Turn Back Time [NEW ZEALAND LISTENER]

Kiwi Cellular Health expert Greg Macpherson is in the business of helping people age well. A biotechnologist, pharmacist, ‘futurist’, and the author of “Harnessing the Nine Hallmarks of Aging”, Macpherson is the founder of a company formed for the specific purpose to challenge the way people think about and experience ageing. “The idea,” he says, “is to die old as young as possible.”

Understanding how and why we age is the key, he says. What is still largely unknown is that there can be significant difference between your chronological age – the number of birthdays you have had – and your cellular age, a newly developed measure that identifies the age your cells are acting. When your cells are acting older than your chronological age then you have a higher chance of encountering some health conditions.

When he first read a paper about the hallmarks of ageing published a decade ago, “I saw nine targets we can look at to support health and wellbeing as we age.” says Macpherson. “And it’s completely possible, it’s pretty exciting.” What followed was years of research into the highly complex subject of cellular functions and the effect of age on them. Although the evidence was compelling, he saw that no one was yet creating products that specifically target the nine hallmarks. That realisation was the genesis of the company SRW Laboratories (Science Research Wellness) he founded two and a half years ago.

The innovative products SRW has since formulated in collaboration with leading global experts, which are now undergoing human studies, are manufactured in New Zealand, and distributed to 12 overseas markets including the United States and China.

“As a society, we’re ageing well compared to previous generations. And now that we’re starting to understand what’s going on at a cellular level, we can be much more proactive around how we are ageing,”

he says. “SRW aims to challenge people to think about how they’re ageing and then to consciously age well, because it’s something we all can easily do.” SRW Laboratories’ nutrient line, the Cellular System Range, supports the maintenance of normal physiological functions with a focus on cell physiology and function.

The range includes three supplements: Cel¹ Stability, Cel² Nourishment and Cel³ Renewal, which are formulated to support the maintenance of normal cell functions and overall health and wellbeing at the specific time in your life that you need. Central to the Cellular System Range is DNAᵃᵍᵉ, a saliva-based at-home DNA test which determines your cellular age and lets you know if you are ageing well compared to others, or if your cells need further support. DNAᵃᵍᵉ is not intended to be provide health information or medical data or to be used to screen, diagnose, treat, prevent or assess risk of any disease or condition.

Aside from the obvious personal advantages, Macpherson points to international studies that demonstrate the economic benefits of wellness. “Statistics show that if we improved the average person’s health span by just one year, the net benefit would be $37 trillion, globally. The value of keeping people well for just one year longer is massive,” he says. “That’s why there’s such a huge amount of energy going into the space right now. Thought leaders are realising that the health conditions associated with older age are merely a syndrome of ageing.”

Simply put, everyone can take action to live a healthy life. “And fundamentally, that’s what it’s about. More time to do the things you love and spend time with the people you love.”