Beyond Longevity

Longevity Is a Planning Topic: Wealthspan, Risk and Business in a Longer-Life Future with Nadine Esposito

What happens to your financial plan when you live to 100?Most pension systems were built around an ~80-year life expectancy. Much of today’s financial advice still follows a linear life-stage model. And many businesses have not yet reckoned with the fact that both their customers and their workforce are ageing in ways that will reshape everything. In this episode of Beyond Longevity, I am joined by Nadine Esposito, founder of Wellthspan Advisory and a senior risk management professional, to unpack why longer lifespans are not just a medical story — they are a planning and financial one, with major implications for strategy and society. Nadine’s path into longevity came not through medicine, but through risk, ESG, and a deep interest in the health–wealth connection. She introduces the concept of wealthspan planning: moving away from rigid life stages towards a model that accounts for career pivots, caregiving gaps, health shocks and the very real risk of outliving your money and any affordable care options. We coverThe health–wealth connection — why “health is wealth” works both ways and how financial stress and poor health reinforce each other over a longer life What businesses need to wake up to — ageing customer bases are changing consumption patterns across housing, travel, mobility and services The workforce challenge — flexibility, lifelong learning, the rise of the “sandwich generation,” and why simply raising retirement age misses the point Risk in longevity startups — data security, AI-driven health apps, sensitive personal data, and income regulations (including EU AI Act transparency obligations around human–AI interaction) Longevity and inequality — why longer lives may widen the gap without smarte intervention and access Key takeawaysWealthspan planning replaces linear life-stage models with something far more dynamic and realistic The two-way link between health and finances means you cannot plan one without the other Businesses should start with a longevity maturity and gap assessment — and test whether products and services actually work for older customers Investors should ask harder questions about IT security, regulatory readiness and risk management — not only financial fundamentals Health and financial literacy, prevention, and employer/insurer incentives are among the highest-leverage policy priorities LinksLinkedIn (Nadine): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadine-esposito-b1804415/ Wellthspan Advisory (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/company/wellthspan-advisory Website: https://www.wellthspanadvisory.com/ Longevity Readiness Diagnostic Tool: https://www.longevityreadinessdiagnostic.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nadine.esposito_/ Beyond Longevity is hosted by Daphna. New episodes every Monday. Subscribe and listen at https://beyond-longevity.co.uk/listen Timestamps00:00 Welcome to Beyond Longevity + Why Longer Lives Change Money 01:40 Nadine’s Path: From Risk & ESG to the Longevity Space 03:45 From Biohacking Curiosity to the Pension Reality Check 06:42 Wealthspan Planning: Where Health and Wealth Collide 08:42 De-Risking Longevity: Individuals, Employers, and Startups 11:25 Health Data & Cybersecurity Risks in Longevity Tech 17:54 AI in Health: What Users Should Know Before Sharing Data 21:17 Investor Checklist: Security, Regulation, and Risk Appetite 26:08 Longevity’s Business Impact: Aging Customers, Products, and Cities 30:04 Mobility, Social Connection & the Rising Cost of Aging 30:57 New “Life Events” After Retirement: Property, Divorce & Starting Businesses 32:45 The Aging Workforce: Lifelong Learning, Flex Work & Employee Resilience 34:22 Rethinking Retirement Age: Reskilling, Career Resets & Hiring Barriers 39:25 What Policy Should Change First? Financial + Health Literacy & Prevention 45:26 Will Longevity Widen Inequality? When Wealth Becomes Health 46:50 Personal Playbook: Healthspan Over Lifespan & Building Sustainable Habits 49:03 How Any Business Can Prepare: Longevity Maturity Checks & Accessibility 51:48 Key Takeaways + Rapid-Fire Q&A (Sleep, News, Fasting Myth) 58:09 Final Wrap: Longevity Is a Planning Topic (Money, Work, Risk)

Professor David Weinkove, Chair of the BSRA, on C.elegans research and evidence-led longevity science

