House of Gaia recently opened its doors in Lipa City, Batangas. Handout

LIPA CITY -- A year ago, it was announced that House of Gaia, a dedicated longevity center and a life span extension resort, would rise in Lipa City, Batangas. With only a detailed artist’s rendition of the place presented then, it was a bit hard to believe the center would be seen erected in a year’s time.

Recently, however, House of Gaia invited guests, family and the media to present the longevity center envisioned by its founder, Mike Chan.

“Our goal was very audacious,” Chan told ABS-CBN News. “Our goal is to get our members to live 100 years strong. But before I tell you how we do what we do, I want to tell you first why we do what we do.”

Seven years ago, Chan called himself the luckiest man when he married his beautiful wife. “At the ripe old age of 47, I found out I was about to become a father then for the very first time,” Chan shared.

“My younger wife reminded me I need to do a check-up since I was about to become a father. She reminded me every single day I am old. I wasn’t worried about doing the check-up. At that age, I was in great physical shape.

“I was the poster boy for health and fitness. I was a life-long athlete. I expected to pass the test with flying colors. Instead, I found out I was already diabetic and my cholesterol was three times what was normal for a person my age.”

Chan was surprised at his results, as he went to the gym six times a week. The doctor told him at his age, his results were normal with aging and that is something that he simply had to accept.

Membership

House of Gaia is bound by membership. However, even if one has the money and House of Gaia saw that one is not serious about the program, they turn down the application.

“The way House of Gaia is different from other establishments who offer wellness over the weekend, you don’t get well or better just in one weekend. When you’re talking about longevity, that’s a lifetime pursuit and commitment,” added Chan.

“You really have to plan for longevity. We tell them what we do and if they can’t do it, we tell them House of Gaia is not for you.

“A lot of people can easily pay, but we actually turned down a few after we interviewed them and we saw they are not serious about their compliance to do the program. We tell them, ‘This is not a good fit for you.’

“We don’t want them to waste their money. The medical diagnosis and the condition of the patient will not be the issue. It is their willingness to do the program.

“We want them to be the best version of themselves at any age. We don’t want them to spend the last five years of their lives suffering.”

Built around greens

House of Gaia was built around the greens in Batangas. “We noticed when you’re outdoors and you’re feeling hot, you will automatically feel the sheet of the trees,” Chan said. “The green on the leaves actually filter out the harmful UVA (ultra-violet A) rays.

“Nature knows what it’s doing… But we don’t have trees in the city. That’s the problem. But I walk around here at House of Gaia the whole day and I never got burned. I never wear sunscreen.”

At House of Gaia, members “eat, sleep, breathe” longevity, according to Chan. Hence, the need to have villas where the members can stay.

“It’s very, very hard to maintain this kind of lifestyle in the city, where friends ask you to join them for drinks, eat bad food, sleep late. You’re over-stressed. Basically, this place is a bootcamp for longevity. You come here to reset.

“Everything that you’re going to be eating, the way that you’re going to be sleeping, we even want zero Internet in the villas. But we can provide it if clients will request for it. But we will not encourage it.”

(From left): Dr. Albert Gironella, Dr. Rolan Hortaleza, Emelina Chan, Alyssa Chan, Mike Chan, and Salvador Chan. Handout

House of Gaia Longevity Center and Wellness Resort promotes longevity medicine and offers innovative wellness and health technologies.

The center is designed to improve the overall quality of life dedicated to reversing biological aging and addressing chronic progressive diseases.

Longevity medicine

Longevity medicine is relatively new in Asia, but its benefits have the potential to address some of the most pressing health challenges faced by Filipinos today.

“We intend to welcome healthy group of people to House of Gaia, otherwise it will become a burden not only to the government and society, but to the family, as well,” Dr. Albert Gironella, president of International Academy of Medical Specialists,  said. “To have a long life, you must also have a healthy life.

“The satisfaction that you can do what you want to do, that means you have to be healthy. Functional ability that enables life being enjoyable, that means the person must meet the basic needs to be mobile.

“Sweating is part of our excretory system. That is the skin. But we also have our breathing, where we can expel the unwanted carbon dioxide and unwanted toxins by sweating.”

Gironella recommends regular check-ups so we can control our comorbidities abd to visit the right doctors – an endocrinologist for diabetes, and a hypertensive expert for hypertension.

“We also need flu vaccines once a year,” he suggested. “So we can develop anti-bodies. The elderly should have pneumonia vaccine.

“Avoid self-medicating to be safe. Arthritis and frozen shoulders limit your capability to work and enjoy life. So visit your doctors or therapists immediately.”

The Hyperroxic Hypoxic Chamber, one of the new machines in the lifestyle center. Handout

In the recent opening of House of Gaia, a longevity Asian fusion lunch including ahi tuna salad, baked sea bass, steamed prawns and skewered pork was prepared by renowned chefs Gino and Gene Gonzalez, as well as Anthony Roxas Garife.

Introduced were the facility’s signature treatments and programs, including hyperbaric oxygen therapy, body composition analysis, red cocoon therapy and others