Coz Being Ageless Is Priceless

Posts tagged ‘mitochondrial dysfunction’

Rhythm is the Answer

Overview of biological circadian clock in huma...

Image via Wikipedia

There is a rhythm in life. You see it everywhere in nature. Moon cycles, seasonal changes, circadian rhythms, migratory patterns, growth spurts, planting/harvesting times, etc. There is nothing static in nature. Everything is in a constant flux. The only thing that’s static is death. At least, that’s what we know for now. If there are rhythmic patterns in our bodies, doesn’t it make sense to give hormones (if a person’s symptomatic, deficient or has sub-optimal numbers) in a rhythmic pattern as well? This idea was actually brought forth by a person named TS Wiley. She’s trained as an anthropologist and unfortunately (or fortunately?) is not an MD. Otherwise, a lot of doctors, especially in the anti-aging community would have jumped onto the bandwagon of prescribing bioidentical hormones in a rhythmic manner. That is, changing the dose every so often, to mimic nature. Doctors, just like every one else, are creatures of habit. Nobody wants to mess with the status quo. A German philosopher named Arthur Schopenhauer put it succinctly, “All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.” Anyway, hormonal imbalance is just one of the causes of accelerated, symptomatic aging. Other factors such as nutritional deficiencies, chronic inflammatory processes, toxicities, oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction need to be addressed as well if a person wants to age well.

Is Aging a Disease?

This is the topic at a conference on aging held in London last week called “Turning Back The Clock.” The topic I think is more than a decade too late. The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine has been advocating anti-aging therapeutics for more than a decade now. I guess it’s better late than never, huh? Anyway, if you read the article further, the experts recommend taking a different approach to this biological process, one that recommends it as a condition that can be manipulated, treated and delayed. It further recommends the search for drugs that treat multiple illnesses at the same time. Sounds good, huh. Honestly though, this approach of just looking for drugs to “treat” aging won’t yield optimal results. We need to look at the basic issues that contribute to aging and address those. Factors such as nutritional deficiencies, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, chronic inflammation, toxicity and hormonal imbalances are among the basic things that need to be addressed. Treating the root causes of disease rather than just treating symptoms yield far better results. As far as what armaments to use in the “fight against aging”, we need to look at nutrition, nutraceuticals, natural hormones, gene therapy, homeopathy, detoxification treatments and other modalities along with pharmaceutical agents. A holistic approach to aging is the way to go.