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00:01Today, we're living 25 years longer than our ancestors did a century ago.
00:07But science is pushing us even further.
00:10The single biggest thing is far more people living far healthier for far longer.
00:14Far less of these horrible degenerative diseases that rob us of our later years.
00:18Now the race is on for a new kind of super longevity.
00:22I would love to live a very healthy, I don't know, 140, 150 years. I'd love that.
00:28Relax.
00:28And a never-ending youth.
00:31I want to look like this forever.
00:3227 forever, that's it for you?
00:34Yeah, that's old enough for me.
00:37I came late to motherhood and I will never forget they had the clipboard over the bed that said geriatric
00:43mother.
00:44And it still absolutely galls me today.
00:46So as an older parent, I want to stay healthy, strong and sharp.
00:52But could the toxins hidden in our own anti-aging routines be quietly aging us?
00:58We have a hundred times more plastic in our bodies than they did in the 1970s.
01:03It's frightening if you think about it.
01:05It is. It's frightening.
01:06Yeah.
01:07And does the multi-million euro longevity industry really have the answer?
01:11You could take stem cells from a young person and put it back into that aging person.
01:17Carefully screened and matched plasma from young individuals.
01:22Why are younger and younger people turning to anti-aging surgery?
01:26Oh wow!
01:27Can't get over that.
01:30And where in Ireland should I be living if I was serious about staying young forever?
01:35In boys, there's no old ladies anymore.
01:38We all love our style and our fashion.
01:40And everybody seems to have the same vibe about them.
01:43Yeah.
01:43That spirit to get up and go.
01:54Who wouldn't want to slow the biological clock for a longer life and healthier later years?
02:01The anti-aging business has a disappointing history of selling us false promises.
02:09But recently, science has begun unlocking the deeper secrets of how we age.
02:15Much of it focused on our DNA.
02:18Self-Decode decodes your DNA to give you science-backed insights and actionable recommendations
02:23so that you can make the best choices for your body.
02:25Alright, get started.
02:27There are a growing number of companies selling us at-home DNA-based biological aging tests.
02:33Predicting weaknesses in our DNA that could impact how we age.
02:38Add to cart.
02:39And I was curious to find out what hidden traps might be lurking in my own DNA.
02:44Because when it comes to healthy aging, it does feel like knowledge is power.
02:48Okay, so spit into the circle.
02:53Bullseye.
02:55Is that love, do you think?
02:56I think that's enough.
02:57My middle-aged biomatter was being dispatched for analysis.
03:03And three weeks later, I had the results.
03:08What does it say?
03:10Oh God, big red marker straight away.
03:12What is that?
03:14Inflammaging.
03:16Unfavourable.
03:17So this, I think, means that I am prone to inflammation diseases as I age.
03:24It's like arthritis, which is, I mean, arthritis is rife on my mum's side of the family.
03:32So I'm prone to inflammation.
03:34So I want to know what can I do about it.
03:37Today we have Grace here at Longevity Clinic.
03:39With the growth in longevity medicine comes a global wave of longevity clinics.
03:45Servicing proactive agers who want to take control of the aging process.
03:49But to access one of these new medical longevity clinics, I needed blood tests.
03:56A lot of blood tests.
04:01A lot of blood in there for a lot of tests.
04:08So my blood results were going to London.
04:11To a high-end longevity clinic specializing in cleansing the toxins from aging blood.
04:18Sabine!
04:19Hi!
04:20How are you all?
04:21And I was meeting pioneering longevity Dr Sabine Donny.
04:24Who'd assessed what life-limiting landmines might potentially be harming my DNA.
04:30You asked for 247 blood markers sent.
04:33I'm getting my exam results here.
04:35You're about to open up and tell me...
04:37What's happening?
04:38Yeah, what's happening.
04:39So let's start with toxicity.
04:42You've had the plastic test done which showed 18 particles per millilitre blood.
04:48Now you've got 5 litres of blood, so that's 5,000 millilitres.
04:5218 particles times 5,000.
04:54That's a lot of particles.
04:56It's frightening if you think about it.
04:57Jesus.
04:58Yeah.
04:59It is, it's frightening.
05:00So where would my plastics come from?
05:02If we go for the bigger particles, if that's what it is, then it'll be the ones you ingest.
05:06So it'll be you drinking through a coffee cup that you get from a takeaway somewhere.
05:13Well it is plastic, so anywhere where there's hot food or drinks in contact with plastics, you will leak the
05:19plastic into your food and your drink.
05:22So Sabine, when it comes to ageing specifically, what are those plastics doing to me?
05:27If we would measure your speed of ageing now, you'd probably be ageing a bit faster.
05:32It's a total toxic burden that is a problem.
05:34What happens with toxicity, it causes an inflammation in your system.
05:39And if you've been looking into longevity and into health, you would have heard inflammation again and again and again.
05:45Because what inflammation does, it's like a fire underneath your weaklings genetically.
05:50And actually on another test that I did, my inflammation markers were high.
05:56The moment we actually have inflammation in our system, we're wasting energy on trying to deal with that inflammation instead
06:02of actually repairing and restoring and slowing down the ageing.
06:08Glyphosate.
06:08Glyphosate, I don't know whether you've ever heard that word before.
06:11It's one of the mainly used pesticides that were legal for a long time in the UK.
06:18That's not legal anymore.
06:20So you clearly have been in contact with it, whether it was as a child or whatever.
06:25It's a nasty one.
06:27Oh God.
06:29It could put you at a higher risk of cognitive problems or cancers.
06:32So ideally, we would want to lower that.
06:35Okay.
06:35So have you lived in the countryside?
06:38I did as a kid live in the countryside, yeah.
