驚訝,。該競(jìng)賽跟蹤并為約4,000名參賽者的“生物”衰老速度排名。排名主要根據(jù)表觀遺傳學(xué)DNA測(cè)試,,可以從中深入了解環(huán)境和生活方式對(duì)人類基因的影響,。克拉克最新測(cè)試的結(jié)果顯示,,每過(guò)一年她會(huì)衰老0.665歲,,測(cè)試會(huì)計(jì)算參與者六個(gè)月或更長(zhǎng)時(shí)間后衰老速度得分的平均值。
在排行榜上,,克拉克比美國(guó)最著名的生物黑客之一的排名還要靠前。有報(bào)道稱,,生物技術(shù)企業(yè)家,、億萬(wàn)富翁布萊恩·約翰遜每年在抗衰老方面花費(fèi)200萬(wàn)美元,包括每天服用數(shù)十粒藥物,,還有30名醫(yī)生組成的保健團(tuán)隊(duì),。約翰遜是這份排行榜的聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人,目前排名第六位,。
近年來(lái),,長(zhǎng)壽市場(chǎng)逐漸興起,如今規(guī)模超過(guò)260億美元,,估計(jì)未來(lái)不到十年會(huì)接近翻一番,。近來(lái)提供全身掃描、預(yù)防醫(yī)學(xué)建議,、保健品和鍛煉方案的精品診所激增,,也讓一直以來(lái)硅谷流行的追求長(zhǎng)壽不再局限于小眾市場(chǎng)。隨著高端醫(yī)療保健行業(yè)的蓬勃發(fā)展,以前用戶總體偏向男性,,如今女性的人數(shù)和影響力也在增加,。
《財(cái)富》雜志采訪了幾位在抵抗衰老影響方面比較成功的女性,發(fā)現(xiàn)很多人拒絕接受“生物黑客”這一說(shuō)法和概念,。她們介紹了如何用自己的方式定義長(zhǎng)壽的目標(biāo)——往往更追求全面的身心健康,。一些人感覺(jué)比較排斥傳統(tǒng)醫(yī)學(xué)和研究,更愿意將健康掌握在自己的手中,。不少人表示,,追求長(zhǎng)壽的初衷是想跟愛(ài)的人和關(guān)心的人多在一起。
“像刷牙一樣”
克拉克既沒(méi)有時(shí)間也沒(méi)有資源跟科技界著名的生物黑客相比,。據(jù)報(bào)道,,推特(Twitter)的前首席執(zhí)行官杰克·多爾西每天冥想兩小時(shí),徒步5英里(約8.047千米),,每天洗桑拿和冰水?。籅ulletproof的創(chuàng)始人戴夫·阿斯普雷深信生物振動(dòng)平臺(tái)和冷凍治療室等高科技療法,,他經(jīng)常說(shuō)打算活到180歲,。
克拉克說(shuō),她的方法要超越“黑客”這一概念,?!拔也幌矚g這個(gè)詞?!睆氖抡衅腹ぷ鞯目死藢?duì)《財(cái)富》雜志表示,,自己的收入不到10萬(wàn)美元。她認(rèn)為自己“有健康意識(shí)”,,不過(guò)當(dāng)她得知在排行榜上的排名時(shí)(她提交生物標(biāo)志物的渠道是長(zhǎng)壽產(chǎn)品公司NOVOS的一項(xiàng)臨床研究,,她從該公司購(gòu)買保健品),“還是驚訝得‘哇’了一聲,?!彼a(bǔ)充道,“也證明了追求長(zhǎng)壽這種事情其實(shí)就像刷牙一樣,?!?/p>
克拉克的每一天從凌晨4點(diǎn)45分到5點(diǎn)之間開(kāi)始。送17歲的兒子上學(xué)之后,,去健身房做力量和有氧運(yùn)動(dòng),。一夜禁食約16個(gè)小時(shí),上午10點(diǎn)至11點(diǎn)之間吃第一頓飯,??死讼矚g先蒸20分鐘桑拿再洗個(gè)冷水澡,,每周至少三次。工作時(shí)她每天吃16盎司(約453.59克)的蔬菜,,其中包括生芹菜,、蘿卜、胡蘿卜,、辣椒和白灼西蘭花,,還有沙拉或湯。下午早些時(shí)候,,她會(huì)冥想20分鐘,。
克拉克之所以下定決心從根本上改善健康,主要是因?yàn)槭嗄昵耙淮慰只诺慕?jīng)歷:她感覺(jué)早晨起床困難,,經(jīng)常疲勞,,頭發(fā)也掉得很快。后來(lái)檢測(cè)出重金屬中毒,,部分原因是大學(xué)學(xué)陶瓷專業(yè)時(shí),,混合有毒釉料沒(méi)戴口罩。治療病情期間,,她也開(kāi)始關(guān)注自己的健康,。
她說(shuō),十幾歲的兒子是最大的動(dòng)力,?!拔蚁氡M可能多陪在他身邊?!彼嬖V《財(cái)富》雜志,。“盡量減少衰老造成的負(fù)面影響,?!?/p>
追求長(zhǎng)壽熱背后的思潮
過(guò)去十年中,逾4萬(wàn)億美元的健康行業(yè)快速增長(zhǎng),,主要由女性消費(fèi)者推動(dòng)。但在更大的健康框架內(nèi),,近年來(lái)大規(guī)模發(fā)展的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)性,、注重效果的追求長(zhǎng)壽的活動(dòng)更多偏向男性。
