I Went to a Longevity Clinic: These 3 Lessons Completely Changed the Way I Think About Aging

When it comes to aging, we can feel like everything is out of our control. But as I learned during my first visit to a longevity clinic, that’s not the whole story.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I arrived at the Houston branch of Fountain Life, a longevity clinic with locations in Texas, New York, and Florida, but the fact that it felt more like a high-end spa than a medical facility immediately put me at ease. A receptionist guided me to my home base for the day—a chic, calming suite with a sofa, table and chairs, mini-fridge stocked with healthy snacks and drinks, sink, and recliner—where I relaxed between my appointments for the day (which were all conveniently located in the same hallway).

Over the next four hours, I underwent a battery of tests, including a full-body and brain MRI, bone density and body composition analysis, blood biomarker testing, and whole genome sequencing, among others. A few weeks later, I received 150 GB of my health data and had a consultation with one of their doctors about my results. I expected we would focus on the negative outcomes, but the focus was on what I can do now to protect and improve my health in the future.

“The biggest change I want people to make is to move away from ‘What’s wrong with me?’ to “What can I learn about my body while all options are still on the table?” said Dawn Mussallem, DO, DipABLM, global chief medical officer of Fountain Life, who previously spent 25 years at Mayo Clinic as a specialist in oncology and hematology.

This was just one of the many lessons I learned from my day at the longevity clinic. Here are three more that everyone can apply on their own.

You must be proactive

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my experience with Fountain Life, it’s that it’s never too late to take control of your health: there are always things you can do to improve your life now and in the future.

“Much of what shapes our healthy years develops quietly, over years or even decades,” says Dr. Mussallem. “Insulin resistance. Plaque in the arteries. Slow loss of muscle and bone. Nutritional deficiencies. Even some cancers. All can progress long before you feel anything, and by the time your body raises its voice, we’ve often lost our best window.”

Although conditions may develop silently, that does not mean they are invisible. “Blood tests can tell us a lot more than if you’re deficient in vitamins,” says Dr. Mussallem. “We can look at metabolic health, inflammation, inherited heart risk, hormones and nutritional status, and relate it all to imaging, genetics, lifestyle and family history. »

But finding problems was never the point. “The key is to understand where you are today and what you can do about it, while change is still easy,” she adds. Don’t know where to start? At your next check-up, order the following blood tests:

• HbA1c and fasting blood sugar. “I also order fasting insulin for every patient I see, because insulin resistance can develop quietly for years while blood sugar levels still seem normal,” says Dr. Mussallem. “Ask your doctor to add it and compare your results over time in the same lab.”
• Lp(a)once in your life. “It’s largely inherited – about one in five people have high levels – and the major heart and lipid societies now recommend that every adult check it at least once,” she says.
• ApoB and hsCRP. “Many preventive doctors, myself included, consider ApoB to be a more accurate reading than LDL cholesterol alone on plaque-building particles,” says Dr. Mussallem. “hsCRP measures low-grade inflammation, and in 2025 the American College of Cardiology has recommended broad screening for hsCRP along with cholesterol. Test when you are well, because even a cold can temporarily increase it.”
• Vitamin D, B12 and iron when you have a reason to do so (a plant-based diet, heavy periods, metformin or acid-suppressing medications, little time in the sun, or fatigue that won’t go away). “For B12, I like to add methylmalonic acid (MMA), which shows whether your cells are actually getting enough of it, especially when B12 lands in the gray zone,” she explains. “Routine testing of everyone is not recommended, but targeted testing is smart medicine. »

When you take your exam, bring your family history, such as who suffered from heart disease, cancer, diabetes or dementia, and at what age. This one conversation can change your entire screening plan, says Dr. Mussallem. “Longevity medicine is about health, not just lifespan,” she says. “I don’t just want you to live longer. I want those extra years full of energy, strength, clarity and joy, doing what you love with the people you love.”