06:41So this one we want out.
06:43Okay.
06:43So there's going to have to be some detoxification we're going to have to look at.
06:46How do we get it out?
06:47Some toxins are easier to eliminate than others.
06:50The ones that have been stuck there, as we'll have from childhood, likely with glyphosate,
06:55you want to get rid of as soon as possible.
06:57So an aphoresis, what it does, it cleans those out very quickly.
07:02That's it.
07:05Dr. Donne offers a specialised blood cleansing treatment called aphoresis.
07:10Okay, so we're off.
07:12See the blood come out?
07:13Yep, yep.
07:14And then you'll see it heading into the machine.
07:17A three-hour blood cleansing process that works on a similar principle to dialysis.
07:23Removing the blood, cleaning out the toxins, and putting the blood back in again.
07:28We're taking 70 mils per minute through that cannula, so it's a significant amount.
07:33So excited to see all my gunk.
07:35Get it out!
07:37Today, 55-year-old longevity biohacker Nicole Ward had flown from LA to have her blood cleansed in two three
07:45-hour sessions.
07:46Still coming out at a good pace.
07:48Yeah.
07:50Feeling alright?
07:51Yeah.
07:51Right.
07:52Nicole, you were all hooked up there.
07:54How are you feeling?
07:55Are you okay that I have a little chat with you?
07:57Absolutely.
07:58No, I feel great.
07:59I'm a pretty experienced, what we would call biohacker in the States, and so nothing really scares me that much.
08:05How did you start your biohacking journey?
08:08You know, at 30, I had the labs of a 55-year-old woman, and then I just started looking
08:14how to optimize my health from a longevity perspective.
08:18The things I could do that, you know, would contribute to health span.
08:23The truth of it is, we're surrounded by toxins, and it's not a fair fight.
08:26I heard, like, back in the 70s, this is what the Rolling Stones used to have done in Switzerland.
08:30Yeah, blood transfusions.
08:32We were like, is that true?
08:33But this is a whole other level of this type of technology.
08:36And then, in terms of longevity, you being a biohacker, like, what is the added life expectancy?
08:43What are you hoping for?
08:45Gosh, I would love to be, live a very healthy, I don't know, 140, 150 years. I'd love that.
08:52And can I be so crass to ask how much it is costing?
08:56It's the equivalent of about 10,000 American dollars.
09:00Yeah.
09:00You know, not everybody can afford these treatments, and it's like, in the longevity space, it is very much those
09:07that can and those that can't.
09:10I appreciate what you're saying. I mean, I've spent so much investing in my own health over time, and it
09:17does take money. It's big stuff.
09:21Over the past three hours, Nicole's blood had been removed from her body through one arm and re-infused through
09:28the other.
09:30Now it was time to see what inflammation toxins had been removed from her plasma.
09:36We're just eyeballing what we've taken out. So this is the flush from the filters, mixed with a lot of
09:43saline.
09:43I don't mind if I just jump in here and have an earwig on this, because I'm just fascinated.
09:47Yeah, no worries, no worries. So you can see there is a line here, which tends to be where the
09:51heavier metals accumulate.
09:54So, I mean, it is very subtle, but it is there.
09:57Would that be a low metal load or an average metal load?
10:01I can't really say. I mean, yeah, no, not to, yeah, just the fact that it's there.
10:04A lab analysis would reveal more about what other toxins beyond heavy metals had been removed.
10:11But Tom didn't seem too worried.
10:16That was a lot to take in. High levels of plastics in my blood.
10:21And then a chemical that's been in my body since I was a kid, which is affecting my ageing, which
10:27is affecting everything.
10:28And I thought I was doing it all.
10:30But the aphoresis, I don't know, I'd need to get my head around it.
10:34And it's obviously not something that I can afford to do.
10:36It's a lot, you know, it's, it's not for everybody.
10:45If I was an inflammation, plastics ridden powder keg, I wanted to know more about how that happened.
10:53So to begin to understand the toxic load in my own immediate environment,
10:57I was off to UCD to meet toxicologist Tara McMorrow.
11:03Okay, Tara. So here are all me bits.
11:06You came and you raided the gap.
11:07Let's start with the cosmetics, specifically the hair stuff then.
11:11Yes. So the first item is a metal detox product, hair care product.
11:17Unfortunately, it does contain some nastier toxins.
11:20And in this case, it contains a paraben.
11:23The problem with parabens is that they've recently been identified to be what we call endocrine disruptors,
11:29which means that they impact our endocrine signaling or hormone balance in the body.
11:35So the milder effects would be damage to the skin, weight gain, and long term chronic effects could lead to
11:43cancers like breast cancer, for example.
11:47So then we'll go down here. So this is my workout gear.
11:51There can't be anything wrong with this.
11:54Well, most workout gear will contain microplastics.
11:59And there's very little that you can do to remove it.
12:02Generally, they're tiny, but they have been shown to stick together.
12:06And when they enter the body, so potentially they could impact our kidney or liver.
12:10So basically the filtration systems of our body.
12:14Generally, those clothes will also contain PFAS.
12:18So PFAS are these forever chemicals.
12:20And this is a serious concern because it has been shown to cause cancers, hormone-linked cancers.
12:26There I am, four, five times a week, getting the runners out.
12:29And we all know exercise is good for keeping you young.
12:33Yes.
12:34But there's a hazard with the clothes you're wearing.
12:38So the pots and pans, I just brought a selection.
12:41Generally, it's a Teflon-like substance that's used to coat these non-stick pots and pans.
12:47And it's recommended that once it's scratched, that it shouldn't be used.