Primetime Partners的管理合伙人,、創(chuàng)始人阿比·利維主要投資支持健康老齡化的保健公司,,他表示:“在談?wù)撻L(zhǎng)壽經(jīng)濟(jì)時(shí),經(jīng)常是指‘不老泉’神奇藥丸和渴望永生的男性領(lǐng)袖,,總是這種背景,?!?/p>
一些人批評(píng)稱,生物黑客似乎認(rèn)為衰老能夠當(dāng)成可以預(yù)防的疾病,,而非不可避免的過(guò)程,,還指出衰老表現(xiàn)形式主要因素由遺傳決定,不能僅看治療和生活方式的選擇,。需要注意的是,,生物年齡測(cè)試相對(duì)較新,市場(chǎng)上諸多測(cè)試的具體內(nèi)容各不相同,,因此“有效性不同”,,精確程度也不一,新加坡國(guó)立大學(xué)(National University of Singapore)健康長(zhǎng)壽中心(Centre for Healthy Longevity)的主任,、Chi Longevity和健康長(zhǎng)壽協(xié)會(huì)(Chi Longevity and The Healthy Longevity Society)的創(chuàng)始人安德烈婭·梅爾表示,,健康長(zhǎng)壽協(xié)會(huì)負(fù)責(zé)為長(zhǎng)壽醫(yī)療機(jī)構(gòu)制定實(shí)證標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。
盡管如此,,長(zhǎng)壽領(lǐng)域還是制造了一批明星,,其中很多人都持有長(zhǎng)壽業(yè)務(wù)公司,或者是長(zhǎng)壽相關(guān)主題的作者和發(fā)言人,。約翰遜,、大衛(wèi)·辛克萊和彼得·迪亞曼迪斯在20多歲時(shí)就投入時(shí)間和金錢(qián)嘗試生物黑客,有時(shí)使用未經(jīng)證實(shí)存在爭(zhēng)議的療法,,曾經(jīng)引起媒體的關(guān)注和嘲笑,。約翰遜最近因?yàn)樘岢瞿贻p血液療法而受到抨擊,盡管美國(guó)食品與藥品管理局(FDA)警告稱存在潛在健康風(fēng)險(xiǎn)且缺乏臨床證據(jù),,他還是將兒子的血漿輸入體內(nèi),,希望能夠減緩衰老。
由于該領(lǐng)域太新,,客戶群體性別細(xì)分的統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù)相對(duì)不足,。盡管如此,該領(lǐng)域幾家大型初創(chuàng)公司的客戶群表明,,用戶中男性居多,。測(cè)試生物年齡的TruDiagnostic表示,自2020年公司成立以來(lái)的30,000名“優(yōu)化工具”客戶群里,,男性占57%,,女性占43%。幫助約翰遜對(duì)抗衰老的醫(yī)生奧利弗·佐爾曼對(duì)《財(cái)富》雜志表示,,客戶中三分之二是男性,。在追蹤生物健康指標(biāo)的應(yīng)用程序Groq Health上,男性客戶占比為64%,。
當(dāng)約十年前尼古拉·康倫開(kāi)始參加長(zhǎng)壽科學(xué)會(huì)議時(shí),她告訴《財(cái)富》雜志,,性別差異極大,?!澳行缘闹鲗?dǎo)地位非常非常明顯……這一領(lǐng)域的女性并不多,?!盢uchido公司的創(chuàng)始人康倫表示,該公司主要提供抗衰老保健品,?!伴L(zhǎng)壽行業(yè)初期吸引的人群可能是希望提升表現(xiàn),,加強(qiáng)認(rèn)知功能等方面優(yōu)勢(shì)的人。類似特征似乎天然比較吸引男性,。”
根據(jù)伊齊基爾·伊曼紐爾的假設(shè),,四五十歲的男性生物黑客的動(dòng)機(jī)是恐懼和自我,?!疤幵谶@一年齡,男性氣概受到威脅,。身體開(kāi)始往下走?!彼麑?duì)《財(cái)富》雜志表示,。“也有努力跟后來(lái)者競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的感覺(jué),。”伊曼紐爾是賓夕法尼亞大學(xué)(University of Pennsylvania)佩雷爾曼醫(yī)學(xué)院(Perelman School of Medicine)醫(yī)療轉(zhuǎn)型研究所的聯(lián)合主任,,也是美國(guó)進(jìn)步中心(Center for American Progress)的高級(jí)研究員,。他曾經(jīng)撰寫(xiě)著名的專欄文章,,講述為何希望在75歲時(shí)去世,而且一直對(duì)追求長(zhǎng)壽的行為持懷疑態(tài)度,。他告訴《財(cái)富》雜志:“每個(gè)人都想永葆年輕,,但不可能,?!?/p>
50歲的波士頓營(yíng)養(yǎng)學(xué)家邁克爾·魯斯特加滕對(duì)《財(cái)富》雜志表示,,他認(rèn)為死亡是一種失敗,不過(guò)他承認(rèn),,“失敗是肯定的,除非我能夠找到生物破解的方法,?!濒斔固丶与嬖V《財(cái)富》雜志,,根據(jù)各種測(cè)試的平均值,,他的生理年齡一直比實(shí)際小16歲到20歲。每周有三天他在一個(gè)半小時(shí)內(nèi)吃掉90%的食物,,每年七次測(cè)試表觀遺傳年齡,。自2015年以來(lái),他已經(jīng)測(cè)了47次血液,每天攝入85克纖維,,每天早上5點(diǎn)左右起床。
