A Cutting Edge Approach to Aging Well

I’ve always felt a bit skeptical about the latest and greatest scientific breakthroughs. I think in large part because my background as a Chiropractor means that my health philosophy is to first rely on the body’s innate intelligence to heal itself by giving the body what it needs to meet all of its needs and removing any interference to said healing.

On the contrary, the Western medicine approach instead focuses on attempting to manufacture health in a lab and is an “outside-in” approach.

It’s always searching for the next drug, surgery or treatment to cover up a symptom, give a name to or remove the “part that ails you” instead of getting to the root cause of what is causing the expression of those symptoms in the first place.

The fact is that the body is both supremely delicate and immensely powerful. Therefore, when you “add” something to your body physiology in either a drug form or even in the form of a vitamin or mineral supplement we still need to give some thought as to the impact that “addition” will have. For instance, even taking an aspirin or Tylenol interferes with the body’s normal inflammatory process. Taking that pill might seem benign and it could possibly knock out your headache or your muscle aches but now the liver has to break down another substance and the acute inflammatory process has been interrupted. I’m not saying you should never take those things but I think we would do well to keep in mind that all drugs have side effects and we must weigh the costs of taking the medicine as well as the benefits.

So, that brings us to the cutting edge treatments I’m referring to in the title of this blog. Where is the line when it comes to living naturally but still wanting to take advantage of what science has to offer for living longer, looker more youthful and adding quality to our years? The best strategies are always going to be eating well, moving your body and keeping a positive outlook. However, in my opinion, science has the potential to shine when it comes to taking what’s already being made by the body and enhancing it as natural levels decline with age to promote healthy aging and even better, promote longevity in some cases. Here are 3 examples:

COLLAGEN: Collagen is a protein found in our skin. It provides the structural framework to the space outside of your connective tissues. Therefore, the more collagen you have, the more firm and elastic your skin will be. As we age, the production of collagen naturally declines. However, there are a few ways to increase your body’s collagen production naturally. One of the best ways is to create micro-traumas in the skin. As the body’s healing mechanisms kick in to repair the skin surface, the body’s production of collagen will naturally increase, creating newer, firmer and younger looking skin over time. The best treatments to stimulate more collagen production are: Platelet-Rich Protein Facials (which consists of micro-needling to create the micro-traumas followed up by applying a layer of the cellular part of a small sample of your own blood to add in the healing) and Laser Facials like CO2 laser or Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) which create a similar disruption to the skin layer thereby stimulating more collagen production. These treatments are typically performed in a dermatologist or esthetician’s office and range in price. I’ve personally found that the more expensive lasers don’t necessarily provide more value. You can get great results from micro-needling alone which tends to be more affordable.

STEM CELLS: Stem cells are special human cells that are able to develop into many different cell types. This can range from muscle cells to brain cells. In some cases, they can also fix damaged tissues. They’re widely being used to inject into damaged joints like shoulders, knees and spinal joints. Stem cell therapy for joints aims to: slow and repair damaged cartilage. decrease inflammation and reduce pain. Expect the use of Stem Cell therapy to broaden and become more main stream and more readily available. If you’re interested in what stem cell therapy can do for you, the key is to consult a provider who has experience in this area. Expect to pay handily; as this therapy currently begins in the thousands as increases as the number of areas you inject increases.

HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE (HGH): Declining HGH is another problem as we age. Human Growth Hormone is thought my many as the anti-aging hormone. HGH helps to maintain, build, and repair healthy tissue in the brain and other organs. This hormone can help to speed up healing after an injury and repair muscle tissue after exercise. This helps to build muscle mass, boost metabolism, and burn fat. HGH is also said to benefit the quality and appearance of the skin. It’s not as easy as taking more HGH in many cases to counteract the effects of aging as adding more of any hormone to our body is usually ill advised. Think of the controversy of testosterone (steroids) or HRT (hormone replacement therapy). This is because when you interfere with the body’s delicate natural balance of hormones it will affect how much the body makes on it’s own in response to the levels of the artificial hormone detected by the body and the effect of that which is the body down-regulates normal production of that hormone. There are some ways to naturally boost your body’s production of HGH, however. The easiest one is to do High Intensity Interval or Burst Training (HIIT). Research shows that the sudden, varied and high intensity of interval training naturally increases HGH. Intermittent Fasting also increases HGH when done properly. Keeping Blood sugar low also aids in maintaining healthy HGH levels. Working to improve your sleep quality also naturally boosts HGH levels. In general, the more ways you go about naturally increasing your HGH levels, the better for aging.

In conclusion, using scientific breakthroughs to help us age better can impact our quality and quantity of life as we age. It’s important to remember that no matter how advanced, science will never become more knowledgeable about bodily processes than the body itself.