12:54Teflon is a type of PFAS, one of these forever chemicals,
12:57that's been shown long-term to cause cancers and other illnesses and ageing as well.
13:03It's been linked to skin ageing.
13:04That's what I do, the kids porridge in every morning.
13:07Yes, yeah.
13:08Does that mean like automatically I'm increasing the amount of plastic going into my system?
13:13Yes, it's estimated that we have a hundred times more plastic present in our bodies than they did in the
13:201970s.
13:22God, a hundred times more?
13:24Yes, yeah.
13:25Wow, that is a lot to take in now, Chara.
13:28I mean, if I was to worry about this, the stress of this alone will have aged me 20 years.
13:33Yes.
13:36Throwing out my pots, changing to cotton-based workout wear and ditching the parabens seemed a wise solution.
13:43But a costly one.
13:45And I was still worried about becoming prey to the inflammatory diseases of ageing.
13:50So I headed to Belfast to visit Ireland's first lifestyle longevity clinic.
13:56Hoping they might have the tools to unflamage me.
14:00Hey, Tracy, Catherine.
14:02Hi, how are you? Lovely to meet you.
14:04Lovely to meet you.
14:05This is Ethan.
14:05Ethan, nice to meet you.
14:06Catherine.
14:07So Ireland's first dedicated longevity clinic.
14:10How long have you been up in Ireland, Tracy?
14:12Yeah, we are.
14:12Catherine, we opened in June 23 and it's only really now in this last six months that we're
14:18starting to see some real traction.
14:19Will I go get changed?
14:21Please, go get changed.
14:22We're excited to show you, Catherine.
14:23Brilliant.
14:24OK, thank you.
14:24All right, see you in a sec.
14:27I was seeing rooms, lots of rooms, full of gadgets and high-tech equipment.
14:33But could anything in these rooms save me from ageing?
14:38Holy moly.
14:40Look at this baby.
14:42Yeah, so this is our hyperbaric oxygen chamber.
14:45So it is.
14:45What does this do?
14:47So whenever you're breathing normally, you're breathing about 21% oxygen.
14:50OK.
14:51While you're in this chamber, you'll be breathing roughly 95% oxygen.
14:54So you will.
14:55It'll liquify your red blood cells down into the liquid plasma.
14:58So that's how we get that extra oxygen into you.
15:01And then in terms of people like me who want to stop the ageing process,
15:05how does it help from a longevity perspective?
15:09It'll give you more energy.
15:10So it will.
15:11One of the things that we have a lot of people say is sleep as well.
15:16This is my time machine.
15:18This is your time machine, yes.
15:19I'd heard of hyperbaric chambers used to decompress divers suffering from the bends.
15:25But I wasn't a diver, and I didn't have decompression sickness.
15:29All right.
15:30Bye.
15:31Bye.
15:32Like so much longevity science, this was traditional medical know-how repurposed
15:38for people whose main ailment is not being young.
15:4745 minutes later, and hoping my red blood cells weren't too liquefied,
15:52it was time to emerge from my super oxygenated cocoon.
15:56I feel like I should have a line, like one small step for man,
16:01like trying to make for mankind.
16:05And from there it was straight to full body red light therapy,
16:09like a tanning bed that doesn't kill you.
16:11With that red and blue light in there, it basically helps with your collagen stimulation,
16:17your rejuvenation, and improved skin tone if you do it regularly.
16:21Oh, I'm a big fan of that.
16:25There was even longevity tech to address the unspoken issue of sex after menopause.
16:32This is our magic chair, the Amsella chair.
16:35This is going to deliver 11,000 Kegel exercises in 28 minutes.
16:39Holy moly.
16:41It's amazing for any females, particularly as we age,
16:45our estrogen levels start to drop,
16:47and the pelvic floor then obviously starts to drop then as well,
16:49and we need that supporting everything and keeping everything internally.
16:53And great in the sack as well.
16:56So I've heard.
16:57Tightens everything up.
16:58We should all be on it regularly.
17:00Right, turn it on and turn it up.
17:02Let's go.
17:04Oh!
17:05Oh!
17:07Woo!
17:11Check it off, are you happy enough?
17:13I am very happy.
17:14It seems nice.
17:16But if I wanted to freeze time,
17:18there was an inevitability about the last ride on this carousel of forever youth.
17:26Is it good?
17:28Yeah.
17:28Encased in liquid nitrogen,
17:30I was about to feel the ice burn.
17:33Oh, that's cold.
17:36The longevity benefits are sold as mainly anti-inflammatory,
17:40which feels simplistic, but it does kind of make sense.
17:44And the extra element of pain makes you feel that it must be doing something.
17:48Oh, my God.
17:51Get me into that sauna.
17:53Oh!
17:57In the IV drip lounge, 57-year-old clinic client Enda was settled in for an NAD booster.
18:04The intravenously administered enzyme costs 175 pounds per infusion.
18:11Small change for this treatment's biggest poster girls.
18:17So, Jose, what is NAD?
18:19We hear people talking about it, and the Kardashians are on it, Justin Bieber is on it.
18:24But what actually is it?
18:26We're talking about the coenzyme.
18:27Basically, your body with age just lacks the capacity to produce it.
18:32And what we are doing, we are facilitating.
18:34So, through the drip, basically, we are just replacing what with ageing your body is not able to produce anymore.
18:42So, Enda, how often are you in the chair here?
18:44Once every six or eight weeks.
18:48Why did you turn to NADs, or how did it all start for you?
18:52My body was very sore.
18:53You know, I sort of, I used to play, you know, sport at a pretty decent level, and I stopped
18:59doing that.
18:59I was actually told that I couldn't run anymore because I had collapsed cartilage on my right knee.
