Mainstream docs join anti-aging bandwagon

But with M.D. endorsements, is the field more credible — or risky?
By Brian Alexander
MSNBC contributor
updated 9:56 a.m. ET April 21, 2008

For thousands of years, magicians, alchemists, even a few fringe medical practitioners have fueled an unbounded optimism that we can blunt the ravages of time, stay younger for longer, maybe even defeat death itself. Their pitches have usually hinged on some drug, food or device — everything from electricity to yogurt to surgically installing the gonads of animals into our own bodies — that will slow or reverse the aging process. Every decade or so, “anti-aging” promoters grasp onto news coming out of research labs and trumpet those developments as the answer we have all been awaiting.

Lately, the buzzwords are “nano,” which refers to the science of the ultra small (a nanometer is one millionth of a millimeter), and stem cells. One “nano” face cream, for example, promises to stave off wrinkles with "nano-encapsulated technology" into which the makers have "packed microscopic bundles of Prodew, a nourishing skin humectant." A dietary supplement advertised as "The World's FIRST Stem Cell Enhancer," promises to "Rebuild, Renew, Rejuvenate" — giving you more stem cells and keeping your organs healthy — if you take the blue-green algae capsules. The claims are based on wispy science and hype.

But while the cycle remains the same, something new is happening in the world of anti-aging. Mainstream doctors who once wanted nothing to do with the naturopaths, osteopaths and others who first populated modern anti-aging, and whom they often considered glorified carnival barkers, are buying in, signing up for “certification” as anti-aging practitioners and offering patients the promise of youth and rejuvenation through such treatments as human growth hormone, testosterone, special diet and exercise regimens, antioxidants and hundreds of other supplements.

“It is mushrooming,” says Dr. Elliot Snyder, an emergency room physician based in Northern California who follows the movement closely by frequently attending anti-aging meetings and talking to friends in the field. He also uses some of its techniques himself. Besides exercising five days a week and following a strict low-fat diet that includes lots of fruits, vegetables and wild salmon but no white flour or red meat, he takes supplements ranging from thiamin and biotin to DHEA, DMAE, colostrum, arginine, carnitine and omega-3 fatty acids — about 50 pills per day. He is 64 but looks a decade younger.

Back in 1994, the annual Las Vegas meeting of the fledgling American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) was held in a small hotel off the Las Vegas strip. Everyone could fit into a temporary tent-like structure on the pool patio. Last December, at the 15th A4M confab, roughly 2,000 attendees, including business owners, anti-aging promoters and hundreds of doctors — among them obstetricians, ER docs, psychiatrists and internists — filled a cavernous meeting space inside the Venetian Hotel and Resort.

Today, claims Dr. Bob Goldman, A4M’s co-founder, there are about 20,000 A4M-certified doctors around the world. A4M’s tax returns confirm the boom. The income from fees charged to those seeking board certification from A4M more than doubled from $544,845 in 2005 to $1.2 million in 2006.

A rival organization, Age Management Medicine Group, is growing rapidly, too, says co-founder Rick Merner. He claims the group had more than 400 doctors at its last meeting, sponsored by the nation’s single largest “age-management” clinic, Cenegenics. The Cenegenics Foundation also certifies practitioners in age-management medicine (it shuns the term “anti-aging”) and claims to have experienced a 100 percent increase in the number of its physician “affiliates” to more than 800.

Mainstream business has recognized the potential. GE Healthcare, for example, sent a team to the recent A4M meeting to market body scanners that cost about $100,000 each and are often used by anti-aging doctors to look at fat deposits inside the body and convince patients of the need to do something about them. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal, which is a GE company.)

'A life-changing experience'
Patients all over the country are buying in. Rebecca Gooden, a 57-year-old Charleston, S.C., real estate agent, first saw an anti-aging doctor in December when she sought help for joint pain, insomnia and lack of energy. “I had felt something was going on but standard testing did not show any of it," she says. "I had been having symptoms but doctors kept telling me there was nothing wrong and I knew there was."

Frustrated, when she saw an article about Cenegenics in a magazine, she called for an appointment in hopes of solving her problems. Now, she spends about $1,000 a month on hormones and supplements to treat various hormonal deficiencies and has become an anti-aging convert. “I feel like a new person … it has been a life-changing experience for me.”

All this despite the fact that as far as the American Medical Association or the American Board of Medical Specialties is concerned, there is no such thing as an anti-aging specialty.

Therein lies the often bitter tension between the medical establishment and those physicians and organizations who say they can help us slow or even stop the aging process and the debilitation that comes with it. Goldman and his A4M co-founder, Dr. Ronald Klatz, have been accused by respected academics of being snake-oil salesmen. Cenegenics and A4M have both been labeled glorified hormone-pushers.