“我只是想讓曲線的平緩階段盡可能延長(zhǎng),,或者說(shuō)生理上盡可能延緩,。”他對(duì)《財(cái)富》雜志表示,?!罢f(shuō)起早上起床的原因,對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)是為了盡可能延長(zhǎng)生存時(shí)間,,盡可能保持健康,,而且盡可能幫助他人實(shí)現(xiàn)同樣的目標(biāo)?!?/p>
他解釋道,,在自己身上實(shí)驗(yàn)并與YouTube頻道上近2.2萬(wàn)名粉絲分享經(jīng)驗(yàn)可能有點(diǎn)讓人上癮?!拔业目鞓?lè)在于解決一些沒(méi)有人弄清,或者很少有人弄清的事情,?!彼f(shuō)?!澳蔷褪俏业呐d奮劑,。”
女性是“長(zhǎng)壽運(yùn)動(dòng)的推動(dòng)者”
隨著追求長(zhǎng)壽活動(dòng)不斷壯大,,越來(lái)越多的女性參與其中,,不過(guò)理由通常與男性不同。在Tally Health的首席執(zhí)行官梅拉妮·戈?duì)柕峡磥?lái)非常明顯,,該公司的業(yè)務(wù)是客戶提供表觀遺傳學(xué)年齡測(cè)試和預(yù)防性健康計(jì)劃,。2023年年初,該公司的27萬(wàn)名候補(bǔ)名單中男性還占主導(dǎo)地位,,如今其客戶群越發(fā)平衡:男性占53%,,女性占47%。戈?duì)柕舷蚺钥蛻粲绕涫歉昶谂酝茝V產(chǎn)品時(shí),,主要強(qiáng)調(diào)延長(zhǎng)健康壽命,,而不是一味對(duì)抗衰老,迎合社會(huì)上偏好年輕外貌的標(biāo)準(zhǔn),,即水靈靈光滑沒(méi)有皺紋的肌膚,。
“我認(rèn)為,從成長(zhǎng)的角度來(lái)看,,女性將是長(zhǎng)壽運(yùn)動(dòng)的重要推動(dòng)力量,。”戈?duì)柕险f(shuō),?!芭允呛芏噘?gòu)買決策的制定者。”事實(shí)上,,女性在醫(yī)療支出中占了很大的一部分,,而且仍然是家庭里主要的照顧者,很多人都夾在孩子和年邁的父母中間,。
尤其隨著職場(chǎng)女性年齡的增長(zhǎng),,很多人感覺(jué)應(yīng)該以其他方式補(bǔ)償才可以維持優(yōu)勢(shì)并獲得群體的尊重?!芭韵胱屚饷部雌饋?lái)更年輕的門(mén)檻要高得多,。”美國(guó)退休人員協(xié)會(huì)(American Association of Retired People)的高級(jí)顧問(wèn)希瑟·廷斯利-菲克斯此前告訴《財(cái)富》雜志,?!芭栽谀挲g歧視方面的門(mén)檻更高;她們比男性更早也更頻繁遭遇年齡歧視,?!?/p>
埃米·哈迪森在“重返青春奧運(yùn)會(huì)”排行榜上排名第五位,每年衰老率為0.73,,她并沒(méi)有每天吃保健品,,也從未想過(guò)如何延長(zhǎng)壽命,只是健康飲食,,堅(jiān)持運(yùn)動(dòng),,與他人聯(lián)系以降低孤獨(dú)造成的健康風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。63歲的哈迪森希望壽命盡可能延長(zhǎng),,與四個(gè)孩子和11個(gè)孫子女一起生活,,并盡可能長(zhǎng)時(shí)間保持身心健康。
“我還有20年,,也許25年左右,,我只是在想,怎樣才可以把接下來(lái)的時(shí)間過(guò)好,?”哈迪森說(shuō),。“活到84,、85,、86,對(duì)我而言已經(jīng)很理想了,?!?/p>
哈迪森自己做飯,選擇少加工的食物,。她還堅(jiān)持每天一小時(shí)有氧運(yùn)動(dòng),,包括游泳和橢圓儀——她說(shuō)過(guò)去50年來(lái)一直堅(jiān)持,。她很重視跟孩子和孫輩共度美好時(shí)光。她并非一味追求年輕,,她說(shuō):“我只是珍惜生活的經(jīng)歷,,珍惜年齡增長(zhǎng)后更成熟的視角,?!?/p>
哈迪森的女婿建議參加一項(xiàng)保健品試驗(yàn)時(shí),她略有些矛盾地開(kāi)始嘗試。她同意把檢測(cè)結(jié)果提交給“重返青春奧運(yùn)會(huì)”,,但花了兩個(gè)月的時(shí)間才意識(shí)到躋身前列的重要意義,。
“其實(shí)有些諷刺,,因?yàn)槲覐膩?lái)沒(méi)有吃過(guò)維生素和保健品,?!惫仙f(shuō),?!拔?3歲了,,活了好幾十年,,目睹很多事情發(fā)生發(fā)展。所以,,我不會(huì)對(duì)新鮮的偉大的事情太興奮?!?/p>
