The feeling is surprisingly empowering, like harnessing lightning in the style of Thor from the Marvel films. The rubber suit is quite flattering too. The result is a greatly enhanced workout in less time. I’m in and out in 20 minutes, feeling as fit as Cristiano Ronaldo or maybe even Mike Tyson, both of whom are fans, according to Fraser Smith, the fitness expert and founder of Vive Fitness.
The effects are evident for several days, with muscles I never knew I had woken from years of sedentary slumber. Indeed a 2018 study showed that EMS improved functional performances more effectively than voluntary training and counteracted age-related muscle loss.
I finish each exercise session with either a plunge in the gym cold plunge pool or a cold shower.
Total cost: from £35 at Vive Fitness and gym membership (average UK price, £50/month)
Benjamin Button score: five out of five
Step 3. Pile in on supplements, drips and jabs
“You can have tests to identify which supplements are the most beneficial for you but, in general, large scale epidemiological studies into supplements designed to boost longevity identify a few of the big winners.”
“I’m an underachiever,” he says. “I have a lot of friends in the biohacking longevity space who take 100 different supplements.”
Ben talks me through three of his key recommendations:
- Spermidine: One of the most talked-about compounds in the biohacking business, spermidine (£24.99/120 from Healf) is believed to play a beneficial role in cell regeneration, or autophagy, and anti-ageing. Studies show it prolongs life and health span by protecting from a range of age-associated pathologies in several animal models.
- Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+, £58.94/42 from Healf): A molecule found in all living cells that is described as a linchpin in the function of mitochondria, which are effectively our cell batteries. Our NAD+ levels decline with age and it is believed by many scientists that this is one of the fundamental reasons for ageing. Ben has weekly NAD IV therapy.
- Akkermansia: For good measure he suggests this cholesterol-lowering probiotic (£49.49/30 from Healf).
What happened when I took supplements like biohacker Ben
For transparency, I’m already a pill popper and take a daily vitamin supplement, plus cod liver oil, vitamin B-complex, tri-amino and Ashwagandha.
To boost my biohacking, I add Ben’s suggested “hero” pills (Spermidine, NAD+ and Akkermeansia), plus Bulk Dominate hormone booster (£27.99), magnesium (£8.99), turmeric and curcumin (£11.99) and a probiotic (Dr Vegan Gut Works, £26.99) and split the new regime into three “stacks”, taken in the morning, midday and evening.
I head back to the Get a Drip clinic to test out NAD+. This mainstay of longevity technology has to be administered slowly and takes around two hours. At £400, it’s at the pricier end of the biohacking toolkit and not one for the time-poor amongst us. I also have a NAD booster shot (£100) the following week.
Next, I take a nootropic for brain health which contains the herb Bacopa monnieri used in Ayurvedic medicine (Dr Vegan Brain Fuel, £25.99/30). A 2014 review of nine studies into the herb concluded that it has the potential to improve cognition, particularly speed of attention, but that better tests are required.
Taking 15 pills a day is small-scale by biohacking standards, but still a stomach full. I get funny looks in the gym cafe swallowing pill after pill but after so many, I find fasting in the morning much easier.
Total cost: £735.37
Anti-ageing score: potentially four out of five, pending more studies
Step 4. Revamp your diet with intermittent fasting and raw liver smoothies
“Fasting is good for cellular autophagy, which is a cellular clean-up process.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, with plenty of studies rooting for the technique, Ben is keen on intermittent fasting. So breakfast is out until 10am, when he treats himself to a smoothie that sometimes includes raw liver. Yum. This might also include bone broth, which contains nutrients such as collagen, electrolytes and various amino acids, and is said to help reduce inflammation and build muscle. The smoothie also contains “all sorts of fancy protein powders and goat milk colostrum”, which is supposed to boost gut health and the immune system.
“I just put the best of the best stuff into my body to start the day,” he says.
What happened when I ate like biohacker Ben
I’m all for living to 120, but the offal is a step too far even for me. So I opt for a toned down recipe based on Ben’s, but without the liver “seasoning”, using medium-chain triglyceride oil, which helps burn fat for energy rather than glucose (£12.99), spinach, mint, cucumber, carrot, avocado, ginger, turmeric, coconut water, protein powder (£26), cinnamon, raw cocoa powder, raw cocoa nibs, Brazil nuts, goji berries and chia seeds.
I’m used to going to the gym early and eating afterwards so fasting until 10 or 11 was not problematic. Most likely because, having followed Ben’s supplement regime, I was full of pills and liquid.
I also drink a post-workout litre of water mixed with bovine collagen (£20.85) for skin, bovine colostrum (£32.99) and soluble creatine for muscle building (£3.49) to wash down my supplements and tried Ketone I-Q shots when I needed a boost (£36/6 Healf). Ketones are an alternative energy source to glucose that increase focus and energy.
When he’s not downing strange liquids, Ben sticks to a sensible Mediterranean diet, which is something I can get behind, and insists on eating meals in “parasympathetic state”, which means when relaxed.
I’m not sure about the bovine additions but the real revelation was the ketone shots. They tasted like drain-cleaner but the energy and mental clarity they provided was remarkable. They also reduced appetite. It was like being a better version of myself for a few hours.
Total cost: £132.32
Anti-ageing core: five out of five
Conclusion
Metabolic age: 48, according to David Lloyd Body Hub
End weight: 70.76kg
Body fat: 20 per cent
After four weeks, I went back to David Lloyd Club Body Hub, to recheck my stats. The result? I lost a not-too-shabby 2 per cent of body fat and just over a kilo (2.2lbs), but impressively I was four years “younger”, as measured by metabolic age, not a lot by most biohackers standards, but – if I keep it up – maybe I’ll live to 100.