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TURN BACK TIME
Meet the ‘budget biohacker’ mum Julie Gibson Clark, 55, who is ‘ageing backwards’ thanks to ‘secret sauce’ routine
Watch the video above to find out what Julie eats every day - as she reveals her biological age is just 44
JULIE Gibson Clark might be 55.
But thanks to some simple lifestyle tweaks, the single mum-of-one has reduced her biological age by over a decade.
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"For every year that goes by, I only age eight months," she explains.
Julie, from Arizona, US, is a biohacker. Or, as she puts it, a "bio optimiser."
The recruiter is just one of a growing number of people spending small fortunes on "hacking their biology" to live healthier and longer lives.
But unlike most preoccupied with the latest craze, Julie is not a Silicon Valley millionaire—in fact, she is "far from it."
Read more on biohacking
"I'm a single mum with a kid who's about to go to college, I don't have a lot of money to spend on my health," she tells Sun Health.
BIOHACKING OLYMPICS
But this hasn't stopped her from giving biohacking legend Bryan Johnson a run for his buck in the global longevity game, the .
The tech millionaire's online leaderboard allows participants (mostly the ultra-rich) to compete with thousands of others across the world to see who can slow their “biological age" the most.
While chronological age refers to the actual time a person has existed, biological age refers to how old their cells are—which basically translates to the rate at which their body is dying.
Most read in Wellness
I think the biggest bang for your buck right now is eating right, exercising and sleeping
Julie Gibson Clark
At the time of writing, Julie was in second place, four spots ahead of Bryan, who spends a whopping $2million (£1.5million) yearly to reverse his ageing.
The self-proclaimed 'King of Biohacking' takes hundreds of supplements a day and has tried some pretty to rejuvenate his body, most notably injecting himself with his 18-year-old son’s blood plasma (which didn't work).
Why I am spending millions to be 18 again
The 45-year-old has also famously tried “penis rejuvenation therapy”, which involved shocking his appendage three times a week to make it feel younger.
'I FEEL YOUNGER THAN I DID IN MY 40s'
Julie, the newest longevity contestant, doesn’t use expensive medical treatments or gadgets to reverse the ageing process.
By "keeping things simple", she claims to have reduced her biological age by 11 years - giving her the body of a 44-year-old.
"I think the biggest bang for your buck right now is eating right, exercising and sleeping," the mum-of-one says, "that alone will optimise your cells".
Since adopting her longevity routine, Julie claims to feel younger now than she did in her forties.
"It was beyond sluggish back then, which I used to think was part of getting older.
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"But now, that's all gone. I am a lot more resilient in general. I could go three of four nights on not much sleep and still fully function in the day."
When Julie is with friends, she sees the most significant difference in her health and suddenly feels relatively young.
"I recently spent some time hiking in Arizona with school friends [of a similar age] and noticed some were having more trouble than I was.
"They were getting tired and sore, but I just wasn't."
While chatting on Zoom, Julie appears to have a flawless complexion, which she claims has only emerged in the last few months.
"My skin is much more glowy," she says, "which I think is mostly down to all the veg I eat."
She also uses glycolic acid on her face each morning, a product known for its anti-ageing and exfoliating properties.
LONGEVITY SECRETS
On average, the anti-ageing guru spends just $100 (£78) per month (pm)on her routine, which includes a $20 (£16) gym membership and $80 (£62) for NOVOS, a type of longevity supplement.
At the gym, she splits her time between cardio and weight lifting - are linked to in mortality.
But she claims weight lifting explicitly is the "secret sauce" to keeping her body looking youthful.
"I started lifting when I noticed I was a little saggy, and by building the muscles, I made them look much more toned.
I just want to live as well as I can right now
Julie Gibson Clark
"But one of the first things I noticed a few months after I began weightlifting was how strong I suddenly felt.
"I was so much more stable, which makes walking upstairs so much easier. I just love being strong."
Julie grazes on just shy of 500g of cooked veggies each day, including broccoli and peppers - which she claims keeps her very full.
"I know that sounds like a lot, but I think that would mean adding a bowl of vegetables a day for most people."
