Elysium Health Review: Can you Reverse Aging?

Overview

1. Products: Cellular and Brain Health Supplements, At-home Biological Age Testing.
2. Cost: Brain and cellular supplements: $60/bottle, $40/bottle for an annual subscription. Biological aging test: $499.
3. Reports: The biological aging test includes a report.
4. Raw data access: No.
5. Privacy: Elysium claims that no personal information stored by them will be shared with third parties.
6. Alternatives: SelfDecode: A yearly subscription for less than $100 gets you access to wellness reports, personalized blog posts, and symptoms analysis. A subscription with SelfDecode also grants access to LabTestAnalyzer, a specialized lab marker analysis tool.

Pros

• The cellular health supplement is backed by a clinical trial with human participants
• Partnership with the University of Oxford for their brain health supplement

Cons

• High prices for supplements and testing, could cost over $800 per year
• No statements made by Elysium are evaluated by the FDA
• No genetic variant or blood biomarker analysis included with the $499 test
• No personalized health recommendations
• No published peer-reviewed validation
• Does not integrate lab analysis

About Elysium Health

Elysium Health was founded in 2014 by Dan Alminana (COO), Eric Marcotulli (CEO), and Leonard Guarente (Chief Scientist). The company’s headquarters is located in New York City.

The company strives to solve aging challenges by offering biological aging tests and supplements that improve longevity. Elysium works with scientists, bioinformaticians, and other healthcare professionals to achieve their mission.

Elysium Health has secured $71.2 million in funding, with their most recent funding round raised in December 2019. The company has also been involved in multiple legal battles with ChromaDex, a supplier of key ingredients and former partner for Elysium’s cellular health supplement.

Review of Elysium Health Products & Features

Elysium Health offers two supplements focused on longevity and healthy aging: Basis for cellular health and optimization, and Matter for long-term brain health. They also offer a biological age test, called Index.

Basis focuses on cellular health and the chemical NAD+. NAD+ is a chemical that is essential for metabolism and cellular processes. The Basis supplement is designed to sustain and increase NAD+ levels.

The supplement is advertised to promote healthy aging, improve cellular health, and maintain DNA and integral cellular processes. Elysium supports these claims with data from a human clinical trial.

The Matter supplement is focused more on long-term brain health. This product was developed in conjunction with Oxford University. The formula’s main ingredients include a B-vitamin complex, omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants.

Elysium also offers a biological age test, called Index. The company claims that they track the aging using epigenetic testing. Epigenetic changes are changes to how genes work based off of a person’s behavior, or environmental factors. For example, a person could have different, more negative epigenetic changes if they are a heavy cigarette smoker.

The Index epigenetic test tracks the cumulative rate of aging, which is the pace of aging for each year that the customer has been alive.

With Index, users will receive science-backed recommendations to improve their aging outcomes. The test is administered at-home using a saliva sample testing kit. The test is not FDA approved.

Review of Elysium Health Reports

Elysium only offers reports with their Index biological age testing service. The reports will show the user’s biological age in comparison to their chronological age.

The reports will also show the user’s cumulative rate of aging, which is the rate of aging for each year they have been alive. The cumulative rate of aging for each customer will also be compared to others and shown in a visualization, as seen below.

This blog about aging shows how Elysium compares biological age to chronological age, seen in this image below.

Each section is precluded with information about the topic being discussed, such as biological aging, seen in the image below.

The wording is simple and mostly free of jargon. Users should be able to understand what they are reading easily and without having to use additional resources.

There are no publicly available sample reports that display health recommendations, but Elysium claims that science-backed recommendations are included with a purchase of the Index test.

Cost of Elysium Health

Elysium Health’s testing and supplement prices are much higher than competitors in the market.

Each bottle of Basis and Matter are $50 each if they are purchased as a yearly plan. Ordering more than one bottle per month will cost $60 each.

Prepayment options can offer some discounts to customers. An annual plan with a prepayment for the entire year will cost $480, or a 6-month prepayment of $270.

Index, the biological aging test, will cost $500 for one test. Annual subscribers to the Basis supplement service can claim a $200 discount for their Index test, or 6-month subscribers can save $150 off the test.

Elysium’s products and services are not covered by insurance.

Health Recommendations from Elysium Health

Elysium Health claims that there are specific, science-backed recommendations offered with their Index testing kits. They do not provide any examples on their website or offer any additional information about them.

