He is 69 going on 32. Meet a biohacker whose story will inspire you to get healthier!

Anthony Lawrence might be one of our most impressive clients ever. His chronological age might be 69, but his GlycanAge is 32! Find out how a traumatic life event inspired him to focus on his health and get started on his biohacking journey.

Anthony, off the bat I have to say that you look amazing. How do you feel? 

Thank you, I have to say it’s not often I get to say that I feel amazing. Most of my contemporaries are ageing quite differently than me. They’ve got metabolic issues, heart bypasses, obesity problems and more and it’s hard for me to relate to them sometimes. 

I could start with the topic of keto and exercising, but I don’t think it would be a fruitful conversation. 

Well, Anthony, this is your time to shine. Can you share with us how you got started on your biohacking journey? 

Thank you. I guess I don’t have to be modest with you, I suppose it would be like preaching to the converted. I know that longevity, or biohacking is a strange hobby to have. It all started 6 years ago when my friend got diagnosed with cancer. He was my closest friend and the hospital was completely destructive in the treatment, per usual. 

And so the bottom line was, they gave him 3 weeks to live. I couldn’t accept this and since I’ve been interested in health care and research for most of my life, I decided to help him any way I can. 

I managed to pull him though within 6 weeks and he even went on a Mediterranean cruise with his wife. He got to live for 18 more months and that’s when I truly understood the impact a person’s lifestyle can have on their health. 

Once I heard about GlycanAge, I was surprised that tests like these are not staples of medicine. Imagine if your GP tested your GlycanAge and gave you guidelines on what type of diet to follow and how to change your lifestyle. 

Then after, they can retest you and monitor your progress. I think we need a more holistic approach to medicine. 

That’s a kicker of a story. I’m very sorry for your loss. I guess the silver lining was all the changes you implemented in your life. Can you talk a little bit about those?

As painful as that situation was, it inspired me to learn more about myself and my body. I always had an interest in biochemistry and when my friend got sick, I started to read a lot more. Now I have a library at home and I do a lot of research on my own. 

Getting back the results was sort of a double-edged sword for me. On one hand, I am biologically very younger than I am chronologically, but on the other, it’s quite challenging to bring the number even lower. 

I mean, let's face it, any normal person would be completely over the moon and just carry on as normal. However, I need to experiment a bit further and see what else I can improve. I’m trying not to make too many adjustments because it’s going to be very difficult to assess what’s working if I keep making a lot of changes. 

I’ve been working out for 45 years and I have kept fine tunning it ever since. Nowadays, it’s mostly weights. I combine heavy and lightweight days and I work out 3 times a week. That way, my muscles have enough time to recover.

I’ve been on a keto diet for 5 years now and I’m fairly strict when it comes to my meals. I’m conscious of protein and I’ve held carbs fairly low. I might eat half a dozen blueberries a day and that’s the only fruit I eat. 

The only vegetables I eat are avocados and other cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage and anything that grows above ground. I eat between 1:00 p.m. and 7 p.m. and I don’t eat any snacks in between.  

I skip breakfast and only eat lunch and dinner. 

Is there a spiritual element to your journey and do you have any self-care tips you can share?

I have a library at home that probably has around 2000 books. I’ve been interested in comparative religion all my life and what particularly interests me is the relation between spirituality and neurobiology and the whole issue of consciousness. 

I started doing yoga when I was 14 and I actually had to give it up because I became obsessive. I would spend a lot of time standing on my head and all that stuff and I didn’t really understand it at that time but it was interesting to me. 

It did give me great flexibility and made me realize how important breathing is. I absolutely breathe in through my nose and try to breathe from the diaphragm. I know that breathing through my nose increases vasodilation.

If you ask me if I meditate, I’ll have to say that this is a contentious point I’ve had with your colleague. I set aside an hour a day to meditate and he tried to get me to push it to two. I can see technically why that might be interesting, but to spend two hours a day meditating for three months, you know, in retrospect, I thought this ain't going to happen, you know, but I do.

However, I don’t want to disparage anyone who doesn’t have the time. I think that the quality of the process is more important than the quantity.

What are some misconceptions people have about biohacking? 

I feel like people don’t think it’s possible. But looking at my results, I don’t think anyone can dispute the power of a healthy diet, exercise, a good sleep cycle and overall listening to your body.