What can a tiny worm tell us about human ageing, and could gut bacteria hold the key to a longer, healthier life?In this episode of Beyond Longevity, we sit down with Professor David Weinkove: Chair of the British Society for Research on Ageing (BSRA), Professor at Durham University, and Co-founder and CSO of Magnitude Biosciences. David's lab uses the short-lived nematode C. elegans to run fast, rigorous experiments looking for interventions that extend healthspan and lifespan, and the results are pointing in some surprising directions.We cover how Prof David moved from physics into experimental molecular biology, how his team discovered that bacterial strains and metabolites can dramatically alter how long worms stay active, and what inhibiting bacterial folate synthesis reveals about the biology of ageing. He also explains how worm movement is a practical proxy for healthspan and why that matters for scaling up research.The conversation gets into the thornier questions, too: when do you need mice, and when might you skip straight to human-relevant models? How do you fund prevention research when the payoff is decades away? And what are the real risks of mandatory folic acid flour fortification, a policy Prof David argues deserves more scrutiny, given potential microbiome effects we don't yet fully understand.Prof David also unpacks what the BSRA does day-to-day: from connecting researchers and lobbying government to running small grants and building bridges with clinicians and industry, and why he thinks the longevity field's biggest enemy isn't scepticism, it's overpromising.Plus, we discover the most extreme longevity idea he's ever come across (involving spare parts — we'll leave it there).Links:https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/david-weinkove/Home - Magnitude BiosciencesHOME PAGE - BSRAhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/david-weinkove-bab807b In this episode:00:00 Welcome to Beyond Longevity + Meet Prof. David Weinkove02:40 From Physics to Bioscience: Career Origins & Model Organisms04:29 The Breakthrough: How Bacteria (and Folate) Can Extend Worm Lifespan09:12 Measuring Healthspan in C. elegans: Movement, Decline & New Tech10:38 Why C. elegans? Fast Ageing, Whole-Organism Biology & Screening Power12:19 Worms vs Mice: Similarity to Humans, Ethics, Cost & Experimental Variability15:35 Translating Worm Findings to Humans: Microbiome Links, Exercise Paper & Next Steps17:52 Funding the Science: UKRI, MRC vs BBSRC, and the Reality of Grant Constraints20:52 Why Longevity Research Struggles for Support: Messaging, Hype & Prevention28:39 BSRA’s Mission & the Five Pillars: Public Engagement, Advocacy, Fundraising, Translation32:01 Breaking Down Silos: Making Longevity Research Useful (and Public)34:07 Prevention Mindset: Why “Healthier for Longer” Isn’t Instant Gratification36:15 When to Start Interventions: Metformin, Timing, and Trial Design Challenges39:39 Why Magnitude Bioscience Exists: Fast Whole-Organism Ageing Screens41:12 What Companies Test in Worms: From Candidate Drugs to 1,000-Compound Screens42:48 Folic Acid Fortification & the Microbiome: A Potential Unintended Consequence45:55 Should Government Engineer Health? Autonomy, Risk, and Public Policy Trade-offs52:37 Ageing Demographics & the Case for Prevention-First Healthcare Investment55:59 Making Longevity Matter to Everyday People + Rapid-Fire Q&A01:01:47 Final Takeaways, Thanks, and Episode Wrap-Up

Dr Mayoni Gooneratne on Functional Medicine, Perimenopause, and Building Healthspan Through Prevention