19:04And I took that on board, and I stopped running for probably 10 or 12 years.
19:08So, I came here because I thought the cryotherapy would help.
19:11And then they talked about the NAD.
19:14I thought, well, yeah, that's something that's going to help me as I'm ageing.
19:17So, I put that into the regime, into the programme as well.
19:20So, I run every other day now 5.5K.
19:24I'm not trying to pull up trees. It's just 5.5K.
19:27I came into fatherhood very late as well.
19:29So, I want to be able to run around with my kids here and be around for a long time.
19:33So, I feel better now than I felt when I was in my 40s.
19:36And it's not cheap.
19:38No, it's not cheap.
19:40But it shouldn't be a decision about money if you can afford to do something.
19:44People think nothing of going out and dropping 150 quid on wine and a dinner.
19:49And actually, you know, through all of this, you know, I've cut down that kind of stuff as well.
19:53So, it's paying for itself probably.
19:55Look, at the end of the day, you know, I want to be able to look good, feel good, be
19:59well for as long as possible.
20:01The last thing I want to do is, you know, live to the meaty but not be able to, you
20:06know, enjoy life.
20:10Commitment to longevity comes at a cost.
20:15And back in Dublin, I was meeting scientist David Grimes, who's a keen observer of the economics of the longevity
20:22industry.
20:23You know how much the worldwide wellness market is worth?
20:27About 4.2 trillion dollars.
20:29I've been talking to biohackers.
20:31We've been looking at 200 different types of supplements, aphoresis, the whole thing.
20:37As a scientist, what do you think about the longevity industry at this current moment?
20:42What's happening now, and you've probably seen this firsthand, is that people are immediately jumping to selling you something, saying
20:49you need this.
20:50And they're pitching it to a particular market.
20:52It is aimed at the worried well.
20:54People who are already, due to socioeconomic circumstances, probably doing okay on the longevity front.
21:00The word individualistic comes to mind.
21:04Absolutely.
21:05And then, not to put too fine a point, it's almost hyper-capitalist.
21:08It's almost the idea that, you know, you can afford better, you get better, it's you, you, you.
21:14But in reality, we live in a society.
21:16Our health outcomes are largely shaped by the environment in which we're in.
21:21If you live in an area with high pollution, you're going to suffer, no matter how much you spend on
21:26your individual health.
21:27If we look at the determinants of what affects people's longevity, the major factors are often socioeconomic.
21:35Where you are born, your poverty levels influence your health outcomes in life.
21:40And the reality is, we actually already know the things that we can do that will improve our lifespan.
21:45We can avoid smoking.
21:46We can, you know, eat a better diet or a more balanced diet.
21:50We can drink less.
21:52And also, don't be poor if you can help it.
21:54And that is, you know, the bit they never tell you.
21:58Accepting ageing is hard when we live in a culture constantly telling us we need to avoid it.
22:03Bill, how are you?
22:05Fantastic.
22:06And in part two, I meet the people who believe in the power of injecting young blood to cure aging.
22:12What have you done personally in order to try and stop the aging process?
22:18Carefully screened and matched plasma from young individuals.
22:30At 47, I've been thinking a lot about aging healthily.
22:35And despite my diligence around exercising regularly and eating wholesomely,
22:41I've been shocked to discover how toxins could be accelerating my genetic predisposition
22:46to inflammatory diseases of aging like rheumatism and arthritis.
22:52That's not good.
22:56Yet, I still have one of the most deadly known toxins regularly injected as an anti-aging treatment.
23:02And that is the ridiculous irony of my own fight against aging.
23:07Okay, so now you're going to turn this way, 45 degrees, just like that.
23:10And looking just like there.
23:11Okay.
23:13But the cosmetic side of our anti-aging industry is increasingly veering towards surgical interventions.
23:23And the fastest growing rejuvenating surgery in Ireland is an eye-lifting procedure called a blepharoplasty.
23:30But is the bleph really becoming the new Botox?
23:35When you look in the mirror, you look at your eyes.
23:37So it's the first place people look.
23:39And it is the first place often where it kind of gives away, you know, age.
23:45So how many years could I shave off with a bleph?
23:50The skin above the eyelids is removed.
23:52The orbital fats have been reduced.
23:54And then some rejuvenation is all under the eyes.
23:57It is very, very seductive.
24:00So hit me with the bad news.
24:02What's the cost for something like this?
24:03Typically a blepharoplasty costs about $4,500.
24:07And then if you do other treatments at the same time, that can go up to five or five and
24:11a half.
24:12It's a lot of money.
24:16Seductive as Peter made it, I'd be reticent about going the eye surgery route.
24:22But for 37-year-old Jenny, the decision was made.
24:26And today she was having an upper eye bleph operation.
24:30How are you feeling?
24:31Nervous.
24:31Oh, I can imagine.
24:33And I'm going to start by saying your eyes look perfect.
24:40I have lost a lot of weight.
24:42I was around 24 stone.
24:45And I've lost, well, I'm now around 11 stone.
24:47So I've lost over half myself.
24:49Wow.
24:50Well done you.
24:51Yes.
24:52Seven years in the making, I guess.
24:53And unfortunately, like the downside of losing that much weight is it has aged me.
24:58So I know there's like little things like I've got kind of like a little bit of loose skin here.
25:02And it's kind of sagged a little bit here.
25:03And then my eyes as well.
25:05Just with my eyes, I knew Botox kind of wasn't going to fix that because of the additional skin.
25:11So I saw the upper bleph and I thought like, do you know what I love about it?
25:16You still look like yourself.
25:18Yeah.
25:18Just a fresher version of yourself.
25:23To me, Jenny looked too young to be opting for surgery.
