On Longevity: A Chat with Dr. Grant Meek
We sat down with Dr. Grant Meek, Medical Director for Executive Health and Longevity Assessments and Programs, to learn more about Longevity Medicine at WELL Health Medical & Longevity Centre.
Tell us about Longevity Medicine.
There’s often confusion about what Longevity Medicine is. Many think it is simply a better screening for disease, and that is inaccurate. With Longevity Medicine, it’s not good enough for us that you’re just disease free. We want your health as optimized as it can be for your age. As you age, we want you operating at a higher level than your peers. The goal of Longevity Medicine is to help you age better. Not just disease free, but stronger, faster and healthier.
What drew you to the field of Longevity Medicine?
I was a general practitioner for 20 years, and a lot of what we do is treat disease. We would see things like diabetes and high blood pressure and lots of problems develop and then treat it. But a common complaint from patients is that they don’t want to go on medication. They’re worried about getting the blood tests and all of these interventions. And, the truth is, a lot of these are lifestyle diseases, meaning we can prevent them and there’s no medication needed. Now, oftentimes, we will use medication in the Longevity program, but we know that if we intervene early on they often won’t have to deal with 6 or 7 or 8 medications that have side effects that bother them.
How does Longevity Medicine differ from traditional medical treatment?
It’s about how can we get the result we want – disease free, decreased risk for heart attack and stroke – without people becoming unhappy with medication and its side effects. People feel that they’re not part of the process. They feel like they can’t talk to their GP about their diet and exercise regime because there’s not enough time. Longevity Medicine is a way to sit down with people and really explain to them why it’s so important to focus on these things so they can take a little bit of control over their health.
Why is control over your own health important?
The more people are able to take control over exactly where their health is going, the more empowered they are to make decisions for themselves and to see the importance of what they’re doing. If I were to say to a person, “here’s a medication you can’t pronounce for your blood pressure.” They take it and we go from there. But, if I were to say, “Look, measure exactly how much salt you’re getting in your diet, measure how much exercise you’re doing”, they can start to see how that connects to their blood pressure. They’re starting to make those connections. Next time they’re getting fries, they don’t just think “The doctor says fries are bad for me”. They think, “My blood pressure will spike.” This is a way for patients to look at their everyday life and be able to better understand what decisions will benefit them in the long run.
Why would the average person care about Longevity?
I’ll give you an example. A 19 year old with cardiovascular disease. There are signs of atherosclerosis in 19 year olds – the leading cause of heart attacks and strokes. This is already in you in your teens and early twenties. So your body is already starting to accumulate damage at that young of an age. The sooner you start to actively work against it, we can make changes to prevent this from happening. Without early intervention, you may have a 5 year risk of heart attack and stroke. So, the sooner you start, the quicker we can bring that risk down. Instead of a 5 year time line, we’re looking at a 20, 30, 40 year time line.
What are some highlights of the WELL Longevity+ program?
With WELL Longevity, we have imaging on site. We have an MRI and a CT machine here so we’re able to scan specific parts of the body with the technology best suited for that area. For example, the heart and lungs are better suited for a CT scan, while other parts of the body are better imaged with an MRI. We are getting better quality answers from our images because we have both MRI and CT technology conveniently on site. We’re also doing high quality advanced labs that can be difficult to get if you’re in Vancouver. Your report after your assessment gives recommendations for diet, exercise, sleep, supplements and medications if needed, and you’ll also learn about any genetic predispositions and your organ health. We’ll also recommend any additional precision assessments depending on your results and your medical family history.
Read more. Take Longevity to the next level with our follow up piece, Longevity at WELL: A Sit Down with Dr. Meek
Looking to take control of your health? Contact us today to learn more about Longevity+ or to book your assessment: info@WELLlongevity.ca