Countless studies have touted the life-extending benefits of the humble vegetable.
Scientists have so much faith in veg that some are pushing for the “eat your five a day” message to be scrapped and replaced with "eat 30 plants a week".
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On top of this, the mum tries to eat at least 100g of protein, which the ex-vegan finds "challenging".
"Vegetables actually have an Ozempic effect," she explains. "So I'm usually pretty full all day, which means I have to force myself to eat meat most of the time to get my protein intake up."
Despite her very healthy lifestyle, Julie admits she doesn't count calories as she finds eating lots of veg is enough to keep her slim and reverse ageing.
"I enjoy my life," she says. "Every once in a while, I'll eat ice cream; I also have caramel sauce downstairs that I will enjoy tomorrow!
"During the week, I stick to my diet, then on the weekend, I just do what I want," she adds.
The anti-age guru revealed sleep is an extremely important part of her longevity regime.
"My son might call me a sleep fascist," she laughs.
And even though she wakes at 5am, the mum tries to get at least eight hours of bed rest each night.
Which means lights are usually off by at least 9pm.
There is among scientists that good quality sleep can add years to people’s lives.
A day in the life of a biohacker
Julie Gibson Clark's typical weekday routine:
Wake up (5am)
Morning drink: Glass of green tea
Morning meditation (5:30 - 6:30am): Bible reading, or me-time
Workout (7-7:45am): Combination of cardio and weight training (five days a week), followed by a protein shake
Sauna and cold shower
Pre-breakfast drink: Dehydrated green juice
Breakfast (9-10am): Smoothie, which includes bone broth, 100g of cooked greens and berries for taste
Lunch (12:30pm) : Cooked veg (500g), which she grazes on all afternoon, and a Novos drink
Afternoon meditation (4-4:20pm): Transcendental meditation
Dinner (6-7pm): Stuffed spinach and goat cheese pork chops and a side of green vegetables (for example)
Post dinner walk: 10-15 minutes
Bedtime (9pm)
"I think if we could bottle sleep, it would be the greatest drug in the world," she adds.
Most days, the fitness fanatic will use a sauna for 20 minutes before jumping in a cold shower.
Julie says the ritual "makes [her] happy".
"A month or two into using the sauna, I started feeling like I was on happy drugs. I thought, 'What is going on with me?' and 'Why do I feel so amazing?'"
Regular sauna bathing has been found to alleviate stress, relax the muscles, and increase mental well-being, all of which have been linked to living longer.
Just take a look at Finland, which has been named the happiest country in the world for the seventh year running, and its sauna culture to see this in action.
Sitting in a sauna followed by a dip in the dark waves of the Baltic is an ancient tradition in Finland that everyone gets involved in.
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Scientists have often linked Finland's love of saunas to high levels of happiness there.
Plus, sweating can increase your metabolism and help burn calories - another nice perk.
Julie also slots 20 minutes of transcendental meditation into her daily routine, which she says has helped her deal with stressful times.
The practice, made popular by celebrities like Sir Paul McCartney and Gwyneth Paltrow, involves sitting still with eyes closed while chanting a mantra – also sometimes described as “omming”.
Unlike other biohackers, Julie doesn't have an age goal per se.
Bryan, for example, is trying to reach the biological age of an 18-year old. But ultimately, he wants to live forever.
"I admire what people like him are doing. It's really interesting. And if I had the money, I'd definitely try some of his techniques out," she says.
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"But my goal isn't to live forever.
"I just want to live as well as I can right now, so I make it to watch my son grow up and, god willing, my future grandchildren."
Who is Bryan Johnson?
Unless you've been living under a rock for the last few years, you've likely heard of a man called Bryan Johnson.
Mr Biohacker himself has spent millions of dollars to fend off the effects of ageing.
Alongside help received from doctors and health experts, Bryan, who is biologically 46, has taken up treatments to achieve the body of an 18-year-old.
His ambitious plan to make him look a lot younger involves a strict diet, exercise and a meticulous sleep routine.
Bryan also embarks on a number of different medical procedures ranging from regular blood tests and infusing himself with a litre of his son’s plasma to 'painful' shock therapy on his penis.
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