Ben Greenfield is a real-life Captain America, seemingly chiselled from granite. He is 13 stone of manliness with just 6 per cent body fat. Born in north Idaho, Ben, 43, is a self-proclaimed “biohacker”, a new breed of homo deus who have made careers out of experimenting with their health, using gadgets and compounds to ensure they won’t end their days on a mobility scooter with Type 2 diabetes.
It works well for those with a tech bro budget, or if, like Ben, companies bung you their products to test, but I want to find out whether mere mortals, on a budget, can learn anything from these longevity gods.
Ben is a seductive poster boy for the creed of biohacking. A health consultant who coaches clients on fitness and nutrition and was once voted America’s top personal trainer. He is also a bestselling author.
“I’m 42 and I feel like I’m 16,” he tells me over the phone, as he strolls around his seven acre farm in Washinghton. “I get out of bed feeling amazing, I go to bed feeling amazing. A lot of it is due to implementing so-called biohacking tools.
“I use technologies like red light therapy to simulate the beneficial photons in sunlight or electrical muscle stimulation to stimulate muscle use, or cryotherapy to mimic the rigours of freezing weather.”
This fad has been made famous by many Silicon Valley billionaires, most notably Bryan Johnson. He is a wealthy venture capitalist whose rejuvenation routine involves blood transfusions from younger people, one of whom has been his 17-year-old son. Johnson claims to spend $2 million (£1.56 million) a year actively reversing the ageing process.
Ben, who appears at London’s Health Optimisation Summit this weekend sharing his youth-inducing insights, is not as bonkers.
The event will be attended by other experts in the fields of biohacking, longevity and anti-ageing, and is billed as an opportunity to discover “health and longevity’s best kept secrets” while trying out high-tech health gadgets such as sunlight saunas, ice baths, IV drips and more.
Like Ben, I too want to feel 16, which is why, using his daily routine as a template, I’ve biohacked for a month, on a budget that is a fraction of what the billionaires spend, to see if I can wind back my metabolic clock.
I begin by measuring my metabolic age using a David Lloyd Club Body Hub, which scans the body and uses metrics such as height, weight, age, body composition, body fat percentage and muscle mass to calculate your metabolic age. I am 54. I weigh 72kg and have a body fat percentage of 22 per cent. The machine tells me I have a metabolic age of 52.
Not bad, but with Ben’s advice could I reduce my “age” even further? I follow a four step programme using his tips to find out.
Step 1. Devise a strict daily routine
“Have non-negotiables that you do every day.” Ben’s are a morning gratitude prayer, 10,000 steps a day, time spent outdoors, eight hours of rest, some form of cold therapy, fasting, exercise and healthy diet.
5.30am: a prayer of thanks
His routine varies but most mornings he wakes up at an ungodly hour and says a prayer of thanks
5.40am: oil pulling
Then move on to 20 minutes of “oil pulling”, which means swilling your mouth with oil (Ben uses ozonated oil, which is enriched with ozone and oxygen.) It is believed to improve gum health by reducing inflammation. Many scientists suspect that there are links between oral health and heart disease, pregnancy complications and pneumonia, so at a mere £15.99 for coconut and peppermint oil, this could be a cheap, easy biohacking win.
6.00am: a glass of ‘structured’ water
Next, Ben drinks a litre of “structured water” that has been filtered through special glass beads and charcoal until it has the same profile as filtered mountain water, while necking a few supplements.
6.10am: 20 minutes of self-care
This can involve stretching and breath work. He uses a “biocharger” that emits red light and different electrical frequencies “to charge up the body”.
6.30am: office work, biohacker style
After a coffee, it’s time for some work at his standing desk which has a walking treadmill. Ben strips naked and works under red-light panels. He also wears a special helmet to improve hair growth and breathes humidified air from a NanoVi machine, a £6,700 device used to promote cellular repair and rejuvenation (Gwyneth Paltrow is a fan.)
“I’ve got these massive red light panels in my office. I strip all my clothes off and for the first half hour or so of my day, I jump into a little bit of work while I’m bathed in red light.
“Red light has been shown to be good for skin health, for hormone health, even for things like hair growth or skin health.”
Studies suggest it can be effective for reducing wrinkles. Numerous other studies suggest it may be beneficial for other conditions including pain, arthritis and hair loss.
