29/10/2026
Longevity has taken on a very personal meaning for me over the past three weeks.
Earlier this month, I attended the NMI Summit, Longevity and Biological Ageing: Enhancing Health into Advanced Age, exploring the latest science of healthy ageing.
A highlight was hearing Dr Jeff Bland, one of the founders of Functional Medicine, who has inspired me throughout my nutrition career.
Now 80, he was as eloquent and passionate as ever. Still curious, still learning and contributing to a field he has helped shape for decades. A wonderful example of healthspan in action.
But shortly afterwards, longevity became very personal.
My 91-year-old father became seriously ill with Covid and pneumonia. He's spent much of the past three weeks in hospital, at times critically ill. It's been an incredibly difficult time for our family.
Athletics was my dad's passion. For 45 years, he devoted countless hours to coaching, all for free. He loved the sport and helping others achieve their potential. He continued coaching into his eighties, stopping only when his eyesight deteriorated.
He touched so many lives and earned enormous respect and affection. One of his athletes became an Olympian. The accompanying photograph was taken at that athlete's wedding three years ago. I too was one of his athletes — often his willing guinea pig for new coaching techniques!
Looking back, I realise how much purpose athletics brought to his life, and how much he enriched the lives of others.
In different fields, both my dad and Dr Bland demonstrate what healthy ageing can look like: pursuing their passions, sharing knowledge and contributing to others' lives well beyond retirement age.
Yet perhaps that's something we overlook in conversations about longevity.
We talk about nutrition, exercise, metabolic health and the biology of ageing. All important. But what about passion, purpose, connection and having something meaningful that keeps us engaged with life?
Longevity should be about more than accumulating years. It's about extending our healthspan — living with health, energy, vitality and resilience, and the freedom to enjoy what matters.
Until this illness, my dad was still living independently at 91, with support from my sister and I. Something I appreciate more than ever. None of us are immune to illness. Watching him struggle has been a painful reminder of how quickly health and independence can be threatened.
But it's reinforced my belief in investing in our health throughout life, while recognising that wellbeing encompasses far more than physical health.
The NMI Summit gave me much to think about scientifically. My dad's experience brought home why it matters on a human level.
Longevity isn't simply about adding years to life. It's about adding life, meaning and purpose to those years.
And right now, I'm hoping my dad has many more of those years ahead of him.
