The extreme wellness trends billionaires swear by

Are they taking wellness too far?

We all occasionally splurge on expensive skincare or spa treatments when we’re feeling low, but the extremely rich are taking wellness trends to a whole other level. From frog poison to ozone therapy, these are the wildest wellness treatments the upper echelons swear by. 

The practice of ‘biohacking’ is growing more and more popular among one per centers in the US. 

Author of Smarter, Not Harder: The Biohacker’s Guide to Getting the Body and Mind You Want, Dave Asprey describes biohacking as ‘a global movement based on the idea that you can change the environment around you and inside of you so you have full control of your own biology.”

And the ultra-wealthy are going all in, spending their riches on supplements, scans, injections, and treatments that sound equally uncomfortable and dangerous. 

Applying frog poison

Many of us shy away from needles, but some people are going so far as to have poison from tree frogs (Kambo) applied to their skin in the quest for wellness.

A feature of the cleansing ceremonies of Amazonian tribes, the treatment has been sold as a cure for anxiety, migraines, chronic fatigue syndrome and more. 

During the procedure, the poison is applied to burns made on a person’s skin. Quite extreme physical reactions quickly follow.

Some people are going so far as to have poison from tree frogs (Kambo) applied to their skin in the quest for wellness. Image: Getty.

In one paper published in the Frontiers in Pharmacology journal, Brazilian doctors said  “Reactions are often strong and include tachycardia [increased heart rate], sweating, and severe vomiting … followed by a state of apathy and drowsiness.”

Co-founder of wellness technology company HigherDose, Lauren Berlingeri, took part in a Kambo ceremony, reporting “20 minutes of flu-like purging”. 

“It’s pretty wild”, she said on her BiohackHERS podcast. “Your face swells up like a frog and then you throw up, and you’re supposed to purge all the toxins that are in your body.” 

Kambo is banned in Australia and doctors warn against the potentially lethal treatment.

The extremely wealthy are spending their riches on biohacking. Image: iStock.

Ozone insufflation therapy

Other wellness seekers are taking part in ozone insufflation therapy. Gwyneth Paltrow herelf has been said to love the practice, which includes blowing a form of oxygen, called ozone, into your rectum. 

The treatment costs over $200 AUD, and claims to promote gut health and kill bacteria. 

The practice is banned by regulators in the US, with the Food and Drug Administration saying ozone “Must be present in a concentration far greater than that which can be safely tolerated by man and animals” to effectively kill germs.

Other wellness seekers are taking part in ozone insufflation therapy. Image: iStock.

Total plasma exchange 

Biohackers dedicated to slowing down the ag3ing process are spending upwards of $15,000 AUD per session to have their plasma filtered and replaced through IVs. 

The four-hour-long treatment is said to ‘remove unhealthy particles – like autoantibodies that attack healthy cells – to reduce inflammation and strengthen immunity’, per the New York Post.

Biohackers dedicated to slowing down the aging process are spending upwards of $15,000 AUD per session to have their plasma filtered and replaced through IVs. Image: iStock.

Berlingeri told the publication that experts encourage patients to have at least six treatments just to get started. So the initial cost can be over $90,000 AUD.

Bryan Johnson, a multimillionaire who is taking part in just about every controversial biohacking trend in an attempt to reverse ageing, reportedly loves the practice. 

He also spends millions each year on experimental treatments, takes over 100 pills every day, eats more than 30 kgs of vegetables each month, and has fat scans daily. 

He also spends millions each year on experimental treatments, takes over 100 pills every day, eats more than 30 kgs of vegetables each month, and has fat scans daily.

The list of treatments pitched to reduce your biological age, tighten skin, debloat your stomach and cure all ailments continues to grow, and the extremely rich continue to fork out millions to try them.

But Berlingeri says the best hack may be the most simple. “After 6 p.m. I put my phone down," she told the New York Post. "My device is very triggering."

Indeed, perhaps all any of us need to do to improve our lives is spend less time on the attention-sucking devices right in front of us.

Originally published as The extreme wellness trends billionaires swear by