Anti-aging advocates, on the other hand, argue that they are a persecuted minority of enlightened medical professionals who have the patients’ best interests at heart and that the AMA, the mainstream media and the government, especially the Food and Drug Administration, have conspired to keep the truth from the public.

“Certain vested interests would not like to have anti-aging,” Klatz argues.

To the ears of Northwestern University bioethics professor Laurie Zoloth, this sounds like an old story. “Whenever one hears these things, that there is a conspiracy against patients, if you come to us we will tell you truth, then one has to ask, ‘Why are your statements credible?’”

Has anti-aging 'arrived'?
That is precisely the question many consumers are now being asked to answer for themselves. If their M.D. is signing onto anti-aging, does that mean the message is now credible? Does the certificate on his or her wall mean that real anti-aging has, at last, arrived? Or does it simply mean that every patient now has one more reason to live by the Latin phrase caveat emptor — buyer beware?

Dr. Thomas Perls, a Boston University researcher who studies centenarians (people who live at least 100 years), and a vociferous critic of the anti-aging industry, argues that while some anti-aging practitioners “may have their hearts in the right place … in my mind the whole anti-aging practice has so many problems of ethical and professional misconduct. These practices are selling medicines and substances at great profit with very little in the way of clinical studies to support what they are doing.”

The answers to the science questions can be complicated, but the motivations of some doctors to enter the anti-aging world are not. Dr. Arnold Relman, a former editor of The New England Journal of Medicine who is now a professor emeritus of medicine and social medicine at Harvard Medical School, believes “the interest in anti-aging practice is mainly based on economic considerations” by physicians who are looking to boost income.

“Get your piece of the $50 billion anti-aging marketplace!” trumpets a flyer distributed to doctors at A4M’s Las Vegas meeting. An article by Klatz and Goldman in "Medical Spas," a magazine that’s a member of A4M, encourages doctors to open their own medical spas and to have them certified under the World Council for Clinical Accreditation, another A4M organization, because “a single anti-aging patient is estimated to bring $4,000 to $20,000 in annual gross revenue.”

The business can be very good, indeed. Doctors can count on regular hours because the patients are not sick. Better yet, patients pay cash because visits and procedures are not generally covered by insurance, which also means there is no upper limit to fees. And since there is no need to deal with insurance companies or HMOs, practices do not require extra staff to handle all that paperwork.

Additionally, anti-aging doctors often sell lines of creams and supplements, such as vitamins, antioxidants and plant extracts, which claim to do everything from strengthening the immune system to boosting libido, directly out of their offices, sometimes with an enormous mark-up. They can also use their own in-office technology, like those GE body scanners, to charge for in-house testing.

Patients generally see anti-aging doctors much more often than regular physicians. That's because in addition to checking on measures like weight and body fat and how patients are feeling overall, the docs are constantly monitoring a large range of sometimes esoteric health indicators with a battery of medical tests, including urinalysis and blood work. They look for levels of everything from testosterone and estrogen to follicle stimulating hormone and dehydroepiandrosterone (a natural steroid known as DHEA). Based on all these results, the doctors may then recommend drugs, hormones, supplements and special diets and fitness regimens — and then set an appointment to see the patient again in several weeks or months for another cash-only check-up.

One doctor, two hats
Dr. Andrew Jurow, an ob-gyn in Burlingame, Calif., says he started an anti-aging practice alongside his ongoing traditional practice after becoming a devotee himself. “I am as mainstream as you can get. I am 59 years old, board certified in ob-gyn, as was my father. If you had come to me five, six years ago and talked about anti-aging, I would have said, ‘Hogwash!’”

But then Jurow, long an avid exerciser, attended an A4M meeting and came away impressed with what he heard. Five years ago he began visiting an anti-aging doctor himself. Now he sees his regular ob-gyn HMO patients through one door of his building and anti-aging patients through another.

Jurow says he is not getting rich off his anti-aging patients. Rather, his motivation is his own belief that it works. Still, he says, if he sees an anti-aging patient for an hour, he can charge $350, whereas HMOs might reimburse him as little as $50 for a traditional office visit. Article Source : www.msnbc.msn.com

Prevention's Anti-Aging Guide

By Andreas von Bubnoff and Joanna Lloyd, Prevention

We used to think our fate was in the cards—or in the stars. Now, thanks to research unlocking the secrets to living longer and better, we know different. It turns out that 70% of the factors influencing life expectancy are due to good choices and good luck—not good genes.

What are the moves that will peel off the years? Prevention asked dozens of scientists studying aging, exercise, nutrition, and related fields which changes deliver the biggest payoff. Read on for their picks—powerful enough to make these researchers adopt them in their own lives.