尼科爾·布拉德福德熱衷投資健康,,對(duì)衰老心理學(xué)特別感興趣。她對(duì)《財(cái)富》雜志表示,,自己并不是“生物黑客”,,盡管每月花700美元,每天吃106粒藥,,每六個(gè)月抽血一次,,書(shū)中每項(xiàng)生物年齡測(cè)試都參加,。“生物黑客是極為男性的行為,?!辈祭赂5抡f(shuō)道。她說(shuō),,在她看來(lái),,長(zhǎng)壽不是競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。
布拉德福德表示,,照顧患有進(jìn)行性心臟病的老年人期間就看得比較透徹,。“大概每周我都會(huì)被提醒,,如果不抓住機(jī)會(huì)認(rèn)真對(duì)待衰老會(huì)變成什么樣,。”她說(shuō),?!拔疫^(guò)50歲關(guān)口時(shí),最重要就是活力……確保我的活力與生活中創(chuàng)造的東西,,以及我對(duì)世界的影響相稱,。”
十年過(guò)去,,康倫再不會(huì)是長(zhǎng)壽論壇和研究小組中唯一的女性,。布拉德福德說(shuō)想活到115歲,即便她最終超過(guò)該年齡不會(huì)驚訝,??死吮硎?,期待兒子長(zhǎng)大成人,,計(jì)劃兒子離家后環(huán)游世界,也對(duì)保持活力充滿信心,。
“到最后車輪總會(huì)從公交車上掉下來(lái),,我只想說(shuō):‘好吧,我的車輪不會(huì)掉得那么快,?!彼f(shuō)?!八晕視?huì)盡全力把公交車維護(hù)好,。”(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:夏林
Julie Gibson Clark doesn’t use expensive medical treatments, gadgets, or a team of scientists to “biohack” her age. She sticks to a vegetable-rich diet, exercises and meditates. Her biggest health expenditures are a $27-a-month gym membership and an $79-a-month supplement subscription.
So the 55-year-old single mom in Phoenix, Arizona was surprised to learn she ranks at No.2 on the worldwide leaderboard of an online competitive longevity game, the Rejuvenation Olympics, which tracks and ranks about 4,000 participants’ pace of what’s sometimes called “biological” aging. It’s based on epigenetic DNA tests—which give an insight into how environment and lifestyle can influence how people’s genes work. Clark ages at 0.665 of a year for every additional chronological year, according to her most recent test, which takes into account the average of participants’ pace of aging scores after six months or more.
Clark is ahead of one of the country’s most famous biohackers on the leaderboard examining these averages: Bryan Johnson, the multi-millionaire biotech entrepreneur who spends a reported $2 million a year on a reverse-aging regimen that includes dozens of pills a day and a team of 30 doctors, co-created the leaderboard. He is currently in 6th place.
As the longevity market takes off—it’s now valued at over $26 billion and predicted to almost double in less than a decade—a proliferation of boutique healthcare clinics offering full-body scans, preventive medicine advice, supplement subscriptions, and exercise regimens have popularized the preoccupation with longevity beyond the niche that has long been obsessed with it in Silicon Valley. The denizens of this booming high-end healthcare sector have skewed male—but women’s numbers and influence are growing.