25:26But this was what she wanted.
25:28And she was allowing me to accompany her.
25:32Jenny will be awake for the full surgery.
25:36Dr. Ahmed, what are you doing now exactly?
25:39So I'm trying to mark the amount of loose skin.
25:42We keep certain amount for her to comfortably close her eyes.
25:46And everything excess is removed.
25:56Now from here onwards, you'll only feel me doing the procedure.
25:59You'll only feel the instrument, but no pain.
26:01Okay.
26:02I'm going to start the procedure.
26:03Okay?
26:04Yeah, no problem.
26:04Good.
26:08Good.
26:19I have to admit, I wasn't expecting the incisions to be quite this extensive.
26:24Are you all good?
26:26Yeah.
26:27Yeah.
26:30Jenny was awake, but she was feeling nothing.
26:34Okay, no?
26:35Okay.
26:35Perfect.
26:37I feel a little bit weird.
26:45It's hard to watch.
26:47I mean, the cutting of the eyelid and peeling the eyelid off is one thing.
26:51But then the soldering and the smoke coming out of the eyelid.
26:55And then the smell.
26:57The smell of burning skin.
27:01It's quite disconcerting that she's awake.
27:03Because I know what's going through her head.
27:05What if I'm left blind?
27:07What if it all goes wrong?
27:09Because your brain takes you to all those dark places.
27:12Let's see.
27:13I can see that.
27:13I look youthful.
27:20Oh, wow.
27:22That's a good wow.
27:24That's a good wow.
27:25That is a great wow.
27:29Can't get over that.
27:31It's like, this one's down south.
27:33Yeah, yeah.
27:33The cosmetic fight against aging can be a bloody one.
27:37But in longevity medicine, blood is now being touted as the essence of youth.
27:44In 2017, a Californian company began infusing blood plasma from young donors into older people as a supposed age reversal
27:53treatment.
27:57The US Food and Drug Administration warned against the practice, stating there was no proven clinical benefit and the company
28:04closed its clinics.
28:06The problem lay in the unregulated nature of the clinic and in the lack of clinical evidence.
28:17But in Boynton Beach, Florida, FDA approved clinical trials have begun to measure the effectiveness of young blood therapy for
28:26aging.
28:27And at the Maharaj Institute, I was meeting the stem cell doctor who's leading these young blood trials.
28:36I trained as a bone marrow transplant at the University of Glasgow in Scotland.
28:40My work has always been on the stem cells that come from the bone marrow, which is what we call
28:45hemopoietic stem cells.
28:47And these stem cells are responsible for forming the blood and the immune system.
28:52You take the stem cells from a donor and you give it back to a patient with a cancer or
28:56disease.
28:57I mean, for me, bone marrow was like the squidgy stuff that you get inside when you go into a
29:02butcher's.
29:02I had no idea that bone marrow was essentially just your blood.
29:06So when you were working in Glasgow on bone marrow transplants for cancer, you then actually figured out that and
29:14made the leap that this could actually work for aging.
29:17Yes. And I came up with a very sophisticated test of being able to look at the cells of the
29:25immune system from the blood.
29:26We would draw a blood sample. We would analyze the immune system.
29:29And from that, we would be able to predict what's called somebody's immune age.
29:35So if we look at the immune system between the ages of 20 and 40, it's at its peak.
29:41At 55, the immune system is going down. So many people at 55 begin to say, you know what, I'm
29:48feeling a bit older.
29:49And that's just because the aging of their stem cells of the bone marrow causes the accumulation of aging cells.
29:57We call these senescent cells. They're producing a lot of inflammatory proteins.
30:01So that's the beginning of chronic inflammation.
30:04OK.
30:04If that chronic inflammation continues, then at 65, we have the onset of the diseases of aging, which are caused
30:13by chronic inflammation.
30:14Usually by here, most people have about eight chronic diseases.
30:18So you believe that the immune system is the direct, this is the link on aging.
30:23The immune system is the most critical function that we have to prevent the chronic diseases of aging.
30:30So the solution is very simple. Keep the immune system young.
30:36Now you're working on something that is so revolutionary, taking young blood and injecting it into an older person.
30:43Tell me about that.
30:44Yes.
30:45You could take stem cells from a young person between the ages of 18 and 35, preferably 18 to 25,
30:52and put it back into that aging person.
30:56And then hopefully those stem cells will regenerate the bone marrow.
31:00It will also regenerate the brain, the heart, the lung, all the organs.
31:05Instead of taking the cells, we would take the plasma.
31:08Because the plasma now contains all the factors, the good factors that come from the stem cells.
31:12We freeze the stem cells, we take the plasma and we give it back to the aging individuals.
31:18So right now we are actively recruiting.
31:21So the people who are taking part in this young blood trial, what are the physical improvements that you're seeing?
31:26Some patients are saying they've got more energy.
31:29And also they're looking younger because their friends are telling them they're looking younger and asking them what's going on.
31:36But of course they're not sharing the information.
31:39Are you a religious man?
31:41Yes.
31:42So what do you say to the people who say you're playing with God?
31:46Mm-hmm.
31:46You know, is living and dying, is aging not just part of the human process?
31:50It's part of the human process.
31:52However, I don't believe that God wanted us to suffer.
31:56And as an example, in the United States you have 750,000 people living in nursing homes and they don't
32:03know where they are because they've got Alzheimer's disease.
32:05I don't think that that was his destiny for us.
32:08He showed us that centenarians can live to be 100 and healthy.
32:12And what I think he's asking us to do is look to see what are they doing and why are
32:17they doing that and use the science and the gifts that he's given us to be able to do that.
32:22Do you believe this is the death of aging?