1. Stay the weight you were at 18
"Next to not smoking, this is probably the most important thing we can do to stay healthy and live longer," says Walter Willett, MD, chair of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Leanness matters, because fat cells produce hormones that raise the risk of type 2 diabetes. They also make sub-stances called cytokines that cause inflammation—stiffening the arteries and the heart and other organs. Carrying excess fat also raises the risk of some cancers. Add it up, and studies show that lean people younger than age 75 halve their chances of premature death, compared with people who are obese.

The government deems a wide range of weights to be healthy (between 110 and 140 pounds for a 5-foot-4 woman), partly because body frames vary tremendously. So to maintain the weight that's right for you, Willett suggests you periodically try to slip into the dress you wore to your high school prom—assuming, of course, that you were a healthy weight at that age. If not, aim for a body mass index of about 23.5.

Willett can't use the prom-dress test himself. Nevertheless, at 6-foot-2 and a lean 184 pounds, he dutifully hews to the BMI of his youth.

2. Take the dynamic duo of supplements
They're what Bruce N. Ames, PhD, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of California, Berkeley, swears by: his daily 800 mg of alpha-lipoic acid and 2,000 mg of acetyl-L-carnitine. In these amounts, he says, the chemicals boost the energy output of mitochondria, which power our cells. "I think mitochondrial decay is a major factor in aging," Ames says—it's been linked to diseases such as Alzheimer's and diabetes.

In his studies, elderly rats plied with the supplements had more energy and ran mazes better. "If you're an old rat, you can be enthusiastic," Ames says. "As people, we can't be sure until clinical trials are done." (They're under way.) But the compounds look very safe—the worst side effect documented in humans is a rash, Ames says—and "the data in animals looks really convincing," says S. Mitchell Harman, MD, PhD, president of the Kronos Longevity Research Institute in Phoenix.

3. Skip a meal
This one move could have truly dramatic results. Rats fed 30% less than normal live 30% longer than usual—and in a recent study at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the hearts of the leaner human calorie-cutters appeared 10 to 15 years younger than those of regular eaters.

In other research, calorie restrictors improved their blood insulin levels and had fewer signs of damage to their DNA. Eating less food, scientists believe, may reduce tissue wear and tear from excess blood sugar, inflammation, or rogue molecules known as free radicals.

Edward Calabrese, PhD, and Mark Mattson, PhD, have opted for "calorie restriction lite." Calabrese, a professor of toxicology and environmental health sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, dumped the midday meal. Mattson, chief of the laboratory of neurosciences at the National Institute on Aging, has done without breakfast for 20 years.

Try it
Skip a meal a day. You don't need to try to cut calories; Mattson's research suggests you'll naturally consume less that day. Or try fasting one day a week. Just drink plenty of water.

4. Get a pet
Open up your home and heart to Rover or Boots. Owning a pet reduces the number of visits to the doctor, prolongs survival after a heart attack, and wards off depression, says James Serpell, PhD, director of the Center for the Interaction of Animals and Society at the University of Pennsylvania. (His family has a cat, a dog, a large green iguana, a bearded dragon, and a dozen fish.)

Pet ownership also protects against a major problem of aging: high blood pressure. In one standout study at State University of New York, Buffalo, stockbrokers with high blood pressure adopted a pet. When they were faced with mental stress, their BP increased less than half as much as in their counterparts without animal pals. But pick your pet with care. There is nothing stress-reducing about a dog that chews the baseboard to bits.

5. Get help for what hurts
Studies suggest that continuous pain may dampen the immune system—and evidence is clear that it can cause deep depression and push levels of the noxious stress hormone cortisol higher.

So enough with the stoicism: Take chronic pain to your doctor and keep complaining until you have a treatment plan that works, says Nathaniel Katz, MD, a neurologist and pain-management specialist at Tufts University School of Medicine. Your mood will improve—and your immune system may perk up, too.

6. Take a hike
To make the walls of your arteries twice as flexible as those of a couch potato, just walk briskly for 30 minutes, 5 days a week. That's what Hirofumi Tanaka, PhD, an associate professor of kinesiology and health education at the University of Texas, advises after tracking the elasticity of people's blood vessels using ultrasound.

With age, blood vessel walls tend to stiffen up like old tires—the main reason two-thirds of people older than age 60 have high blood pressure. Exercise keeps vessels pliable. Mild exercise also reduces the risk of diabetes, certain cancers, depression, aging of the skin, maybe even dementia. That excites exercise researcher Steven N. Blair, past president of the nonprofit Cooper Institute in Dallas. He's run nearly every day for almost 40 years. "Not bad for a 66-year-old fat man."

7. Fight fair
Nasty arguments between couples increase the risk of clogged arteries. In a recent University of Utah study, women's hearts suffered when they made or heard hostile comments; men's hearts reacted badly to domineering, controlling words.

