Experts (and, in some cases, I would use this word very loosely) charge €€€€€ for access to their retreats or lectures to learn the secrets to longevity.

The bottom line is that you can buy a week away. You can buy the expensive (and useless) IV infusions and hyperbaric oxygen treatments. You can buy completely unnecessary blood tests. ( And you’ll probably feel better after a week. One – it’s a week away. Two – there is a serious placebo effect of how good you will feel after dropping €15,000.)

But will it really buy you a longer and better life?

The “secrets of longevity” won’t be revealed in an infrared sauna. You don’t need expensive consultations with self-appointed gurus or biohackers or functional medicine experts (many of whom aren’t even medically trained).

The stuff that really works is the stuff we do every day, not for a week. Our aging is every day: We need to eat well. We need to sleep well. We need to reduce our smoking/vaping/alcohol/illicit drugs. We need to manage and reduce our stress. We need to have good relationship and connections in our lives. We need purpose and good mental health. Doing this for one week will make anyone feel better.

And in real life – it’s boring. Everyone groans when they are referred for preventative health.

But as I told my patient today:

I’m not here just to add years to your life, but life to your years.

Maybe my dull advice would be more exciting if I started doing my consultations in a resort, called it biohacking, and charged €1000?