Don’t be afraid of genetic testing

Of all the tests offered to me at Fountain Life, the one I feared the most was the genetic screening. I was actually on the fence about whether I should get it or not. Would discovering that I am genetically predisposed to debilitating illnesses leave me in a state of constant anxiety, dreading the day they occur? As someone who already dealt with anxiety, I wasn’t sure I would be able to gain this type of knowledge.

Ultimately, I recognized that I was in a privileged position to even have the opportunity to undergo genetic testing, and I decided to move forward. Talking to Dr. Mussallem the day before helped. “Most genetic results are not a prophecy,” she says. “It’s a probability. Your genes are one voice in a much larger conversation that includes how you eat, move, sleep, love, and what you’re exposed to. For the most common conditions, genes deal the cards. How you play the hand still matters a lot.”

And knowing can be powerful. About one in 75 people carries a genetic variant for one of three conditions for which acting early makes a huge difference: hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, Lynch syndrome and familial hypercholesterolemia. In a study out of nearly 27,000 people, about 90% of these carriers had no idea, and only about one in four reported a family history that might have tipped them off. “For them, earlier mammograms and MRIs, earlier colonoscopies or early treatment for cholesterol can be a game-changer,” says Dr. Mussallem.

If, like me, you are hesitant about genetic testing:

• Talk with a genetic counselor or doctor who orders and interprets the tests, rather than relying solely on a kit. “More information is only useful when you understand what it means,” says Dr. Mussallem.
• Know your protections. In the United States, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act protects you in health insurance and in most jobs. “It doesn’t cover life, disability or long-term care insurance, so if you’re interested in that, consider setting those up before taking the test,” she says.
• Before testing, decide what you would do with every possible answer. “This one exercise turns fear into a plan,” she notes.

“For me, the question is not ‘Do I want to know?’ it’s “If knowledge gives me a chance to protect my future, what would I do with this chance?” “, says Dr. Mussallem.

Sleep is an active part of your health

Sleep is not a vacation for your health. According to Dr. Mussallem, it’s “when your brain takes a bath.” In animal researchThe brain’s waste disposal system (called the glymphatic system) becomes more active during deep sleep, removing proteins like amyloid that accumulate during the day. “Scientists are still actively debating exactly how it works, and small studies in humans suggest that a single night without sleep makes the brain less efficient,” says Dr. Mussallem. “The practical message goes either way: give your brain a chance to clean house.”

Sleep also shapes almost everything we care about: blood sugar, blood pressure, immunity, hormones, appetite, mood, memory, and physical recovery. “If you’re doing everything else great but sleeping poorly, you’re swimming against the tide,” says Dr. Mussallem.

For most adults, research indicates seven to nine hours one night, and seven to eight after 65 years. “But I don’t want anyone to obsess over a perfect number,” says Dr. Mussallem, “Two things matter as much as hours: quality and pace.” In a 2024 study In more than 60,000 people wearing activity trackers, sleep regularity (i.e. going to bed and waking up at consistent times) predicted longevity better than sleep duration.

Start here tonight:

• Anchor your wake-up timeeven on weekends. “Your body likes rhythm,” says Dr. Mussallem.
• Come out to the morning light shortly after you wake up, even on a cloudy day. “Light is the strongest signal your internal clock receives,” she says.
• Build an airstrip during the last hour before bed. “Dim the lights, charge your phone outside the bedroom, and trade the scroll for a book, a bath, or a conversation,” says Dr. Mussallem. “Research on screen light in adults is more mixed than the headlines suggest, but endless scrolling keeps the mind alert.”
• Keep your room cool, dark and calm.
• Notice what the evening glass of wine does. “Alcohol can help you fall asleep and then interrupt your sleep in the second half of the night,” says Dr. Mussallem.
• Ask your doctor for a sleepy study if you snore, pant or wake up unrefreshed.

If someone spends eight hours in bed and still wakes up exhausted, the answer is not just to get more sleep, but to find out why…