Why we need to be cautious about using anti-ageing hacks
death, is a problem with a solution. But death, it seems, is a fate that one cannot do much about. Until now.
Recent advances in understanding the biochemical pathways of ageing and diagnostics that measure biomarkers linked to increased life have given hope of control on the total number of years lived (lifespan) and the number of years lived in good health (healthspan). Scientific publications are awash with multiple longevity markers, new genes, new pathways and new hacks into these pathways ('biohacking') to prolong healthy life and, consequently, life. One jaw-dropping hack is the hypoxia mask.
A concept in biohacking is that exposure to mild stressors is 'good' for the body as it can adapt to the stress and become more 'resilient'. Exercise is a common example. Some others are cold exposure (ice baths) and pressure exposure (hyperbaric chambers).
Hypoxia is a condition of low oxygen in tissues and is experienced at high altitudes where the atmosphere has low oxygen content. This leads to an increase in red blood cells as the body's coping mechanism. To simulate this, masks have been developed that people willingly wear to restrict the amount of oxygen they can breathe.
Most of the hacking and optimisation is around the most common interventions: food and exercise. Interventions are only useful with progress indicators, and this need is more than met with the proliferation of tests and wearables. For the interested consumer, this presents multiple options to tinker and optimise and track.
There are two issues with this movement. The proponents of interventions for increased healthspan and lifespan might be overselling benefits on another metric: the last few years of life. Increasing the total years lived and the
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