"It's normal to have a fight with your spouse—it's a matter of how you fight," says Ronald Glaser, PhD, an immunologist at Ohio State University. What he and his wife, Ohio State clinical psychologist Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, PhD, put off-limits: "Getting nasty, sarcastic, or personal, or using body language like rolling your eyes. It's better to simply agree to disagree."

8. Stop and plant the roses
Gardening or being around plants bears fruit. In one study, blood pressure jumped in workers given a stressful task—but rose only a quarter as much if there were plants in the room. And patients who had a view of trees as they recovered from surgery left the hospital almost a day sooner than those with a view of a brick wall.

9. Hoist a few (weights, that is)
Everyone knows cardio exercise is key to slowing the advance of time. More surprising: Strength-training is crucial, too. That's because after their mid-40s, people lose ¼ pound of muscle mass a year, gaining fat in its place.

But, says Miriam E. Nelson, PhD, an associate professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition at Tufts University, "For a couple of decades, you don't have to lose any muscle, if you do the appropriate exercises." Even people well into their 90s can regain muscle, she's found. Just lift weights 2 or 3 days a week, for a minimum of 30 minutes.

The payoff: more endurance, stronger bones, less risk of diabetes—and better sleep and thinking. Nelson rock climbs and does plenty of other weight-bearing exercise.

10. Do a good deed
Pick up trash in the park or shop for a neighbor who needs help, says William Brown, PhD, a lecturer of psychology at Brunel University, West London. He studied people in Brooklyn and found that those who had a denser social network and gave more to their friends and family than they received—whether the gift was in the form of money, food, advice, or time—reported feeling healthier than others, even when he factored in activity levels.

Another study, at the University of Michigan, looked at 423 elderly married couples; after 5 years, the pairs who were more altruistic were only half as likely to have died. "Many people grow up thinking it's a dog-eat-dog world," Brown says. "But there's a lot of data that suggests the best way to be healthy is to be kind to others."

11. Eat a rainbow...
...made of vegetables, says Peter Greenwald, MD, director of the division of cancer prevention at the National Cancer Institute. Their cancer-preventing abilities are unparalleled. Remember: Aim for nine servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

12. Sup from the sea
Don't just slap anything with fins onto your plate: You want fatty fish, such as salmon, sardines, and lake trout. They contain the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, which many studies show help prevent sudden death from heart attack. Omega-3s may also help ward off depression, Alzheimer's disease, and age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness—and maybe some cancers, although evidence is mixed.

To get more of the benefits of good fats, snack on an ounce (a handful) of walnuts a day. Use less corn oil, and more canola and olive oils. Greg Cole, PhD, a professor of medicine and neurology at UCLA, also avoids cookies, margarine, and snack foods such as chips, which are loaded with unhealthy trans fats. On his menu: two tuna sandwiches plus a couple of DHA-enriched eggs a week. He takes 2 g of fish oil daily.

13. Belt out a tune
Exposing yourself to music might help boost your immune system: In a study done by Robert Beck, PhD, a professor emeritus at the University of California, Irvine, levels of an infection-fighting antibody called IgA increased 240% in the saliva of choral members performing Beethoven's Missa Solemnis.

14. Drink a cuppa
Intrigued by studies (of mice, cells in lab dishes, and people) that say tea may fight prostate and breast cancer and heart disease, researcher Anna Wu, PhD, a professor of preventive medicine at the University of Southern California, downs at least 3 cups daily. Green is best, although black tea confers some benefits, too.

15. Whittle your waist
To determine if your body is staying young, the tape measure is better than the bathroom scale: Your weight can remain the same while you lose muscle and pack on fat, including visceral fat, the culprit behind a thick waist. It's linked to a heightened risk of age-related ills such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease. If your waist measures more than 35 inches (for a woman) or 40 inches (for a man), you probably have too much belly fat.

The best way to shed that inner load: exercise, says Kerry Stewart, EdD, director of clinical and research exercise physiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In a 6-month study of 69 men and women, he found a 20% reduction in visceral fat, though participants lost only 5 pounds. Stewart's program was brisk but not too arduous: 45 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobics three times a week and 20 minutes of moderate-intensity weight training, also three times weekly.

16. Double up on D
If there's one vitamin supplement you should take, this is it, experts say. Vitamin D is made in the skin when sun hits it—but as people get older, the D factory doesn't work as well. About half of Americans fall short. Research suggests that a lack of D raises the risk of osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, and various cancers.

"No other nutrient is so widely deficient in the United States," says Meir Stampfer, MD, chair of the department of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. "Unless you eat a lot of fish, you have to supplement." Stampfer takes 1,800 IU daily in the winter and 800 to 1,200 IU a day the rest of the year. Make sure your supplement contains vitamin D3, the form the skin makes.