Limitations of Elysium Health

While Elysium Health focuses on longevity supplements and at-home biological aging tests, there are important limitations compared to more comprehensive health platforms:

• No DNA testing: Elysium does not analyze your genetic variants. Their Index test relies solely on epigenetic markers and does not provide insights based on your DNA.
• No integration with lab results: Unlike platforms such as SelfDecode, Elysium cannot incorporate blood tests, biomarkers, or other lab data into their recommendations.
• No lifestyle integration: Health recommendations from Elysium are limited to supplement and epigenetic guidance. They do not take into account your symptoms, conditions, diet, or lifestyle factors to provide personalized, holistic advice.

For individuals seeking actionable insights based on genetics, lab data, and overall health context, SelfDecode offers a more complete and evidence-based solution. SelfDecode integrates DNA, lab markers, symptoms, and lifestyle information to provide personalized recommendations that are supported by scientific research.

Review of Elysium Health Privacy & Data Security

Elysium states that personal information that is sent to them is protected with industry-standard encryption. Personal information and personal test result data will also be de-identified and kept separately from each other.

They also include that any personal information will not be sold to third parties. Without the express consent of customers, any test/genetic information will not be shared with anyone. If users do choose to share their genetic information for research purposes, it will be used in de-identified and aggregate research purposes.

Partnerships

As mentioned earlier in this article, Elysium was previously partnered with ChromaDex, a supplier for the ingredients in the Basis supplements, before their legal fallout.

Elysium Health Reviews

There are many customer reviews for Elysium Health’s supplements and biological aging testing that can be found online, mostly with mixed reviews.

Better Business Bureau- 3.4 of 5 stars based on 5 customer reviews, A+ rating from the BBB.

The customer rating from the BBB indicates that there is some dissatisfaction from customers, with most complaints being frustrations stemming from the lack of return policy and inability to unsubscribe easily.

Elysium Health Review Section- 116 customers rated the Basis supplement an average of 4.45 stars of 5.

Elysium Health has a review section on their own website where real Elysium customers can submit reviews. Elysium Health states that they never change the reviews or incentivize reviewers to influence their rating. Interestingly, Elysium offers no ratings page for the Matter supplement, or Index testing.

Social media can also offer some informal information and opinions about Elysium Health. For instance, one can read what people are saying about Elysium Health on Twitter, or read anonymous opinions on Reddit about the Index testing kit.

Alternatives to Elysium Health

For individuals seeking a more comprehensive and actionable approach to health, SelfDecode offers a complete alternative to Elysium Health’s supplements and epigenetic testing. Unlike Elysium, SelfDecode integrates genetic, laboratory, and lifestyle data to provide personalized recommendations backed by scientific research.

Key Advantages of SelfDecode:

• Advanced genetic analysis: Uses ancestry-adjusted polygenic risk scoring to predict conditions and traits, validated in top-tier journals, including Nature.
• Holistic recommendations: Personalized suggestions take into account symptoms, conditions, lab results, and millions of genetic variants.
• Extensive validation: Supported by six published studies in high-impact scientific journals.
• Comprehensive variant coverage: Over 200 million variants analyzed, with millions considered per individual report using advanced AI.
• Multiomics integration: Incorporates blood tests alongside genetic data for a complete health overview.
• Privacy and security: Strict compliance with HIPAA and GDPR.
• High-quality reports: Access to more than 1,500 health reports across various conditions and wellness topics.
• Evidence-based guidance: Recommendations are fully supported by scientific research and peer-reviewed studies.

SelfDecode provides actionable insights for improving your health, wellness, and longevity, offering far more personalized and data-driven guidance than Elysium Health’s supplements and epigenetic tests alone.

Elysium Health Review Summary

Elysium Health offers longevity supplements and an at-home testing kit focused on biological aging. The company is focused on healthy aging and improving health outcomes associated with the aging process.

For individuals interested in understanding more about their health in a broader context, Elysium’s narrow offering of supplements and single at-home test that does not focus on genetic variants or blood biomarkers can be viewed as a potential weakness.

Another key drawback of the service is the price. Even without re-testing during the year (which is recommended), purchasing the Index test, the Basis and Matter supplements will cost over $800 per year. There are many at-home testing services and personalized supplement companies that offer more competitive pricing.

While Elysium Health offers supplements backed by clinical trials and new research, they do not test for many other indicators of health, other than their epigenetic test that does not test for genetic variants. Potential customers should understand exactly what they are getting with Elysium Health, and understand the alternatives available to them.

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