Switch on your longevity genes

The pioneering Grow a New Body program doesn't just repair hormonal imbalance – it can begin to heal the process of aging altogether. Founder Dr. Alberto Villoldo explains more about living longer, healthier and happier.

Grow a New Body will be available at Six Senses Krabey Island in Cambodia, Six Senses Kaplankaya in Turkey and Six Senses Douro Valley in Portugal on special dates until November 2019. The series is launched in collaboration with Dr. Alberto Villoldo, a best-selling author with a Ph.D. in psychology, a teacher and healer, who studied the shamanic healing practices of the Amazon and the Andes for more than 25 years.

Early on in his career as a medical anthropologist, Dr. Villoldo was sent to the Amazon by a Swiss pharmaceutical company, which wanted him to research possible cures for the diseases plaguing the West such as cancer and heart disease.

“The Amazon is nature’s pharmacy. During my time there, I couldn’t come up with any cures because they did not have Alzheimer’s, cancer, or heart disease. They prevent disease using medicinal plants, which we now know as Nrf2 activators.”

Today, science has caught up with the ancient wisdom of Nrf2 , and how, as a master regulator of longevity, it is a key pathway for regenerating many of the systems in the body.

“We now understand how Nrf2 switches on the longevity genes and triggers the production of mitochondria in every cell in the body, slowing down aging, up-regulating 200 genes that create health, and silencing more than 500 genes in the DNA that are responsible for osteoporosis, hair loss, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and cancer. Back then the medicine men and women simply said to me, “The plants told us. Don’t you talk to the plants?” It’s not unique to the Amazon; you’ll find the same medical wisdom in original populations around the world, from Africa to Asia. They discovered a secret to longevity – how to quieten the genes that cause disease.”

The idea for Grow a New Body starts by looking at the big picture.

“Six Senses has always looked outside the wellness box. There are 40 million animal species on the planet, but there are only two – orcas and humans – that live beyond child birthing years and that therefore must deal with hormonal changes and with menopause.”

The most popular theory behind menopause is called the grandmother hypothesis, which suggests human females are repositories of knowledge and live longer to help their grandchildren survive.

“We’re part of mother nature’s experiment in intelligence, but she hasn’t quite perfected the transition into long life and all the hormonal chaos that happens. The problem is aging, and we are beginning to understand aging as a disease that we can cure. To do this we must reawaken ancient survival programs that are shut down. If we can switch the repair and regeneration programs back on, we can grow a new body and restore balance to our hormones and to the immune and the nervous system.”

This is the first wellness program that looks at solving the problem of aging and growing a new body.

“Medicine is not the solution. Doctors regularly prescribe oral contraceptives to regulate women’s cycles instead of looking at diet, exercise, sleep, and environmental toxins.

Physicians often blame their patients (it’s all psychosomatic) and medicalize women’s complaints instead of looking at lifestyle solutions that are available to us today. In the future we will examine how to heal aging itself and not just fix hormonal imbalance. For example, the repair hormones in the body, the human growth hormones, go up by 1200 percent during our one-week program. Hormones begin to stabilize when you change your diet and begin to exercise more. The key is to awaken the regeneration systems that shut down when you’re around 35 years of age.”

Today depression affects 20 percent of women, twice as many as men. And there is an epidemic of hormonal imbalance, of eating disorders, of endometriosis, of fibroids, of PMS – which affects 75 percent of US women, of infertility, and difficult passage into menopause. This is where the Grow a New Body program can be particularly beneficial.

“In the wild, males classically outlive females of their species, but this isn’t the case in humans, where females outlive males but have much greater morbidity. Women’s health is critical specially during the transition years between 35 and 45, and you must install the standard for great health otherwise you can go rapidly downhill. The keys are exercise, good sleep, nutrients that support longevity, bone density, and prevent hair loss. Mood changes can be diminished by upping the serotonin produced in the gut, so women can feel better about themselves and their lives.

“It starts with replenishing the micronutrients that have been depleted through menstruation and child rearing, because the body will sacrifice the vitamins for longevity to insure short-term survival. During the week we use top-of-the-line supplements to replenish the nutrients that have been depleted and can prevent depression, osteoporosis, anemia and cardiovascular disease.”

And the success rate speaks for itself.

“On average, guests can expect to lose 72 percent of all their symptoms in one week. There is nothing you can buy in a pharmacy that can do that. You can reduce up to 85 percent of your emotional symptoms. After seven days of good nutrition and brain-supplements you’ll achieve the neurotransmitter balance to reduce mood swings, and the problems you have with your mother, your issues with weight or your self-criticism become lighter.”

Many of our health problems are caused by unhealed emotions and constant overstimulation. However, it is possible to change our crippling internal narratives by repairing the fight-or-flight system (the HPA axis,) which controls the response to danger and is involved in regulating digestion, mood, energy and the immune system.

“Hormones and neurotransmitters work together, so if you consider bio-identical hormones remember this needs to be supported with the right brain chemistry. The first hormone you want to balance is vitamin D, which is really a hormone and not a vitamin! Many of us are deficient of D-3, a master regulator of health.

“In the Grow a New Body program we also balance the human energy field. You can’t change the story of your life until you clear the energy field, because this is where toxic emotions are stored. For the longest time women have been dismissed for their emotions. But you can’t heal until you recognize that they are real, and then honor, respect, and process them. We want to hear your story and help you write a better narrative.”

During the retreat, you design a personalized program with a world-class doctor, and daily practices are geared towards boosting the production of the bliss molecules, encouraging creative-dreaming, discovering how to release the old, fear-based beliefs, and helping your emotions to heal. Techniques range from daily hikes and immersion in nature to yoga, massage, oxygen altitude-training sessions, LED therapy and IV nutrient drips, combined with detoxifying body-work, and a diet high in phytonutrients. Within a few days, the brain fog will clear, sleeping becomes sounder, skin tone improves and energy levels increase. You are on your way to restoring balance and creating health by growing a new body.