32:26That's a very big statement to make, but I believe it is.
32:34Half an hour away in Pompano, I'd heard there were a group of people who turned their obsession with extreme
32:42longevity into an actual religion.
32:45I am heading to Pompano Beach where there is a church whose followers believe that they will live forever.
32:52So much so that while they're waiting for medical science and technology to catch up, they freeze themselves in the
33:02hope of glorious resurrection.
33:04And they have invited me, it's their Sabbath, and they've invited me to their weekly immortality mass, which I'm very
33:14much looking forward to seeing.
33:24This is our third mic check and let's turn the mic on, Burke.
33:29Inside the chapel, Palm Beach property auctioneer Neil was getting ready to lead today's service.
33:35Okay, good. Thank you, gentlemen. Good.
33:38Neil, what do people call you? Are you the pastor of the church or the...?
33:42So since this is not a Christian church, but rather a transhumanist church, my title is officiator.
33:48Officiator, okay.
33:49So how does an auctioneer start a passion for not dying?
33:54This is where my heart is, to find a way to reverse ageing, to be able to live as long
33:59and healthy as possible.
34:00What age do you think you're going to live to?
34:02Oh, I don't think I'm going to die. My hope and plan is to live an extended life.
34:10In the adjacent church hall, the congregation were gathering, and I was meeting church founder and former mortician, Bill Falloon.
34:19Bill, hi, how are you?
34:21Fantastic.
34:23Yes, absolutely.
34:24You've got a great crowd. Everyone's eating.
34:26Oh, it's going to get much more crowded tonight. We're going to pack the place.
34:29We've got so many people right now interested in living longer.
34:32They want to defeat death, and that's what this church was established for.
34:36We hope that mankind's going to develop the technology to live forever, and we'll have a whole lot of fun.
34:44Neil, can I ask you, what age are you?
34:46I'm 71 years of age, and it's absolutely terrifying.
34:49Does it terrify you?
34:51Yeah, of course. I mean, I know what my projected lifespan is.
34:55Aging is a horrible phenomenon. You get sick, you feel lousy, and you die fast.
35:00We already know how to extend life a little bit, but we want to go way beyond that.
35:04So you genuinely believe then, in the next 20 to 30 years, we could be living to 200 to 300?
35:12Oh, absolutely. What we're doing now, we and others, the wealthiest people in the world, are putting big money into
35:18research where we add genes that we had when we were young, but they disappeared as we grew older.
35:24We're putting them back in, and as a result, we're seeing old mice grow biologically younger, we're hoping to see
35:30old monkeys grow biologically younger, and then we apply it to people.
35:34With gene therapy alone, we believe we'd be able to take older people and regenerate them to some extent, we
35:41hope, all the way back down to age 25.
35:42It still seems so far-fetched to me. And so for people who say that it's all a bit crazy,
35:49what do you say to them?
35:50Well, the difference today is no one says age reversal is crazy anymore, at least to me.
35:56They used to say that, but nowadays the public is accepting age delay and age reversal as a science that
36:02may enable them to achieve those objectives.
36:05And so in the meantime, then, is that where prionics comes in?
36:08Big time, that's plan B. Plan A is defeat aging, cure the degenerative diseases, enable people to live indefinitely.
36:16But if we fail, then cryopreserve the patient in the future, get them back to life.
36:21Do you know people in your own social circle who have been frozen?
36:25At this stage, I'm 71 years of age, I know more people who are cryopreserved than I do who are
36:32still alive.
36:33I've been doing this professionally since age 22.
36:36Exactly what happens? What's the process to successfully freeze and then potentially unfreeze somebody?
36:43Well, ideally, you're dying of a terminal disease. We have an emergency response crew that's there doing a standby.
36:51Literally waiting, sometimes days or weeks, for you to illegally die. They immediately restart your heart.
36:59They put in all kinds of medications to protect against ischemic damage.
37:02They lower the temperature to protect against the kind of damage that occurs when people die.
37:07And by lowering temperature, we preserve that patient.
37:12Full body cryopreservation and perpetuity costs around $200,000.
37:19Most of the church members cover the cost with life insurance policies.
37:24So if I die, what's the mechanism of communication? How does that work?
37:28Well, I wear two bracelets in case one falls off.
37:31But there's an 800 number you call.
37:33And we locally have a mobile operating room that will literally send the operating room to where the patient is
37:40and then prepare them for shipment to either Michigan or Alcor or in Arizona.
37:45This is the Alcor bracelet.
37:47I've been signed up for cryonics since I was a teenager.
37:51And this is something that is our backup.
37:54In the event, well, all that technology that we want to reverse aging doesn't occur in time, we get to
37:59be frozen.
38:00And then when that technology exists, come back, not come back in a sickly old way.
38:05But the idea is that they can revive cryopreserved patients.
38:08They almost certainly will reverse aging.
38:12Anyway, let's do the creed.
38:14And read along with me, you guys.
38:16OK, ready?
38:17We believe that all of life is sacred and that we have been given this one life to make unlimited.
38:24In the church, service was started and church deacon and longevity medicine investor Peter Drewer was taking the opening prayers.
38:31We follow Arthur C. Clark, who said the only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go
38:38beyond them into the impossible.
38:40Amen.
38:49Everybody in the church is doing something for age reversal, right?
38:53They're taking pills or they're taking rapamycin.
38:57Most of them older and wealthy.
38:59They have lots of investments like me.
39:02Our belief is that the Bible, Old Testament and New Testament, was written as a science document.
39:08And it's medically perfect.
39:11Our next speaker tonight is the founder of the Church of Perpetual Life.
39:15Let's welcome Mr. Bill Falloon.
