Former model turned entrepreneur Kate Toro recently made headlines after publicly revealing that she was following in the biohacking footsteps of her boyfriend Brian Johnson. Johnson, who calls himself 49 years old and celebrates a birthday every 19 months, is known for his desire to live a long life. A venture capitalist who popularized the “don’t die” philosophy received a plasma infusion from his teenage son and donated his own plasma to his father in hopes of extending his life.
Toro, who calls herself the “most measured woman,” said she tracks her cortisol levels daily, as well as collecting blood, urine and stool samples. “I’m doing this for women,” Toro told Wired earlier this month.
They have many friends. Wealthy individuals routinely fuel the growth of longevity clinics, often spending tens of thousands of dollars annually for memberships that boast access to full-body MRIs and personalized treatments and tests under the care of longevity physicians. The goal is to optimize health and, in many cases, extend lifespan.
You may be wondering whether you should spend thousands of dollars just like that in the name of living a healthier, more successful life. After all, living a long, disease-free life is a perfectly reasonable aspiration. However, the answer to this particular question is nuanced and, like many modern practices, depends on convenience and personal needs.
Some doctors and industry experts advise: As always, before making any major changes that may affect your health, consult a doctor who is familiar with your needs.
What the Longevity Clinic offers
Longevity doctors (usually doctors who help people live longer, healthier lives) can tell us a lot about how our bodies hold up over time. A typical first session at a longevity clinic may include blood and metabolic tests, a VO2 max test to determine your fitness level, and a “biological age” test, also known as a “body credit score.”
According to estimates by the American Society for Anti-Aging Medicine in June 2024, there are approximately 800 longevity clinics in the United States. Clinics typically test patients for biomarkers of aging, such as inflammation levels, immune system health, and cognitive performance, and doctors often recommend personalized care, therapies, supplements, and nutritional guidance based on the results.
Dr Andrea Meyer, director of the National University of Singapore Academy of Healthy Longevity and founder of the Singapore-based longevity medicine clinic Chi Longevity, says some longevity tests and treatments are based on emerging science and people may be spending a lot of money despite the lack of conclusive evidence that a multi-thousand dollar treatment will lead to longer lives.
“There’s really no biological basis[for IVs],” Meyer says, referring to NAD+ IVs, which are popular because the coenzyme NAD+ is essential for metabolism and naturally decreases with age. Intravenous “infusions” of supplements ranging from multivitamins to minerals such as magnesium can cost anywhere from $150 to $1,000 each, according to some clinic websites. Neil Paulbin, a New York City-based longevity and regenerative medicine physician, agrees. There isn’t enough research to support the idea that NAD+ IV infusions can inject coenzymes into the human body at the cellular level, Paulvin told CNBC Make It last March.
Some clinics may also offer full-body MRI exams, which scan for everything from cancerous tumors to evidence of a stroke. Head-to-toe scans, which can range from $1,000 to more than $3,000, according to price lists on some clinics’ websites, purport to detect early signs of some diseases, but can also spot non-threatening medical problems. When people undergo elective whole-body MRI without a medical need, “even though we think we’re helping the patient, we often end up with negative downstream effects,” says radiologist Matthew Davenport, associate chair of radiology at the University of Michigan Medical School.
“When you get full-body imaging and find something, that often triggers further action,” Davenport says. Follow-up care “may be as simple as a doctor’s visit, or it may be a lab test, an imaging test, an endoscopy, or surgery to remove something.” Of course, these procedures can have financial implications, he added.
Additionally, the most common, research-backed recommendations for achieving optimal health are the same tried-and-true advice people often hear. Many longevity doctors suggest basic low-cost health tips, such as getting exercise, spending quality time with loved ones, and prioritizing a whole-foods-first diet.
Membership fee
Membership fees at clinics that provide concierge services that analyze health data are not cheap.
Luxury fitness company Equinox Fitness Club has a waiting list of more than 1,000 people for its Optimize gym membership, which includes personal training, sleep coaching and a “health concierge” and costs $40,000 a year, a company spokesperson said. At Human Longevity, a clinic based in San Diego and San Francisco, annual memberships range from $8,000 to $19,000 and include tests such as brain and body MRIs, as well as reviews from expert clinicians.
Extension Health, a longevity clinic in New York City, offers a “Superhuman” package for $250,000 a year. Membership, which is by invitation only, may include procedures such as plasmapheresis, which removes blood and separates harmful substances such as abnormal proteins before returning it to the body.
Patrick Dwyer, managing director of Miami-based boutique wealth management and planning firm Aligned by NewEdge Wealth, said these clinics tend to be located in high-demand “wealth bubbles” such as New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. He added that so many customers had asked him about the Longevity Clinic that he began researching it himself in order to make informed recommendations.
“The demand for physicians who do this is going to continue to grow,” Dwyer said, nodding to patient interest in such concierge medical options. His clients are often most interested in new treatments in the longevity field, he added, likely because they’ve heard about their benefits from their peers.
The cost of services varies depending on your health insurance coverage. Depending on your health insurance, the cost of a blood test may not be covered unless your doctor orders it for a medical reason, such as a health condition. Requests for blood tests for metabolic health, hormonal health and inflammation that are not medically necessary are not necessarily covered by insurance, Meyer said. On average, blood test costs range from $29 to more than $300 per test, depending on where it is performed and what is tested. At some longevity clinics, a single test can cost as much as $800 and may include an analysis of cellular health.
Is it really necessary?
From longevity clinics to more specific wearable health tracking devices such as Whoop straps and Oura Rings, the range of wellness products is vast and doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. The global wellness market is expected to reach $9.8 trillion by 2029, up from $6.8 trillion in 2024, according to projections by the Global Wellness Institute, a Miami-based nonprofit that monitors trends in the wellness economy.
Scientifically questionable procedures aside, the real value of longevity clinics comes from the peace of mind patients get from receiving personalized recommendations and the thinking behind them, says Sanjiv Lal, CEO and co-founder of Regen Therapy, a Los Angeles-based business-to-business platform for regenerative medicine and longevity medicine clinicians.
The actual programs and treatments that wealthy people seek are “not as expensive as what they’re paying,” Lal said. Instead, he says, expensive clinics largely exist to help clients feel like they’re getting advice directly from the world’s leading experts, bypassing the headaches of researching and testing what’s best for them.
Meyer says that when investing money in longevity treatments, it should be invested in treatments that have evidence to support their effectiveness. Before trying anything new that could have a big impact on your health, determine whether your body actually needs it through testing and working closely with your doctor, she added.
“The most wasteful thing we can do in this field is try things without measuring and without knowing what we’re doing,” Lal says. And still, be prepared for the unexpected. Johnson, an advocate of longevity, announced in July that he had been diagnosed with autoimmune gastritis. Autoimmune gastritis is a chronic inflammatory disease in which the immune system attacks cells within the lining of the stomach.
If the financial investment in your health fits within your budget, and you don’t want to jump into it from scratch, a small part of the longevity clinic experience can be beneficial, Meyer says. For example, she says, getting blood tests to find out what your body is lacking and what you need to supplement may be a worthwhile investment if you can afford it.
Gut microbiome testing may also help some people design their own diets based on levels of different vitamins and nutrients, Meyer says. Although you can get this type of test at a longevity clinic, an at-home gut health test typically costs about $200 to $500 per session.
“Let’s start with the basics,” says Meyer. “The best return on investment is really there.”
—CNBC Make It’s Megan Sauer contributed reporting.
