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Dr. Andrea Gartenbach: "We can only improve an existing system if we know it very well and understand what we should address."
April 28, 2025
Christine Bürg, Marianne v. Waldenfels
Longevity expert Dr. Andrea Gartenbach explains which preventive measures each individual can take for a long and healthy life and what role genetic tests play in it
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Is there a way to stop the aging process? Reporter Jenke von Wilmsdorff and his son Jánik dedicate themselves to answering this question in his new longevity experiment on April 28, 2025, on ProSieben. Immediately after the broadcast of "JENKE. Experiment. Immortal: Do we want to live forever?" Jenke, his son Jánik, and Dr. med. Andrea Gartenbach will talk on "JENKE. LIVE." with Viviane Geppert on ProSieben about what they have taken from this experiment into their daily lives.
Dr. med. Andrea Gartenbach is a specialist in internal and functional medicine, an expert in longevity, a founder, speaker, and former competitive athlete. She leads a new generation of doctors who are not only focused on extending our lifespan but more importantly on maximizing and optimizing the time we can lead our lives actively, fit, healthy, and happily (healthspan).
One of your mottos is: Measure, do, measure. What exactly do you mean by that?
It's best if we have data and know exactly what our body needs, what our cells need, and where we can support cellular processes. Especially, we can see how much we need of something. After some time, if you test again, you see how much the body has actually absorbed, it's also about absorption and interaction.
That's why I'm a big fan of data and measurement, whether blood, saliva, urine, stool, via the skin or through questionnaires, to then create a personalized strategy for the patient. The more data we have and the more we know, the more accurately and efficiently we can supplement or treat.
How long do you usually accompany a patient?
This is very individual. Most patients desire long-term support, as health is a long-term investment. We call it Private Health Management. The sooner we start, the better we can act. We always start with a so-called health profile. That means a very deep diagnosis with all that we can scientifically measure and then create a strategy based on this.
We implement this long-term strategy in short sprints. Good prevention is very important. But you seldom start with that because we always find something that's not quite in balance. We have a great network of excellent physicians we can rely on, from whom we can gain expertise for specific issues.
Longevity is currently the topic, but actually it's about prevention, right?
Yes. We have the healthspan, the health span, and the lifespan, the life span. The latter is getting longer, statistically speaking. But the health span is not. What good is a long life in which I have no fun and suffer from diseases that limit quality of life in the last 10 to 12 years? It's not about general diseases, we've had those 30, 40 years earlier already. Silent inflammations, slowly increasing blood pressure values, you don't notice that.
Some say: Why do I need to test my blood pressure? I have no symptoms. That may be, but blood pressure problems often come on slowly. We gradually accumulate more fat mass, and the muscles begin to break down slowly. Vitamins, such as the enzyme Q10 or collagen, are produced less and less.
For me, longevity is simply another, great, modern word that is not quite as dry and not as associated with fear as prevention. Many patients are a bit apprehensive when it comes to prevention. Like: "Oh God, what if they find something?"
"Many patients are a bit anxious about the topic of prevention," says Dr. Andrea Gartenbach.
At what age should one ideally start having check-ups?
At 15 or 16. Because we know that hormones change from then at the latest. Our teenagers live in a world where they are also exposed to great psychological pressure through social media. These emotional issues naturally have a huge impact on the body. Sympathetic and parasympathetic. The connection of hormones with the gut and the brain. I treat some teenagers who have glaring micronutrient deficiencies.
The environment and environmental pollution also have a big impact on the body. So: How is food processed? Detergents and cosmetics... Microplastics didn't exist in their current form 30 years ago.
My children are small, one is in the second grade, the other is just starting school. They deal with health issues already in school, which I find totally exciting. It starts with nutrition. We try to explain to our children, even when they are small, what it means to be responsible with themselves and their health. So the earlier, the better.
Do you advise all patients to have a genetic test?
Yes. Of course, there's a difference in what type of test you undertake. You can do a so-called full genome sequencing. That has become significantly cheaper in the last five years. In the past, such a test cost about €50,000, today around €5,000. I keep a certain distance from that because research is constantly advancing, and in the coming years, much more will be discovered.
What is really well researched and provides good pointers are the SNPs, the predictive lifestyle genetics. In my opinion, genetics account for 20 percent when it comes to longevity and lifestyle for 80 percent.
Are there medications that extend life?
Yes. Research is being conducted around metformin, and the topic of "different peptides" is also very, very exciting. There are new forms of sugar being investigated, which have a very exciting impact on inflammation and cancer. At the moment, animal experiments are being conducted with interesting results, but they are not yet entirely transferable to humans.
When we talk about longevity hacks, it usually involves healthy sleep and recovery, exercise, nutrition, and mental health. What is your personal hack?
There's no one I can advise everyone, as everyone should find out their strengths and weaknesses themselves. My emotions are both my strength and weakness. I have a lot of energy, am very enthusiastic, and am an extremely positive-thinking person who always looks for solutions. That can also be challenging at times because you're very emotional.
I find it relatively difficult to meditate and to come to peace. I need something like sound bowls and breath work to calm down and offset my genetics, which play a part in this.
