Forget Bryan Johnson! Meet Dave Pascoe – the new longevity king who, at 61, claims to have the body of a 38 year-old – and it only costs him $30k a year
Every day, 61-year-old Dave Pascoe wakes up, eats a green banana and spends eight minutes on an electromagnetic blanket, which is said to stimulate his blood flow.
He then does a short stretching session, followed by a few jumps on his mini trampoline. He clears his tongue and takes 82 morning supplements of homemade lemon tea.
These are just a few crucial elements of the wellness routine that he credits with helping him maintain a biological age decades younger than his chronological age.
According to Pascoe, who is believed to be from Michigan, he has the body of a 38-year-old.
He is the latest example of the ever-growing trend of ‘bio-hacking’ – where older people attempt to shorten the age of the body’s cells, technically making them younger than their chronological age.
David Pascoe is the latest ‘biohacker’ to become popular online: he’s 61, but claims to have the body of a 38-year-old.
Perhaps the best known of these “hackers” is California-based entrepreneur Bryan Johnson, 46, who claims to have the heart of a 37-year-old and the skin of a 28-year-old.
Johnson credits his $2 million annual health regimen for his youthfulness, which involves infusions of his teenage son’s blood and the use of erection-tracking devices.
But now there’s a new sustainability enthusiast in town. Pascoe says his routine is more effective and cheaper than Johnson’s, at a total cost of just $30,000 per year.
Pascoe, a retired systems engineer, claims he initially did not set out to cheat death or prevent aging, but instead began making lifestyle changes to prevent cancer and frailty. Ultimately, he decided to fully commit to a lifestyle that would help him “feel better in the long run.”
According to his website, his youth-enhancing routine includes an omnivorous diet, 120 plus supplements such as zinc and “hormone balancing” Nutrafol, as well as a daily exercise routine, infrared saunas and electromagnetic technology to stimulate blood flow.
Pascoe also has monthly blood tests, quarterly genetic testing and annual bone density testing to check his biological age. There is even a mineral analysis of his hair tissue.
People like Johnson and Pascoe have emerged amid recent developments in longevity research.
Pascoe shared this photo from a trip to Israel in 2014. He takes breaks during his vacation
Some scientists, such as those at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s Institute for Aging Research, believe there are ways to “tackle aging before it starts.”
Director of the Institute, Dr. Nir Barzilai, said on a recent podcast that his mission is to “cure aging” by finding therapies that remove old and dying cells from the body before they can cause unpleasant consequences, such as inflammation.
Over time, reducing the amount of inflammation and other stressors from dead cells can cause your aging to slow or stall, Barzilai explains.
In extreme cases, biohackers say they have been able to reverse their age – calculated by comparing genetic markers, blood tests or organ health with the average person of the same chronological age.
While Johnson measures his biological age by testing the health of his organs, Pascoe bases his biological age on the results of regular blood tests and DNA tests.
This highlights small, almost unnoticeable changes in a person’s DNA that occur as a result of numerous environmental factors such as stress or cigarette smoke.
Changes in this measurement can be a good indicator of how old you have become, according to epidemiologists from the University of Bristol.
Skeptics of longevity hackers aren’t sold, however.
They say that many of men’s claims about their results rely on measuring their own fitness.
Furthermore, their self-tests are not standardized, so outsiders cannot do much to verify the claims.
Dr. Jennifer Gunter, a gynecologist and health writer, shared her frustration about this biohacking practices in a comment on this week.
The women’s health specialist said the small sample size and self-reporting make these impressive-sounding achievements unscientific.
“Oh, we’re doing an n of 1 contest? Cool. My grandfather, who started smoking at the age of 8, lived to be 98 years old. By this logic, smoking gave him longevity,” Dr. Gunter wrote.
On the other hand, doctors like Dr. Charles Brenner, a biochemist who studies aging, say that aging probably has much more to do with genes than lifestyle changes.
Dave Pascoe spends $30,000 annually on his anti-aging regimen, compared to the $2 million spent by Bryan Johnson
“There is nothing in Bryan Johnson’s protocol that would change his maximum lifespan,” says Dr. Brenner told the Guardian.
‘There are people who age remarkably well and live to be 110 to 122 years old. None of those people had practices as tightly regulated as Johnson’s.
“You can say he put himself on a better aging trajectory, but you can’t say he reversed or eliminated aging.”
Pascoe’s philosophy focuses on avoiding factors that accelerate aging and trying to reverse aging that has already occurred, Avea Life Insights reported.
Prohibited “ingredients” include added sugars, seed oils, artificial flavors, pesticides and artificial flavors.
Bryan Johnson is a former Silicon Valley CEO who claimed to have reversed his age by more than five years through a thorough anti-aging regimen.
And methods to turn back the clock include massages, strength training, regular cardio, a ban on processed foods – and plenty of sleep.
He also takes more than 120 supplements and experimental pills, such as rapamycin some research has shown can be effective against aging.
By his own estimates, Pascoe spends about $30,000 a year on his lifestyle.
However, according to a profile by longevity trend forecaster Avea Longevity Insights, he has an impressive arsenal of expensive wellness gadgets. This includes a $10,000 red light, a $12,000 sauna and a $5,490 electromagnetic mat to stimulate blood flow.
The devices total $44,820 – and that doesn’t include the supplements, groceries and less technical interventions.
Pascoe is currently retired, but according to its websiteearns an income as an Amazon Associate when people buy products he promotes.