What if the conditions we treat in our fifties and sixties which were set in motion decades earlier, would have been spotted, and shifted, far sooner? In this episode of Beyond Longevity, I sit down with Dr Mayoni Gooneratne, Founder and Medical Director of Human Health and Skin Fit Clinics, and Vice President of the British College of Functional Medicine. After years as an NHS colorectal and pelvic floor surgeon treating advanced disease, she made a decisive pivot into functional and preventative medicine with a sharp focus on women’s midlife health. Dr Mayoni is frank about what she sees as the fault lines in modern healthcare: too little time to truly listen, a default toward symptom management over root-cause thinking, and a system designed to meet patients at crisis point rather than upstream. Her own definition of “good medicine” is different: deeper connection, individualised biology, and practical tools that help patients protect their own healthspan. A major thread is perimenopause — why it is still under-recognised in conventional medicine and, surprisingly, even in the longevity conversation. She links this to the long-standing marginalisation of women in medical research, and the real-world consequences that follow. Her solution starts with “body literacy”: tracking patterns, paying attention to symptoms, using health data intelligently, and becoming an active participant in care and not simply waiting for a label. We get into the specifics of her clinical approach: detailed history-taking and questionnaires, then targeted testing to confirm or disprove a hypothesis. She explains how she uses broad blood marker panels, aiming for optimal, not just “normal” ranges, stool testing to assess gut function, and nutrigenomics to understand how someone interacts with their environment. For anyone sceptical about functional medicine’s reputation for over-testing, her line is clear: testing should have a reason and early markers (like homocysteine and methylation issues) are worth catching before they become disease. Her framework comes through in a powerful case study of a woman in her mid-forties post breast cancer treatment. The plan combined structured nutrition changes, Pilates to support bone health, and journaling to work through stored stress and anger, with measurable improvements in sleep and HRV. Practical advice runs throughout: build a simple morning routine, prioritise nourishing food, choose “joyful movement” over punishment, reduce blue light and phone use at night, and rebuild real-world community. She also shares what she believes conventional medicine needs more of: stronger grounding in biochemistry and physiology, better nutrition education, and a far more serious commitment to women’s health. Beyond the clinic, Dr Mayoni is also building infrastructure for the field. Through Human Health Professionals, she trains and mentors clinic owners to deliver longevity and wellness services responsibly. She also leads the Future Patient Congress and publishes Future Patient, quarterly, evidence-based resources magazine, designed to make current research more accessible and usable for clinicians and practitioners. In the rapid-fire round: her single most important longevity adjustment, what she wishes she had known before leaving surgery, and what it really means to extend healthspan - not just lifespan. BCFM College of Functional MedicineHuman Health™ by The Clinic | Functional Medicine in LondonThe Clinic by Dr Mayoni - Integrative Skin Care Clinic in LondonRedefine Healthgevity and Metabolic Wellness | Human Health ProfessionalsFuture-proofing patients’ health - Future Patient 00:00 Welcome to Beyond Longevity + Meet Dr. Mayoni Gooneratne00:45 From NHS Surgery to Prevention: Why Patients Reach Crisis Point06:01 What “Good Medicine” Looks Like: Time, Listening, and Healing Space10:47 Why Perimenopause Is Still Overlooked (and Why It Matters for Longevity)12:36 Body Literacy & Wearables: Turning Symptoms into Useful Data14:47 Gaslighting, Doctor Google, and Empowering Women to Self-Advocate17:39 Longevity Isn’t Just for Biohackers: Women’s Health as a Public Health Priority20:42 Testing in Functional Medicine: History First, Then Blood, Gut & Nutrigenomics24:16 “Too Much Testing?” Early Warning Markers, Methylation, and Going Upstream26:43 Clinical Framework: How to Prioritise Systems When Everything Feels Off29:22 The ‘House’ Analogy: Gut Foundations, Immune Roof, Stress Storms & Routines32:45 Case Study: Post–Breast Cancer Optimisation—Metabolic Health, Protein, and Nervous System Reset36:16 Healing Stored Anger: A Patient’s Nervous System Breakthrough38:49 Perimenopause 101: Recognising the Early Signs & Symptoms39:53 Food, Movement, Sleep: The Core Lifestyle Reset (Without Punishment)42:10 Relationships, Boundaries & Reducing Toxic Inputs45:18 Five Simple Longevity Adjustments: Morning Routine, Nutrition, Phone, Community48:47 What Conventional Medicine Could Change Now (Nutrition + Women’s Health Education)51:23 Why She Left Surgery: The Wake-Up Call on Reactive Healthcare56:09 Building New Systems: Human Health, Future Patient Congress & Magazine57:47 Training Clinicians: N=1 Medicine, Critical Appraisal & Practical Protocols01:06:22 Rapid-Fire Longevity Q&A + Final Takeaways on Healthspan

What would healthcare look like if GPs had the time, tools, and data to treat every patient like an elite athlete?

