Humans have \u2014 presumably \u2014 always aspired to living longer, healthier lives. Now that might be more possible than ever before \u2014 especially if you have enough money.<\/p>\n
Think about the Fountain of Youth. Versions of the promise of a life-giving spring date to Ancient Greek philosophers, with variations through the centuries. But the basic concept was: Find the spring, drink its waters, and you\u2019re young and spry again.<\/p>\n
Today, people seem more inclined than ever to believe there is a path to better health, increased longevity and an improved healthspan \u2014 a term from the 1980s meaning that the quality and quantity of life can more closely align.<\/p>\n
To meet this desire is a growing longevity and wellness industry.<\/p>\n
Typically on the science side, in addition to doctors in traditional practices are the growing number of concierge medical practices across the country that offer a wide range of services to those who can afford them. Begun in the 1990s and expanding ever since, they eschew insurance in favor of annual retainers that can range from $4,000 to $45,000 or more.<\/p>\n
The internal medicine or family medicine doctors who have started these practices are not necessarily better trained than the doctors who have stayed in the traditional insurance-model practices. But they have chosen to see fewer patients, spend more time with them, and offer in-house services \u2014 like scans, for example \u2014 that otherwise would have to be outsourced.<\/p>\n
According to the Private Physicians Alliance, a membership group of concierge doctors, somewhere from 7,000 to 22,000 concierge medical practices operate in the United States today. That\u2019s compared with nearly 400,000 insurance-based medical practices, according to the Bureau of Health Workforce.<\/p>\n
Typically, a concierge doctor sees about 20 percent (or less) of the patients that an insurance-based doctor sees. That patient has the doctor\u2019s cellphone and greater access to the doctor\u2019s time.<\/p>\n
The growing and expanding wellness industry doesn\u2019t have criteria for entry. So aside from trained doctors, it also leaves room for those in the lucrative vitamin and supplement business, which has grown rapidly on the promise of enhancing health and longer life. In 2024, it was valued at $192 billion. Supplements can include tablets, capsules, powders and gummies.<\/p>\n
Medications undergo stringent Food and Drug Administration review and are prescribed by doctors. Vitamins like D, B-12 and iron can be prescribed as well to address specific deficiencies that are identified in blood tests. Supplements, however \u2014 like collagen, creatine and fish oils \u2014 undergo less rigorous testing and are usually taken voluntarily, rather than prescribed by a doctor.<\/p>\n
The F.D.A. puts more of the responsibility for their efficacy on the manufacturers. The American Medical Association has cautioned people<\/a> from putting too much stock in supplements, which the F.D.A. treats as food and not medicine. Supplements often are sold in monthly subscriptions and frequently promoted by prominent podcasters and influencers, who often generate income through the sale of them.<\/p>\n Steve Mister, president and chief executive of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a trade group for supplements, said the average person spent $50 a month on supplements and is more likely focused on longstanding ones that had proven benefits, like vitamin D, Omega 3 and calcium.<\/p>\n While he is concerned with influencers who make promises that aren\u2019t backed up by science, he also pushed back against doctors who dismiss less-well-known supplements without understanding them. \u201cThey\u2019re suspicious of these products because they\u2019re not taught about them in medical school,\u201d Mr. Mister said.<\/p>\n Combining standard drugs and supplements can be tricky \u2014 both for patients and for doctors.<\/p>\n \u201cI had a patient who was on a statin but decided to add red yeast rice as a supplement to lower her LDL cholesterol,\u201d said Dr. Cari Dawson, who runs the Colorado Center for Medical Excellence, a concierge practice in Denver. \u201cThe problem was she decided to take her statin every other day, and she took a supplement that you don\u2019t know what\u2019s in it all the time. She picked red yeast rice over a statin that we\u2019ve studied for 30 years.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Dawson said she often debunked what people had seen online about statins and supplements, contending that the information had no scientific support.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of noise about statins online,\u201d she said. \u201cYes, about 5 percent of people will get achy muscles with them. We know that\u2019s real. But 95 percent of people do fine on this drug. And there\u2019s an argument that everyone over the age of 50 should be on a statin to lower their cholesterol.\u201d (She ultimately persuaded the patient to stick with the statin, she said.)<\/p>\n \u201cThe F.D.A. does not allow supplement companies to market their products as a substitution for prescription drugs,\u201d Mr. Mister said. \u201cI worry about misinformation all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Dawson said she understood, though, where this searching came from. \u201cIf you have anyone who has any distrust of the medical system, they\u2019re always seeking out alternative treatments,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Dr. Anton Titov, founder of Diagnostic Detectives Network<\/a>, is a supplement opponent, contending that their advocates are driven by financial gains \u2014 and playing on the distrust people have in institutions far beyond medicine.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can sell gazillions of supplements and vitamins. You have to see the patient to prescribe the statin. You can\u2019t make money telling people to get on the maximum dose of statins to improve their cardiovascular health,\u201d he said, about the supplement business. His practice finds experts in specialty areas to help clients solve their often complex medical issues. He said he charged a flat fee of around $6,000, which escalates if more experts were needed or he had to do more to connect patients and doctors.<\/p>\n To sort through the various approaches to longevity, a key question might be: What\u2019s the best way to invest money in my health so I live well for decades to come?<\/p>\n