Fortune interviewed several of the women succeeding in staving off the effects of aging, and found that many of them rejected the term and concept of “biohacking.” They described how they are defining longevity goals in their own terms—often as an extension of holistic approaches to health. Some are driven by feeling shut out of traditional medicine and research, and led to take their health into their own hands. And many say they’re motivated by a desire to stick around for those they love and care for.
“Like brushing your teeth”
Clark has neither the time nor the resources to go to the lengths of the tech world’s famous biohackers—former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey reportedly meditates two hours a day, walks five miles, and takes daily saunas and ice baths; Dave Asprey, founder of Bulletproof, swears by high tech treatments such as biovibration platforms and cryotherapy chambers, and he has often said he intends to live to 180.
Clark says her regime is more than a “hack” to her. “I don’t like that term,” Clark, a recruiter who says she makes less than $100,000, tells Fortune. She considers herself “health conscious,” but when she learned about her ranking on the leaderboard (she submitted her biomarkers via a clinical study from NOVOS, a longevity product company whose supplements she has taken), “I was like ‘wow,’ she says.” And, she adds, “That also confirmed this stuff has to just kind of be like brushing your teeth.”
Clark starts her day between 4:45 and 5 a.m. She sends her 17-year-old son off to school and then hits the gym for strength and cardio workouts. She fasts for about 16 hours overnight, eating her first meal between 10 and 11 a.m. At least three times a week, Clark uses a sauna for 20 minutes before a cold shower. While working, she eats 16 ounces of vegetables a day, a mix of raw celery, radishes, carrots, peppers, and blanched broccoli along with a salad or soup. She meditates for 20 minutes in the early afternoon.