39:18So we're continuing the library here of all the ways to live forever because the Bible promises us to live
39:24forever.
39:25This is a study done in China in primates.
39:29They used a special type of stem cell and they were able to show in half the tissues tested significant
39:35reversal of genetic aging.
39:38And our team is hard at work to gain access so we can study it in primate, validate what work
39:44they did and then initiate human trials.
39:47So, Peter, do you think you're going to live forever?
39:50I think so.
39:51I mean, barring accidents, of course.
39:54Okay.
39:55Life would, tomorrow will be like life yesterday.
39:58Now, there's another important thing.
40:00Okay.
40:01You have to have a reason to live, right?
40:04So you can get really lazy about living.
40:07I'm fairly wealthy already, but I have a goal of increasing my wealth tenfold every decade.
40:13So I'll be over a hundred in order to reach my goal of becoming a billionaire at that rate.
40:19It felt like the church was a magnet for people who believed money could buy them power over aging and
40:26death.
40:26We hope we can all make it to 130, 150 and indefinite life eventually.
40:37Back in the hall, a youth-boosting vegan dinner was being served.
40:42The meal might be plant-based, but there was a definite bloodlust in the room.
40:47What have you done personally in order to try and stop the aging process?
40:54Carefully screened and matched plasma from young individuals.
41:00Now, plasma is the liquid component of blood and it contains exosomes, cytokines, hormones that have positive effects on virtually
41:11all the systems in the body and the hallmarks.
41:15So are you a doctor?
41:16No, not a physician.
41:17Oh, okay.
41:18So how many times have you had young plasma from young donors injected into yourself?
41:26Well, it's an infusion technically, although they do inject it, but three times and more in the future.
41:33Johnny is treated with non-FDA approved young blood infusions at a clinic in Texas.
41:38He is not a participant in Dr. Maharaj's FDA approved human trials.
41:44Texas is the only state where this is doable.
41:48And most of the donors are university students.
41:52I have more energy, more focus.
41:55I'm able to work longer.
41:58I truly believe I'm in my prime, more effective than ever.
42:04In the dinner line, I'd spotted church volunteer Devon,
42:07who seemed to be among one of the church's younger members.
42:11Can I ask you about your look?
42:12You look amazing.
42:14I am a member of the furry fandom.
42:17Okay.
42:18And so is the sound tech bark over there.
42:20Okay.
42:21So I'm a cat.
42:22Bark is a dog.
42:24So you identify as a cat?
42:26At least partially, yeah.
42:27Okay.
42:28And I would have always thought like a cat has nine lives.
42:31Yeah.
42:31So you're like, you've got a better chance than most of us.
42:34Yeah, hopefully I'm only on my second life.
42:35Yeah.
42:36So Devon, what brought you to the Church of Perpetual Life?
42:40Like what was, what was it about the philosophy?
42:43I don't think aging is wonderful and all these things that people say,
42:47you know, if they want to go all the way to immortality,
42:49that's the best possible stance.
42:50So.
42:52So part of the philosophy is that people get frozen.
42:56Is that something that you have thought about, have signed up for?
43:01I plan to sign up next year when I turn 40.
43:04Sorry.
43:05You are 40 next year.
43:08You look like you're 21.
43:10That's the point.
43:11What are you doing?
43:13I take four different pharmaceuticals and about 60 supplements.
43:18Every day?
43:19Yeah.
43:20I started when I was 27 with the interventions, like the serious interventions.
43:24And I keep adding more whenever I feel like I'm slipping.
43:27So is that the age you never want to go beyond 27 forever?
43:30That's it for you?
43:31Yeah, that's old enough for me.
43:36Not getting any older, it seems like an impossible dream.
43:42But there are five places in the world they call blue zones,
43:45where people do live significantly longer.
43:50But I was about to discover a potential sixth blue zone,
43:53right on our own doorstep.
43:56Everybody seems to have the same vibe about them.
43:58Yeah.
43:59That spirit to get up and go.
44:08There are five places on planet Earth that are identified as blue zones.
44:13Places where people live unusually long and healthy lives.
44:18But west of the Shannon, I think we might be harboring a sixth blue zone.
44:24The women in Roscommon live to almost 85 years of age.
44:31And that is on par with the average life expectancy of a woman in Sardinia,
44:36which is the designated blue zone.
44:37So I want to know what the hell are they doing to achieve that life expectancy?
44:46Older people in the blue zones tend to have purpose.
44:50They stay occupied and connected.
44:54And in Boyle, I'd heard there was a thriving boutique where the entire team of female staff are past our
45:00standard retirement age.
45:05And only non-blue zone blow-ins like me think that that's unusual.
45:10How are you?
45:11How are you?
45:12How are you?
45:13You're very welcome.
45:14You're lovely to meet you.
45:15Oh, thank you so much.
45:16You're very welcome.
45:17Perpetua.
45:17How are you?
45:19It's Marian.
45:19It's delighted to see you.
45:21What a place.
45:22Yes.
45:23By the way, I love the fact that the entire window is blue.
45:26For the blue zone.
45:29So this is your business?
45:30This is my business, yes.
45:31Very good.
45:32So how long has it been in the family?
45:34Since 1954, the Marian year.
45:36Right.
45:37So my mum and dad opened it and then I came back into the business in 81.
45:40So I'm here since.
45:42And Breed, how long have you worked here?
45:44I came here in 1981.
45:47I will be 82 in a few months' time.
45:5082?
45:51Yeah.
45:52And loving coming to work every day.
45:53Love coming to work every day.
45:55But what's your official role?
45:56Well, I look after the office, the books.
45:59Okay.
45:59Yes.
46:00You wouldn't be without her?