17. Dine on curry
Turmeric, the spice that makes curry yellow, is loaded with curcumin, a chemical with potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. In India, it's smeared on bandages to help heal wounds.

East Asians also eat it, of course—which might explain why they have lower rates than we do of various cancers and Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. (Animal research is promising.) Cole, of UCLA, makes sure he gets a good dose of Indian food with "lots of yellow stuff" three times weekly. Don't like the taste? Try a daily curcumin supplement of 500 to 1,000 mg.

18. Donate blood
The life you save may be your own. Many researchers think that we take in too much iron, mostly from eating red meat. Excess iron is thought to create free radicals in the body, speeding aging and raising risk of heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer's. Until menopause, women are naturally protected from iron overload, but after that the danger of overdose climbs.

Preliminary studies suggest you can lower your risk of heart disease by regularly giving blood. Thomas Perls, MD, an associate professor of medicine at Boston University who leads the New England Centenarian Study, donates a unit every 2 months. He has a rare blood type, so he's helping others—and he may get something out of it, too. If you're scared of needles, at least go easy on red meat: no more than a daily serving the size of a pack of cards.

19. Look out for your eyes
Getting plenty of omega-3s in food or supplements may help ward off age-related macular degeneration. Plant antioxidants such as lutein and zeaxanthin (found in leafy green vegetables like kale and collards) are helpful, too.

People who have drusen—tiny deposits within the retina that can be early signs of macular degeneration—can reduce their risk of blindness in both eyes by 25% if they take a supplement, says John Paul SanGiovanni, ScD, a staff scientist at the National Eye Institute. What to take, according to his study: 500 mg of vitamin C, 400 IU of vitamin E, 80 mg of zinc, 15 mg of beta-carotene, and 2 mg of copper.

20. Take fern extract for your skin
Studies suggest that the antioxidant-rich extract of the South American fern Polypodium leucotomos may help keep your skin youthful by protecting against free radicals and reducing inflammation. Until clinical trials find proof, "it's like chicken soup—it can't hurt and it might help a bit," says dermatologist Mary Lupo, MD, a Prevention advisor and a clinical professor of dermatology at the Tulane University School of Medicine.

Lupo takes 240 mg every morning in a supplement called Heliocare, made by Ivax Dermatologicals. She also slaps on broad-spectrum sunscreen and Retin-A daily and eats a diet loaded with colorful fruits and vegetables—blueberries, raspberries, grapefruit, broccoli, spinach. It may also help to drink green tea and nibble flavonoid-rich dark chocolate, she adds. What you must do: Avoid excessive sun exposure and don't smoke.

21. Take a deep breath
Strife at work, bumper-to-bumper traffic, little Will's report card: Stress increases the concentration of the hormones cortisol and norepinephrine in our bloodstream, kicking up blood pressure and suppressing the immune system. Chronic stress delays wound healing, promotes atherosclerosis, and possibly shrinks parts of the brain involved in learning, memory, and mood.

"The key is lowering the concentration of those stress hormones," says Bruce Rabin, MD, PhD, medical director of the Healthy Lifestyle program at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He's devised a research-based program that mutes the hormone flow: It includes meditation, deep breathing, writing, chanting, and guided imagery. Check it out at the Healthy Lifestyle program Web site.

Deep breathing is the top antistress pick of Prevention advisor Andrew Weil, MD: He makes time for it at least twice a day. "It only takes 2 minutes," he says. "I do it in the morning, when I'm falling asleep in the evening, and any time I feel upset."

Technique
Exhale strongly through the mouth, making a whoosh sound. Breathe in quietly through the nose for a count of 4. Hold your breath for a count of 7; then exhale with the whoosh sound for a count of 8. Repeat the cycle three more times.

22. Hey—turn it down!
Exposure to noise damages the delicate hair cells of your inner ears. So when you're around loud noise, wear earplugs—the cheap type you can buy at the drugstore, or pricier ones that preserve sound quality. Andy Vermiglio, a research audiologist at the House Ear Institute in Los Angeles, offers free hearing tests at trade shows for audio engineers (aka sound guys). He can always tell which 40-year-old engineer was religious about ear protection and which one was careless: The latter typically has the hearing of a 70-year-old.

23. Get more shut-eye
Some sleep problems raise the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes—maybe even obesity. Everyone's sleep needs are different; to find out what yours are, sleep experts recommend you turn off the alarm clock when you're well rested, and see how long you naturally sleep. (Most people need 7 to 8 hours.)

While you're at it, ask your spouse if you snore. Snorting and honking through the night are signs that you may have sleep apnea, which causes you to stop breathing at least five times an hour; it raises your risk of stroke. An estimated 18 million Americans have the disorder, but many don't know it, reports the National Sleep Foundation. Doctors are more likely to miss sleep apnea in women, says Joseph Kaplan, MD, codirector of the Mayo Sleep Disorders Center in Jacksonville, FL—and women may not want to mention their unladylike habit. Ladylike, schmadylike. Tell your doctor.