In this episode of Beyond Longevity, I am joined by Dr Angus Perry, a practising GP, clinical AI builder, and performance-medicine enthusiast with experience supporting Formula One teams and elite athletes. Dr Angus is focused on closing the gap between what preventive medicine can achieve and what is realistic inside a ten-minute GP appointment.He shares the path that led him here: a childhood ambition to become a GP, an early pull toward technology, and a personal family experience with chronic disease that clarified why the current model is failing both clinicians and patients. We talk candidly about GP burnout, time pressure, and why meaningful lifestyle support is so hard to deliver at scale.Two data points frame his urgency:-The Lancet Standing Commission’s 2024 report estimates that around 45% of dementia cases are potentially preventable by addressing 14 modifiable risk factors across the life course.-A 2018 JAMA Network Open cohort study of 122,007 adults undergoing treadmill testing found cardiorespiratory fitness was inversely associated with long-term all-cause mortality, with a median follow-up of 8.4 years and no observed “upper limit” of benefit. Dr Angus then walks through the two-part platform he is building:A clinician-facing tool that helps generate chronic disease and preventive-care plans (including areas such as diabetes, hypertension, and dementia prevention).-A patient-facing app designed around daily check-ins, habit tracking, nudges, milestones, and adherence dashboards — aiming to “close the accountability loop” between appointments giving clinicians the data they need and whilst keeping patients genuinely engaged with their own health in-between appointmentsWe also dig into what responsible clinical AI looks like in practice: hallucination risk, governance, compliance, and the line between augmentation and undermining the clinician–patient relationship. And we explore whether tools used in elite sport (including dynamometry for strength and fatigability) could become more relevant in ageing and sarcopenia care — including for patients using GLP-1 medications. Dr Angus is clear about where things stand today: the app has had a very promising soft launch, clinician feedback driving iteration, early NHS pilot conversations, and outcomes data still being gathered. The episode closes with a sober assessment of where healthcare may be heading without greater patient empowerment — and a reminder that many of the biggest longevity gains are still driven by environment and lifestyle, not expensive interventions.Rapid-fire highlights: why passion beats rigid planning, the single habit he prioritises most (sleep), what he would have done if medicine had not worked out, and why a simple daily gratitude practice can have outsized downstream effects. Links:Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2024 report of the Lancet standing CommissionAssociation of Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Mortality Among Adults Undergoing Exercise Treadmill TestingGeneralPractice.AI | HealthcareDr. Angus Perry - PAP - Pioneered Athlete Performancehttps://uk.linkedin.com/in/dr-angus-perry-b49918128In this episode:00:00 — Welcome + introducing Dr Angus Perry, GP and clinical AI builder01:39 — Origin story: why general practice, early tech roots, and high-performance medicine03:26 — Why standard GP wasn't enough: chronic disease, system limits, and burnout05:12 — The personal wake-up call: family experience and lifestyle-driven disease08:55 — From experiments to product: early LLM tools and the lifestyle research that changed everything10:52 — The evidence for prevention: dementia risk, fitness and mortality13:12 — Introducing the platform: clinician tool and patient app for behaviour change14:07 — Patient activation and empowerment: making people the CEO of their own health15:57 — How the app works: risk factors, activation scoring, check-ins, and accountability loops 19:26 — Early launch feedback, adoption questions, and the road to NHS pilots21:05 — What's next: AI agents, EHR integration, and removing workflow friction22:56 — Clinician concerns about AI: augmentation vs replacement, and can AI extend healthspan? 25:08 — ChatGPT for health: useful, but the doctor–patient bond still matters26:03 — What responsible AI means in healthcare: governance, risk, and regulation27:38 — Does technology change how he practises as a GP?28:20 — From Formula One to primary care: treating patients like elite athletes31:40 — Performance technology that could reach clinics: muscle testing and the realities of G-force data33:25 — Dynamometry explained: measuring strength, imbalances, and fatigability35:41 — Why muscle mass is a longevity cornerstone — and how it declines38:01 — Where GP and preventive medicine are headed in five years40:08 — Is longevity medicine only for the wealthy? The 70/15/5 reality43:28 — Rapid-fire advice and final takeaways on making innovation practical

Beyond Longevity - Decoding the Future of Ageing, One Conversation at a Time

Welcome to Beyond Longevity, the podcast that decodes the future of ageing, one conversation at a time. Join host Daphna Stern as she introduces a new podcast exploring the cutting edge of longevity science. Through conversations with leading researchers, clinicians, and innovators, Beyond Longevity unpacks the evidence behind living longer and healthier lives.Beyond Longevity is a deep-dive podcast exploring the cutting edge of longevity science. Each episode features insightful discussions with leading experts who share their latest findings, innovative studies, and practical applications to enhance our approach to longevity. The show translates complex research into clear, thoughtful discussions, decoding the future of ageing one conversation at a time.Don't miss future episodes! Follow or subscribe to Beyond Longevity on your preferred podcast player:Join us in advancing the conversation around ageing. Let's redefine what it means to live longer, healthier00:00 Welcome to Beyond Longevity: A Podcast About Healthspan00:13 Beauty in Science: Why Longevity Research Matters Now00:27 Meet Your Host Daphna Stern & the Mission Behind the Show00:55 Where Biology Meets Technology: Inside the Longevity Revolution01:05 Who We Talk To: Pioneers Rewriting What It Means to Age01:20 From Sci‑Fi to Boom Times: Longevity Goes Mainstream01:46 Subscribe & Join the Movement: Redefining Longer, Healthier Lives02:00 Final Invitation: Understanding the Future, One Conversation at a Timecb448dac319f1856057ff99a3ebc0166eb850b84