46:01No, absolutely.
46:01She's my right hand.
46:03Oh, fantastic.
46:03Well, listen, show me around.
46:04Right, okay.
46:05It's a lovely place to work.
46:07I can feel the colour.
46:08Yes.
46:09You know, as soon as you walk in the door, you're hit with happiness.
46:12Yes.
46:13There's a lot of colour.
46:13I love colour.
46:14In Boyleshire, look at, there's no old ladies anymore.
46:17We all love our style and our fashion.
46:19I love that.
46:20There's no old ladies in Boyle.
46:24No old ladies, just capable women staying steadfastly in the game.
46:31Roscommon women are living longer than other women in Ireland.
46:36Can you shed any light as to why you think that might be?
46:39Less stress, I think, would be one big reason.
46:43Yeah.
46:43And country living, I think, would have a lot to do with it.
46:46Yes.
46:48Religion is also really important as well.
46:5079% of Roscommoners still identify as Catholic and go to mass.
46:54Yes.
46:55Is that important for you?
46:56Very important for me.
46:57It is really a go to morning mass usually.
46:59If I hadn't religion and if I hadn't work, I don't think I'd be able to live.
47:06Breed, they're 82.
47:08Perpetua, nearly 70.
47:09In fact, the average age of all the women in the shop was about 70.
47:14And they are just the girl guy.
47:15I mean, retirement, what?
47:1865.
47:19Good luck.
47:20They are their own little community.
47:22They are there to serve the community.
47:23They love what they do.
47:25They are living life on their terms the way they want to.
47:28And looking and feeling fabulous.
47:32Blue zone ageing also means staying active.
47:37And in Roscommon Town, they are normalising exercise for a generation too often excluded from gym culture.
47:46Hey, Michael.
47:47How are you?
47:48Martina.
47:49How's it going?
47:50Oh, my God.
47:50It's a very different energy in here than in the big gym outside.
47:54I think it's a fair point that older people are ostracised when it comes to the gym.
47:58Like, they're not being catered for.
48:01Yeah.
48:01Well, I think, you know, the research shows us that when people are in their 50s, the gym membership falls
48:06off like that.
48:06Yeah.
48:07So we provide a solution here, an exercise solution.
48:10It's a circuit of power assisted exercise machines.
48:12Right.
48:13And a holistic approach to health.
48:14So there are physical health, mental health, there's social health.
48:17And those elements are so important here.
48:18And do you know what I'm noticing?
48:21There's a lot of chat going on in the background.
48:22So there's a big social part of this.
48:24There's friendships being made here every day.
48:26Yeah.
48:26There's people who haven't seen each other in years have come to meet here.
48:29There's people who have made new friendships here.
48:30It's amazing what it's doing to that age group.
48:33You know what I'm going to ask?
48:35Of course I have to have a go now.
48:38I don't think I've ever exercised before in knee-high boots.
48:42Yes.
48:44I've come in here now nearly every day and it's great.
48:48And it's amazing how my most, I've turned up like.
48:53And the social aspect of it, it's brilliant.
48:56That you can chat with her beside you.
48:58And get all the local gossip.
49:00Well.
49:02Or beach.
49:12But at the end of the day, what really matters is to still be invited to the party.
49:18And on Roscommon's thriving social dancing scene,
49:21young and old socialise together.
49:24Just like in the Blue Zones.
49:27But my head tells my legs to move
49:30And understand why they refuse to find
49:33Don't leave and let me try
49:38The women of Roscommon outlive other women in Ireland.
49:41So I want to know what are they doing?
49:43What's the secret?
49:44Because all of Roscommon men are so good to them.
49:47They're so good to them.
49:49Amazing.
49:50It's the difference in the ages on that floor.
49:53It brings every age.
49:54Young and old.
49:55When you're on the dance floor you don't have an age.
49:56And we're all good together.
50:01Simple twice.
50:02Peter.
50:03Do you finally ask him what age are you?
50:05I'm 74.
50:0674.
50:06And you're a widower?
50:07I'm a widower, yeah.
50:08What do you love about the dancing?
50:10The freedom you get through the dance.
50:13Yeah.
50:14And you're meeting different people all the time.
50:16Yeah.
50:17Young and old doesn't make a difference.
50:18And everybody seems to have the same vibe of them.
50:21Yeah.
50:21That spirit to get up and go.
50:23Yeah.
50:24Simple.
50:24Go now, let's go.
50:33So can we really stay young forever?
50:35It felt like I had to come to Roscommon to find an answer I could believe in.
50:41Because we stay young in our social connections.
50:43In being accepted for the age that we are.
50:46And in the sense that we're valued.
50:50We stay young in movement.
50:53We stay young in wholesome food.
50:55And as for all the scientists and the medics,
50:59I think they have yet to find a better answer than that.
51:05People will often say, how come nobody's lived to 130 yet?
51:08Well, that's going to take another 60 years.
51:11As soon as we've got one drug that definitely slows down the aging process,
51:15that's going to open the floodgates.
51:16So it could just be a matter of a few years.
51:19Can the biology be known?
51:20Yes.
51:21Do we have incredible tools to interrogate that?
51:25Yes.
51:26So, yeah, I think it's not unreasonable.
51:28And will it happen in my lifetime?
51:30I think there'll be a light rail connection to Dublin airport first.
51:38I've been this way between my teeth.
51:42Trying to find me in between.
51:47I'm thinking for me, literally.
51:51Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
51:56I'm thinking in the world.
51:57I'm thinking in my lifetime.
52:01I'm thinking in the world.
52:05I'm thinking in the world.
52:08Can't you miss the world trying to find the end in between?
52:14Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
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