24. Drop that hot potato
High-glycemic foods, rich in quick-digesting carbohydrates, can cause blood sugar spikes and crashes and contribute to overeating and diabetes risk—which accelerates aging.

We need to retrain our taste buds, says Willett. What to ditch: sugary drinks. And cut way back on America's favorite veggie, the potato. It has the highest glycemic index of any vegetable, sending more sugar rushing into the bloodstream faster. Willett's team at Harvard recently found that over a 20-year period, women who ate more whole grains and fewer spuds had a 20 to 30% lower risk of type 2 diabetes. His carb picks for his own dinner: brown rice and whole grain bread, and sometimes whole wheat pasta or bulgur.

25. Put on your rose-colored glasses
"Embracing some of the positive aspects of aging is helpful," says Becca Levy, PhD, an associate professor of epidemiology and psychology at Yale. She found more than a 7-year survival advantage for older men and women with a positive attitude toward aging, compared with people who have a negative one.

If you're a cranky sort, you might also want to tweak your attitude about other things. "People who have a goal in life—a passion, a purpose, a positive outlook, and humor—live longer," says Robert Butler, MD, president of the International Longevity Center in New York City.

Embrace life, and the coming of old age—it happens to all of us. If we're lucky.

Article Source : http://health.yahoo.com

Exercise for its Anti-Aging Benefits

Exercise is necessary at any age, but to fight the effects of aging and time on your body, working out at least 30 minutes a day for five days a week, is the minimum you will require to strengthen your muscles and bones, maintain good posture, bone density and joint mobility. Exercise also boosts the internal functioning of the cardiovascular system (lungs and heart) which enables all parts of the body to perform at its optimum as the years go by. Added to these benefits, exercise stimulates the production of a hormone known as the endorphins (the “feel good” hormones) which help fight depression and help you to feel positive and energetic.

Two of your five workout sessions per week should be devoted to weight training which helps not only combating the loss of muscle mass as you age but helps fight osteoporosis.

In addition to regularly exercising, adding time for meditation during the week is very beneficial to your anti-aging program. Practiced daily, research has found that meditation slows down brain deterioration. It was discovered during studies of people who meditated regularly that meditation can change the physical structure of the brain causing a more dense cerebral cortex. Studies also showed that people who meditated have the physical abilities, perceptual and cognitive functions as people ten years younger. Have a look at recent photos or listen to interviews with the Dalai Lama, who was born in 1935, and you can see evidence of the positive benefits of meditation. He is alert and strong, passionate about his cause and very youthful for a man of 73 years of age.

Remember to first check with your doctor when beginning any exercise program. Article Source : pureageless.com

Anti-Aging Nutrition Enhanced Skin Cream Test Results from Glycology New Celsync

Glycology, Inc., an innovative life sciences company committed to developing and commercializing new nutrition enhanced beauty and health technology and a wholly owned subsidiary of Adoodle, Inc. today announced that it has received positive testing results of its new formulated Celsync skin cream with omega 3. Glycology’s proprietary anti-aging skin cream complex, Celsync, contains glucosamine, a powerful cellular exfoliator that targets and reduces the visible signs of aging.

Testing produced significant improvements in skin appearance and integrity:
* Boosts collagen by 145%
* Increases skin hydration by 50%
* Decreases the appearance of wrinkles & fine lines by 52%
* Enhances skin firmness by 60%
* Improves skin clarity by 49%
* Improves sun damaged skin 50%

Results seen included -
1. Skin is firmer within minutes.
2. Within a month, lines and wrinkles significantly reduced.
3. Within a few months, skin is noticeably lifted, more resilient, and healthier-looking.

“Skin beauty is a reflection of inner health and vitality. Skin’s appearance is at its best when essential nutrients aid in stimulating and protecting skin cell activity throughout the surface layers of the skin. Glycology’s breakthrough nutrition and dermatology which is based on NOBEL prize-winning technology can influence skin health and beauty,” stated Glycology Inc., President Ian Jones.

Also, and as important are the essential nutrients both in the nutrition enhanced skin cream as well as Celsync capsules.

“Glycology’s approach to advanced skin care is based on “signal technology, a system by which healthy human cells communicate in order to repair, renew and replicate themselves,” added Jones.

Ingesting Celsync capsules and using Celsync skin cream for example allows essential nutrients to work both from within the body as well as on the surface of the skin for remarkable absorption and outstanding results.

Find out how you can look better, feel better and increase your immune system for both health and beauty. To review all the Celsync products, please visit: www.glycology.com.

