It’s become par for the course for eager health optimizers to undergo countless scans and blood draws to assess their biomarkers, pace of aging, and implement interventions to live longer, healthier lives.
While not a biohacker, I was eager to try a new test offered from Lifeforce—a membership-based health optimization platform—that offers recommendations to improve my health based on the results.
So earlier this month, a phlebotomist came to my apartment in the early morning to take my blood panel. One week later, I would receive one of the company’s first official Lifescores—which CEO Dugal Bain-Kim describes as “a credit score for my health.” Bain-Kim founded the company alongside business strategist Tony Robbins, Joel Jackson, and longevity entrepreneur and health optimizer Peter Diamandis, who recently launched an XPRIZE for innovations in longevity.
“If you want to achieve a certain standard of life financially in the future, you need to understand what goals you have and start investing early. It’s exactly the same with your health,” Bain-Kim tells Fortune.
Biological age—based on current health, not birthday—is one part of the Lifescore. Developed in partnership with Boston University, the University of Southern California, and other research institutions, the Lifescore, is also determined by blood-based biomarkers, hormone and nutrient levels, metabolic and organ health, family health history, and self-reported data, assessing how people feel about their lives.
The report also breaks down your quality of life (based on your own health questionnaire), your longevity risk (based on biomarkers assessing disease risk), and your biological age. “These are all ingredients in you being as healthy as can be and living as long as you can,” Bain-Kim says.
A credit score for your health
In the breakdown of my blood-based biomarkers, I was pleased to see my biological age is two years younger than my chronological age. But, I wanted to learn more about my overall Lifescore of 70 out of 100. After receiving the report, members regularly meet with a health coach. Dr. Vinita Tandon, medical director at Lifeforce, walked me through my online chart over the phone. First, I noticed I had high concentrations of the nutrient homocysteine, which can indicate a vitamin B deficiency.
Tandon suggested eating more leafy greens for vitamin B and lean protein sources like salmon and trout, as I have eliminated red meat from my diet. Another option, she mentioned, is a B12 supplement to add the nutrient to my diet (It’s worth noting that Lifeforce sells a line of supplements at an extra cost, and they were included as recommendations in my write-up when applicable). I also had slightly low vitamin D levels, likely due to getting less sun during the cold weather months. Tandon recommended getting “healthy sunlight” in the mid-morning or late afternoon for 15 to 20 minutes. I also had slightly lower levels of testosterone, which could be improved with supplementation.
Under the category of overall health risks, I saw an elevated risk for cardiovascular disease. Given my family’s health history, Tandon recommended increasing fiber intake to keep cholesterol levels healthy, such as eating more split peas, black beans, and other lentils.
While I keep a reliably strict exercise and nutrition regimen, it was helpful to see which specific hormones and nutrients were elevated or lacking. I prefer to get my nutrients through my diet versus supplementation, so Tandon recommended various foods I could substitute.
While seeing the overall risks for chronic conditions felt a tad frightening, I appreciated talking to a coach about my labs in detail and devising certain lifestyle hacks that I was comfortable adopting. “Risk does not mean eventuality,” Bain-Kim says. “The thing we’re trying to do for people is help them understand a much more holistic and accurate picture of how healthy they really are, and then give them everything they need to do something about it.”
People who get their first Lifescore as part of the membership will receive follow-ups from a personal health coach and continue to get tested every three months to see if the interventions improve their results. In the testing phase, Bain-Kim says the majority of members started with scores between 70 and 75. Lifeforce’s goal is to keep people at or above 85, and in the beta phase, they say 80% of members improved their score within a year.
The unrealistic 100
When asked if over-optimization is a concern, Bain-Kim says it’s more about keeping people at a steady number and finding the interventions that align with their goals. Mine, for example, was to have more energy and manage stress, but someone else may have their coach curating a different plan. In short, there will always be something that isn’t optimized, so it is frankly unrealistic to achieve a 100—nor should people strive for that.
“Sometimes just holding the line on an already solid score is a huge win,” Bain-Kim says. “We are building this for health-motivated adults. We’re not building this company for hardcore biohackers.”
A Lifeforce membership starts at $129 a month after an initial payment of $349, although any interventions recommended by staff may have you paying more. Bain-Kim says he wants the price of Lifeforce to emulate a “good gym membership,” and while the service is FSA and HSA reimbursable, he hopes to expand it as an employee benefit. As the score develops, more information such as data from wearable technology and genetics will be utilized to determine the results.
For more on how to live longer:
- 9 longevity experts share their best advice for creating healthy habits that can help you age well
- Wealthy men are spending millions to lower their biological ages and live longer. These women are lowering their biological age with cheaper solutions
- The longevity secrets of Singapore, the 6th blue zone city where people are living the longest, happiest lives
- The strict anti-aging routine of a 45-year-old CEO who spends millions a year to be 18 again—from diet to exercise
