Over the past few decades, advances in medical science have facilitated the rise of the biohacking movement, which involves making changes to one’s physiology in order to make it function as optimally, intelligently, and efficiently as possible. Biohacking is associated with anti-aging and longevity, as it seeks to discover and alter the various factors that cause humans to age, with a goal to slow, stop, or even reverse aging.
Dr Sanjeev Goel, founder of Toronto-based clinic Peak Human is one of the foremost biohacking and longevity experts in Canada, offering a wide variety of products and services to help people achieve their utmost physical, mental, and spiritual state. Peak Human provides access to all the latest medical technologies through its membership-based concierge private medical practice, and it counts celebrities, athletes, and entrepreneurs among its members, providing customized plans to help them live and stay healthy for longer.
According to Dr. Goel, who has more than 25 years of medical experience, Peak Human concentrates on people’s biological age, which encompasses their cellular age and immune age, and it provides various tests to help people figure these out and guide their next course of action. Purely aesthetic procedures, such as botox and fillers, only change the surface, but reversing cellular age will help people feel better and stronger.
Dr Goel says there are also many different regimes and treatments being used today to help reverse cellular age and improve longevity, and one of them that shows the most promise is plasmapheresis. The procedure selectively removes plasma, the liquid translucent portion of the blood that contains various substances like antibodies and proteins, then replaces it with a suitable substitute with the person’s own red blood cells before being returned to the body. Plasmapheresis helps revert the patient’s plasma profile to that of a youthful person thereby providing rejuvenating benefits.
While plasmapheresis has been around for several decades and has long been used in treating autoimmune diseases, Peak Human is the first and only medical center in Canada that offers to perform plasmapheresis for brain health and longevity purposes, thanks to Dr. Goel’s extensive research and capabilities in the biohacking and longevity field.
“Think of it as like an oil change for the human body,” says Dr Goel. “Scientists have shown that Plasmapheresis appears to have promising regenerative effects in animals and humans. It appears to be the most promising treatment to reverse aging right now. In humans, case studies have shown a reduction in biological age in those who have completed a course of treatments. In animals, the results have been quite remarkable showing a rejuvenation of multiple organs including the brain and other muscles’’
Peak Human also offers hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in its clinic, which involves breathing in oxygen pressurized by up to three times higher than normal oxygen pressure. It increases oxygen levels in the blood and other tissues of the patient’s body, triggering the generation of molecules and other compounds that promote healing and assist in recovery. Traditionally, HBOT has been used in treating foot ulcers and other injuries, but it is increasingly being used today by athletes to aid in post-training or post-game recovery to improve performance.
At its baseline, anti-aging involves making correct lifestyle choices. Dr Goel says people should eat a well-balanced diet rich in nutrients that can combat oxidative stress and inflammation. Stress management techniques like meditation can reduce the impact of psychological stress, which can otherwise accelerate aging.
“People have long been interested in improving their longevity to live longer and remain strong and active in old age,” Dr Goel says. “However, in the past, there wasn’t enough knowledge about it, so people couldn’t do much. That has changed now, as we have a much better understanding what’s what’s going on in the body, and the technology to create change. Science is moving pretty quickly, and in the next 10 years there will definitely be more advanced treatments that will allow us to go past the ‘Longevity Escape Velocity’. Health is the most valuable thing we can invest in, and aging is by far the biggest risk factor. By countering the ‘disease of aging’, we can strengthen the body’s immunity and lower the risk of many chronic and debilitating diseases.”
Dr Goel has authored two books to date. The first, published in 2021 is Awakening From a Mindless Life: How to Live in the Present Age, which shares the science behind mindfulness, meditation, and practical proven techniques to stay sane in a rapidly changing world. The second one is The Top 10 Must Do Peak Human Biohacks of 2023, containing biohacks to improve people’s physical and mental well-being, allowing them to take charge of their health and live life at peak conditions.
Aside from helping improve longevity in humans, Dr Goel is also interested in extending the benefits to man’s best friend. He is soon launching the Peak Canine initiative, providing longevity and wellness testing for dogs, including tests for metabolism, food sensitivities, mineral analysis, and mouth and gut microbiome. According to Dr Goel, many veterinarians today are focused on keeping pets healthy from the start by figuring out their true biological age, as well as monitoring how they eat, and how much exercise they are getting.
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