ANTI-AGING AND SUPPLEMENTS

Deciding on what, and if, supplements to take can be a very hard task considering the large controversy between the business side of selling supplements and scientifically backed health benefits. Much research has proved that regular supplementation can prevent and increase resistance to a variety of diseases associated with old age and early mortality. There are, however, criteria which are used to assess the claims that a certain supplement is advantageous. These include a background of publications in scientific literature with results from controlled experiments; data from these experiments should be confirmed by independent investigators; a good understanding of the actions of the material in the body; if the supplement is a pure substance, assumption derived from food data are unreliable.

There is a fundamental difference between preventing disease and retarding aging. Vulnerability to any threats to your health doubles each 8 years. By disease prevention people will avoid certain conditions which would kill them early, but they would not actually break the maximum lifespan barrier, which calorie restriction does. Anti-aging is when the vulnerability doubles each 14 years instead of 8. Modern medical practitioners tend to over-recommend the use of certain drugs and supplements which have not stood the test of time and believe in theories rather than facts.

The “official” viewpoint on supplementation is expressed in the determination of the Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs). In deciding on their values, there are six major criteria which are included: amount people consume normally of the nutrient; amount needed to avoid a particular disease; the adequacy of the physiological function in relation to the nutrient intake; amount of nutrient absorbed; studies determining the nutrient deficiency characteristics; and results from animal experiments. However, certain scientists have suggested a seventh, more reliable criterion to be used. It involves several different groups of animals from the same species being fed with different amounts of the nutrient and the RDA is set at the level fed to the group of animals which had the longest lifespan.

There are several classes of supplements: antioxidants, phytochemicals, hormones and fatty acids. Antioxidants are by far the most potent anti-aging agents. The theory of free radicals and free radical scavengers (substances which break the chain of free radicals and disperse it) was developed as the most plausible theory of aging. Yet so far it has not been clearly proven that supplementation with antioxidants alone retards aging, so this theory can still be questioned. It is certain that taking antioxidants result in longer life and lower incidence of disease, but results have not shown the life expectancy barrier to rise. What is known is that antioxidants decrease disease susceptibility and must certainly be part of a healthy anti-aging diet.

There is little doubt that supplements have various health benefits, but before deciding on the right combination of them, it is strongly recommended to undertake some research as to what has proved itself advantageous and what is only speculated upon. The calorie restriction method of anti-aging is certain to break the maximum lifespan barrier, but it has not become very popular for a number of reasons. This is why a lot of work has been put throughout history into finding the right anti-aging supplement, a so called “elixir of life”.

Most evidence about supplements’ benefits is epidemiological and comes from a certain repeatedly observed situation. For example, it has been observed that a diet with a high intake of fruit results in less incidence of cardiovascular disease. Once there is an observation, scientists start by guessing which substance in fruits is responsible for this effect, isolating it and conducting numerous tests on it. First any substance is tested on animals and if the results are encouraging, a prospective human study may be conducted. However, it has become recognized that protective effects of fruit and vegetables occur at an intake in the range of two or threefold of the RDA amount.

The three antioxidants which are best known for their activity are Vitamins E and C and lipoic acid. Vitamin E is the most significant fat-soluble, chain-breaking antioxidant in human blood. Larger than RDA doses of vitamin E increase immune response and resistance to infection. It also exerts cancer-inhibiting effects and protects from toxic chemical agents (mercury, lead, ozone). A human diet should be supplemented with around 300 IU of vitamin E. Vitamin C, the primary water-soluble antioxidant obtained from food, is essential for many body functions, such as brain metabolism, carnitine synthesis and manufacturing connective tissue. Vitamin C is an effective scavenger of free radicals and protects against LDL cholesterol, but in some cases it might act as a pro-oxidant, a function which is counteracted by Vitamin E. It is very important that these vitamins should be supplemented together. Vitamin C has proven beneficial in the prevention of cardiovascular disease and immune enhancement. Around 500 mg of the ester form of the substance should be taken between meals. The third important antioxidant is alpha-lipoic acid, which is both water and fat soluble. It plays a role in glucose metabolism, lowers oxidative stress and has shown to reverse age-related decline in mitochondrial functions. More studies are needed to determine lipoic acid’s health benefits and role in life extension, but for now it is best to take 120 mg daily.