12 noon: oxygen recharge
Midway through the day Ben recharges with a dose of pure oxygen courtesy of his basement hyperbaric oxygen chamber. “I’ll crawl into it, do some meditation and breathe pure oxygen under pressure that simulates about 23ft under the ocean. It saturates my whole body with oxygen,” he tells me.
In the US, the therapy is approved for use to treat burns, anaemia, infections and crush injuries. Within the wellness community, hyperbaric oxygen treatments are believed to enhance collagen production, mental clarity, energy and reduce pain and bruising, swelling and inflammation.
What happened when I tried biohacker Ben’s routine
Ben lives deep in the verdant woodlands of Spokane, Washington, where the morning light is probably lovely. In grey Surrey, it’s a gruelling start, but there’s plenty to pack in, so up I get at 5.30am and say a prayer of gratitude that I’ve only needed to pee once in the night.
The oil pulling is not as bad as I thought it would be. No mess and it may strengthen muscles in the mouth. I speak to a dental hygienist who explains that while there are no adverse effects, it is best to brush teeth afterwards as the coconut oil can contain sugars. A 2022 meta-analysis concluded that it may have benefits in reducing salivary bacteria but has no significant effect on plaque build-up and gum health.
Unlike Ben, I don’t have handy red light panels in my home office, but find a range of high-tech devices at Get a Drip, in London. The red light sunbed is £55, hardly a snip but far from billion dollar territory.
Handily, the clinic also has a hyperbaric oxygen chamber (£55 for a 30 minute session) and a cryotherapy chamber (£40 for 15 minutes), providing a one-stop-shop for some of the biohacking community’s most popular tech fixes. Over the space of a month, I have two red light therapy sessions, a cryotherapy session and a hyperbaric oxygen therapy session.
I felt more focussed after a session in the hyperbaric glass-sided iron coffin. The cryotherapy did what it was supposed to do and froze me. I had to check the chamber afterwards to make sure a nipple hadn’t dropped off. All in all, an invigorating experience, topped off with a relaxing 25 minute red-light sunbed.
Total cost: £220.99
Benjamin Button score: four out of five (pending further studies)
Step 2. Supersize your exercise
“If you want to burn fat, wake up in the morning and do about 20 to 45 minutes of aerobic exercise in a fasted state. Low intensity exercise burns the body’s fat stores.
“I do fasted aerobic exercise in the morning, combined with cold therapy and caffeine. It works like gangbusters,” says Ben. “The number one key to fat loss is to burn more calories than you’re consuming. To help with hunger management, a bitter hops extract can curb appetite.”
Ben’s fitness routine varies and includes kettlebells and sandbags, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and tree climbing. He also employs electrical muscle stimulation (EMS), which uses electrical currents to artificially activate your muscles.
EMS uses a suit fitted with electrodes to stimulate muscles, causing them to contract while you are guided through a range of exercises by a personal trainer. The intensity of the contractions can be controlled depending on fitness levels.
What happened when I exercised like biohacker Ben
A 45-minute Blaze HIIT class at my local David Lloyd club is the cornerstone of my fitness routine, high-energy and addictive. Rachel Speers, the club’s master trainer, tells me that numerous studies show it boosts metabolism, helps to prevent Type 2 diabetes and stimulates the production of mitochondria, boosting cellular energy and reducing age-related decline.
For the electrifying benefits of EMS, I head to Vive Fitness in Westminster, London. One or two sessions a week are adequate as, depending on the intensity you chose, muscles need time to recover from what can be an epic, turbo-charged workout.
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.
I also experienced lowered sugar cravings and less impulse to drink alcohol. My gut health improved (Gillian McKeith would have been proud of me), my libido increased and my skin was clearer. I lost a bit of weight and fat, and my energy and focus improved. I slept well throughout and coped easily with the stress of a significant project deadline. Perhaps it was the placebo effect, but I genuinely felt younger.
I’ll definitely continue with the HIIT exercise, the EMS, the Mediterranean diet, the intermittent fasting and the smoothie regardless of whether they turn back the metabolic clock. I’ll also stick with some of the supplements, particularly NAD+ , spermidine and probiotics.
Was it worth the cost? Four years for just over £1,000 might sound like a bargain, but over the years it’s a substantial investment. You could get run over by a bus tomorrow, after all.
Total monthly bill to live like a biohacker: £1,173.68
Ben is a speaker at the Health Optimisation Summit, which takes place on June 15 and 16 in London’s Business Design Centre. It is billed as a global gathering of experts in biohacking, longevity, nutrition, fitness and preventative medicine.
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