Clark’s efforts to radically improve her health began over a decade ago after a scare: She was struggling to get up in the morning, feeling constantly fatigued, and losing her hair. She eventually tested positive for heavy metal poisoning—in part from her time as a ceramics major in college when she didn’t wear a mask mixing toxic glazes. As she treated her condition, she began to focus more intensely on her health.
Her teenage son, she says, offers a constant source of motivation. “I want to be there for him as long as possible,” she tells Fortune. “I want to minimize any negative repercussions of aging.”
The ethos behind the craze to live longer
The roaring growth of the over $4 trillion wellness industry over the last decade has been largely fueled by women consumers. But within that larger wellness framework, the competitive, performance-focused longevity movement that has grown massively in recent years has skewed more male.
“When we talked about the longevity economy, it was really focused on Fountain of Youth magic pills and alpha males wanting to live forever,” says Abby Levy, managing partner and founder at Primetime Partners, who invests in wellness companies with a focus on those that support healthy aging. “That was the backdrop.”
Some have criticized biohackers’ seeming belief that aging can be treated as a preventable disease instead of an inevitability, and pointed out that genetic determinants, more than treatments and lifestyle choices, account for a large part of how the ravages of aging manifest. And it should be noted that biological age tests are relatively new, and many on the market vary in exactly what they are testing and, therefore they “differ in validity” and in accuracy, says Dr. Andrea Maier, Director of the Centre for Healthy Longevity at the National University of Singapore and founder of Chi Longevity and The Healthy Longevity Society, which creates evidence-based standards for longevity clinics.
Still, the longevity space has created a set of stars, many with their own longevity companies or careers as authors and speakers on the topic. Johnson, as well as David Sinclair and Peter Diamandis, have drawn media attention and some derision as they dedicate their time and fortunes to biohacking their way back into their 20s, sometimes using controversial and unproven treatments. Johnson recently came under fire for his young blood treatments, where he had his son’s blood plasma infused into his body with the hope of mitigating aging, despite an FDA consumer warning against the practice because of potential health risks and a lack of clinical evidence.
Statistics on the gender breakdown of the industry’s customer base are hard to come by, especially given the novelty of the field. Still, the client bases of several large startups in the space show that the industry skews male. TruDiagnostic, which tests biological age, says that among its customer base of 30,000 “optimizers” since the company’s launch in 2020, men make up 57% and women make up 43%. Dr. Oliver Zolman, Johnson’s primary reverse aging doctor, tells Fortune that his clients are two-thirds men. At Groq Health, an app tracking biological health metrics, men make up 64% of customers.
When Nichola Conlon began attending longevity science conferences about a decade ago, she tells Fortune, the gender breakdown was striking. “It was very, very male dominant … there were not many women in the space,” says Conlon, the founder of Nuchido, a company that provides supplements aimed at reversing aging. “The early type of people it attracted were people that were maybe massively trying to get an edge on their performance, or their cognitive function or things like that. That sort of space just seemed to attract men.”
Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel hypothesizes that male biohackers in their 40s and 50s are motivated by fear and ego. “There’s a real threat to masculinity at that age. Things begin to decline,” he tells Fortune. “There’s also some sense of trying to compete with the next guy.” The co-director of the Healthcare Transformation Institute at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, Emanuel famously penned an op-ed on why he hopes to die at 75 and has been a skeptical voice on the overall longevity movement. “Everyone would like to be young forever,” he tells Fortune, “But it isn’t going to happen.”
The Boston-based nutrition scientist Michael Lustgarten, 50, tells Fortune that he sees dying as a kind of failure—though he acknowledges, “Failure is for sure, unless I can figure out a way to biohack my way out of it.” Lustgarten, author of Conquer Aging or Die Trying, and scientist at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, tells Fortune that he is consistently biologically between 16 and 20 years younger than his chronological age based on averages from various tests. He eats 90% of his diet within an hour and a half three days a week and tests his epigenetic age seven times a year. He has undergone 47 blood tests since 2015, eats 85 grams of fiber daily, and wakes up around 5 a.m. each morning.