Phytochemicals are plant-derived chemicals, divided into six groups; their most potent activity is prevention of cancer. Flavonoids are poorly soluble compounds which comprise the yellow and red/blue pigments in fruits and vegetables. They have shown antioxidant properties connected to those of vitamin C, as well as anticancer activity. PhytoEstrogens are plant substances of different kinds (isoflavones, lignans) that have an estrogenic effect in the body, which are present largely in soy products and flax seed. There is evidence that they possess inhibitory properties to prostate, breast and colon cancer, as well as osteoporosis. Isothiocyanates are present in cruciferous vegetables and inhibit experimental cancer development by detoxifying the carcinogen and eliminating it; their benefits are mainly recognized in gastrointestinal and respiratory tract tumors. Diallylsulfides, present in garlic, onion, leeks and chives, have shown to reduce proliferation of cancer cells, particularly cancer of the stomach and colon. Carotenes, responsible for the green and yellow-red colors of flowers and vegetables, are hydrophobic substances whose antioxidant functions are in quenching the free radical known as singlet oxygen. Beta-carotene, alpha-carotene and lycopene are the strongest antioxidants, which are also active in the prevention of certain types of cancer and macular degeneration of the eye.

Selenium is an element, component of one of the body’s natural antioxidant enzymes, glutathione, as well as a metabolic antagonist to mercury, lead, calcium and arsenic. Selenium acts to encourage the apoptosis of cancer cells and thus high selenium intake is associated with lower cancer susceptibility. 200 mcg. daily should be supplemented to achieve a cancer inhibitory effect. The B-vitamins, in particular B5. B6, B12 and Folic acid, are associated with lowering the levels of homocysteine, a risk factor for heart disease. Vitamin B5 is central to the energy-yielding oxidation of glucose products and it also enhances the ability to withstand stress.Coenzyme Q-10, which acts like a vitamin, plays a critical role in the respiratory chain providing energy, as well as possessing antioxidant properties. Much controversial research has been conducted on this substance, with different results, but it is suggested that CoQ10 is beneficial in the treatment and prevention of neurodegenerative disorders. Carnitine is a transport chemical required for the passage of fatty acids across cell membranes. Meat and diary products are major sources of carnitine which, when supplemented, improves stress tolerance, causes improvement in cognitive functions and has anti-fatigue effects. Source : www.anti-aging-guide.com

Papaya and Pineapple = Cellulite and Wrinkle Free

Papaya and pineapple are both tropical fruits that has been known to get rid of wrinkles all together. They contain an enzyme called papain. Studies have been shown that prove that these two fruits can rid your face of wrinkles. Pineapple and papaya pickers have no fingerprints because the papain has smoothed their skin so much. So you can imagine how excited I was when I heard that Arbonne just released a wrinkle filler that has an active ingredient of papain in it!

Well now a new study shows that those same enzymes in those two fruits also help get rid of cellulite. In Bali, the women scoop out the papaya flesh from inside the fruit and rub the peel on jiggly thighs to tighten and smooth them. Papaya and pineapple share the same powerful enzyme that stimulates collagen production and slough off the top layer of dead skin cells to reveal softer, smoother firmer skin. Massaging the papains into the skins surface in circular motions enhances circulation, bringing hydrating blood flow to cellulite prone areas, plumping skin and reducing dimples. With repeated use, the fruits Vitamin C strengthens skin to further reduce cellulite. Source : skinbeautifulblog.wordpress.com

Healthy Snacks for Anti-Aging

Loaded with antioxidants and healthy fats, nuts are a healthy tasty snack. Known for longevity promoting qualities in Chinese medicine, walnuts and walnut oil are another item to add to your anti-aging shopping list.

Peanuts also benefit you with their ability to lower cholesterol. Almonds

are good to add to your shopping list because they contain healthy monounsaturated fats and are a good source of calcium. Monounsaturated fats are known to lower the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Mind you, limit your portion of nuts each day to about a couple of tablespoons or you could gain unwanted weight.

Like nuts, seeds are also excellent anti-aging snacks. Eat about a handful a day, use them as a snack or add to wholegrain cereals, yogurt or salads. Pumpkin, flaxseeds, sesame or sunflower are excellent choices for you to munch on when you get that afternoon slump or feel like nibbling on a snack. Source : pureageless.com

Can you drink away the years with tea?

I think most of us by this age have experienced that rare night out where a drink or two brings on a carefree feeling of your current age, minus 15 or 20 years. But I'm not talking about that kind of drinking away the years. I mean literally! Can drinking tea actually de-age your skin's appearance?

I recently ran across Sipping Beauty. It's a tea company. But each tea they sell--and there are only 6 at present, has a side benefit. The one that interests me most is the Forever Young version. Sipping Beauty Forever Young is "infused with an exclusive pick of organic red tea." The flavor is topped off with smooth chocolate and a touch of peppermint. Sounds good to me, but is it any different than other anti-oxidant packed teas?

Sipping Beauty also has a detox clarifying Puritea, a well as a Multi Beautimin tea which is a "fruit mélange tea that contains a good dose of skin renewing vitamin C along with other vital skin nutrients".

Sipping Beauty has great packaging (see above) and clearly a great sense of humor. But what do you think? Have you tried Sipping Beauty tea? Is it really different and...Wiwi: Was it Worth it?

posted by skintoxicated