“I’m talking about flattening the curve for as long as possible, or flattening it as much as physically possible,” he tells Fortune. “When it comes to what gets you out of bed in the morning, for me, it’s the idea of living as long as I physically can, in as good of health as I can and helping others to do the same.”
Experimenting on himself—and sharing what he learns with nearly 22K followers on his YouTube channel—can be somewhat addictive, he explains. “The happiness that I get is figuring out stuff that nobody’s figured out, or very few people have figured out,” he says. “That’s my drug.”
Women as “the drivers of this movement”
As the longevity movement expands, women are engaging more with it—but often it’s for different reasons than the male biohackers. That has been evident for Melanie Goldey, the CEO of Tally Health, which offers customers epigenetic age tests and preventative health plans. While men dominated the company’s 270,000 waitlist pre-launch at the beginning of 2023, its current client base is moving closer to parity: currently 53% male and 47% female. With a focus on appealing to women, especially those of menopausal age, Goldey markets her products by emphasizing extending healthspan, instead of defying age to conform to societal beauty standards that favor youthful looks—dewy, smooth skin instead of wrinkles.
“I think that women will be, from a growth perspective, the drivers of this movement,” Goldey says. “Women drive a lot of purchasing decisions.” Indeed, women account for a lot of health spending, and they still make up the bulk of caretakers in a family, with many finding themselves sandwiched between needing to care for children and an aging parent.
Especially as women age in the workforce, many feel like they have to compensate in other ways to stay ahead and respected by the pack. “There’s a much higher bar for women to appear younger,” Heather Tinsley-Fix, a senior advisor at the American Association of Retired People, previously told Fortune. “Women face a much higher bar with regard to ageism; they experience it earlier and more frequently than men.”
Amy Hardison, who is number five on the Rejuvenation Olympics leaderboard and is aging at at 0.73 of a year for every chronological year, never took daily supplements or thought that much about ways to extend her lifespan beyond the seemingly obvious: Eat healthy, stay moving, and stay connected to others to combat the health risks of loneliness. The 63-year-old wants to live as long as possible to stay in the lives of her four children and 11 grandchildren, and remain mentally and physically well as long as she can.
“I have 20 years, maybe 25 years or so, and it’s just, what do I want to do to make those the best possible?” Hardison says. “84, 85, 86 is plenty for me.”
Hardison cooks her own minimally processed food. She also swears by her one-hour daily aerobic exercise routine, including swimming and peddling on an elliptical bike—a discipline she says she has maintained for the last 50 years. And she prioritizes quality time with her kids and grandkids. She isn’t chasing youth, she says: “I just cherish the experience of life, and I cherish the perspective that comes from being older.”
When her son-in-law recommended she join a trial for a supplement, she gave it a go with some ambivalence. She agreed to submit her results for the Rejuvenation Olympics, but it took her two months to realize that being on the leader board meant something significant.
“It was pretty ironic, actually, that I even did it because I’ve never been into even taking vitamins and supplements,” she says. “Being 63, I have lived through several decades, and I have seen things come and go. So, I don’t get too excited about the latest and greatest.”
Nichol Bradford, an investor in wellness with a particular interest in the psychology of aging, tells Fortune that she doesn’t consider herself a “biohacker,” even though she spends $700 a month to take 106 pills a day, gets her blood drawn every six months, and has taken every biological age test in the book. “Biohacking is incredibly male,” Bradford says. For her, she says, longevity is not a competition.
The experience of taking care of an elder with progressive heart disease has offered an ongoing reality check, Bradford says. “I have sort of like a weekly reminder of what it looks like if you don’t take the chance to age well,” she says. “As I pass the 50 year mark, It’s really about vitality … making sure that I have the vitality to match the things that I’m creating in my life and the impact that I’m having on the world.”
A decade later, Conlon is far from the only woman at longevity conferences and research panels. Bradford wants to live to 115, she says, and she wouldn’t be surprised if she surpasses it. For her part, Clark says she looks forward to supporting her son as he grows into an adult. She also plans to travel across the globe when her son leaves home—confident in her ability to stay active.
“Eventually the wheels will fall off the bus, and I’m like, ‘well, mine aren’t falling off anytime soon,’” she says. “So I’m going to do everything I can to keep the bus in good order.”