| By
Linda S. Rhodes, DC
Turning
back the hands of time
Patients
who are concerned about the aging process will
have questions about what can be done —
and why your recommendations work.
Most
researchers agree that the primary factor in
aging is the formation of free radicals. These
renegade cells pilfer electrons and destroy
the biochemical system, attacking healthy cells
at a rate of 100,000 hits per day.
Killer
cells hunt down carcinogens, emitting granular
bullets that disable 26-27 cancer cells per
day. Aging impairs production of these granules
and decreases regeneration. But science has
shown that nutrient therapy can reverse this
oxidative damage.
One
of the latest findings is free radical mutation
of DNA that creates abnormal reproduction (like
metastasis). DNA is the body’s aging software.
Billions of miles of cellular DNA encode the
body’s total life span.
Zapping
free radicals
How well a person ages can be directly correlated
with the efficiency of DNA repair. Clean DNA
leads to optimal health and researchers have
shown that DNA is vitally affected by vitamin
support. Wrong diet, nutritional deficiencies,
metabolic wastes, drugs, stress and pollution
set the stage for cancer, heart disease, ulcers
and arthritis, all of which are road signs of
aging. Neutralizing free radicals with targeted
supplements nourishes DNA, which in turn extends
longevity.
The
late Dr. Robert Atkins linked aging to atherosclerosis
from excess sugar and elevated insulin (the
average American consumes 150 pounds of sugar
per person per year). Harvard studies of centenarians
substantiate his findings. Only 6 out of 169
had signs of diabetes (diabetics live shorter
lives and age faster). Blood sugar bound to
protein, says Atkins, destroys bone and cartilage
from the inside out, causing stiffened joints,
hypertension, sagging skin and deactivation
of enzymes that protect against free radicals.
But documentation shows these destructive agents
can be controlled, and the most efficient weapons
are the high potency antioxidants.
Oxidation
and
pro-longevity
Antioxidants restore collagen, cleanse wastes,
promote detoxification and burn fat. (Obesity
affects 21 percent of adults over 65). They
also donate electrons to stabilize free radicals.
Clinical research has found that taking multiple
antioxidants together results in greater response.
Vitamins C and E, for example, provide each
other with lost electrons. Otherwise, an isolated
antioxidant in a toxic environment could itself
become a free radical.
Vitamin
C is the most essential and turns back the biological
clock by rejuvenating white blood cells in the
elderly. A natural preservative, it stops cataracts,
strengthens capillaries and restores male fertility.
Studies at the University of California at Los
Angeles in 1992 of 11,000 participants over
a 10-year period showed that men taking the
most vitamin C had a 35 percent lower mortality
rate and an increased life expectancy of six
years, and women had a 10 percent lower death
rate and a life extension of one year.
Other
important de-oxidizers include alpha lipoic
acid (protects the liver and skin), quercetin
(anti-inflammatory bioflavonoid), beta-carotene
(corrects eye diseases), CoQ10 (enhances heart
energy), CLA (metabolizes age-related fat) and
vitamin E (keeps arteries clear).
Age-defying
discoveries
Immune boosting nutrients are also part of the
age-fighting arsenal. Bovine colostrum is the
highest natural source of immunoglobulins to
fight infection. It’s also high in growth
hormones for youthful function, turns fat into
muscle, restores hair loss, boosts stamina and
rebuilds bone or cartilage.
Melatonin
is the sleep-restoring hormone from the pineal
gland and can lengthen years by harmonizing
body rhythms. A derivative of tryptophan, which
drops in later life, research suggests it de-activates
free radicals and mediates hormone-sensitive
disorders such as breast cancer, by orchestrating
biochemistry. |
Anti-aging
is strong and getting stronger says economist and
White House advisor, Paul Zane Pilzer, the author
of the Wellness Revolution. Pilzer, an advocate of
natural healthcare, cites anti-aging as part of the
upwardly spiraling wellness industry, destined to
grow from its current $200 billion per year to $1
trillion by 2010.
The
driving force behind this trendy explosion is the
buying power of the baby boomers, whose prime objectives
are health, fitness and perpetual youth.
These
wellness advocates have now reached mid-life or retirement
and disclaim the inevitability of decrepitude. Topping
the list of their expenditures are megavitamin regimens
to stay young.
According
to social observers, aging issues will reach their
zenith by 2011 when the first of the boomers turn
65 and the country experiences an age wave of people
over 50. What long-life advocates will not settle
for are the slumping hormones, weight gain, memory
lapses and dimming vision that have historically typified
advancing years — not to mention heart disease
(number one mortality rate at 29.6 percent) or cancer
(number two at 23 percent).
Attracting
patients — old and new
For chiropractic doctors, the life-extension movement
means a ready-made market of over half the country’s
population that are predisposed to the products and
services you provide. Compared with the 60 million
who have been to a chiropractor at least once, and
the 20 million per year who are active patients now,
the untapped market still leaves over a third of the
nation’s potential consumers primed for alternative
care, a figure that could double or triple by 2010.
Anti-aging is not only real, it’s the closest
thing we’ve seen to a paradigm shift from conventional
to natural.
The
key to tapping this market is preparation. Putting
new life into your practice could be as easy as stocking
targeted formulas that health-conscious patients are
looking for.
Wellness and anti-aging are financial plums in a shifting
economy. Unlike other desirable commodities, there
is no real outlay of time required for nutritional
consumables. Expenditures of time, writes Pilzer,
are the biggest drawback for repeat sales.
By
nature, anti-aging shoppers are repetitive. Once they
find a product that works, or hear about product results
from someone they know, they track it down and continue
to purchase it. If your office has the know-how, you
become the source.
According
to Dr. Louis Sportelli, CEO of NCMIC, a diversified
financial services company that — by the nature
of its business — looks at futuristic trends,
“Lifestyle intervention will be demanded by
tomorrow’s boomer patients. Supplements are
an integral part of lifestyle education and belong
in the chiropractic practice of the future. Keeping
abreast of the latest research is mandatory, other
you risk losing credibility and patient confidence.
Suppliers often have top speakers who lecture on the
latest advancements in nutrition. A reputable supplier
is essential to ensure quality products and sound
clinical management advice.”
Aging
is a process, and evidence is compelling that the
process can be vastly improved by spinal care and
targeted nutrition. The shift toward holistic has
raised the bar of life expectancy to 74.5 years for
men and 80.2 years for women. But the real goal is
living healthier, not just longer. Nutrition has come
a long way since Mark Twain’s wry commentary,
“The only way to keep your health is to eat
what you don’t want, drink what you don’t
like and do what you’d rather not.”
With
therapeutic nutraceuticals, aging need no longer be
a one-way ticket to decline. And the process of delaying
it can have lasting rewards for you and for the patient.
Best advice? Keep apprised of these age-old remedies
and do away with the term “old” age. Like
Woody Allen once said, “I prefer to achieve
immortality by not dying.”
Linda
Rhodes, DC, is managing editor of HealthSense, a nutritional
publication from the American Council on Collaborative
Medicine (ACCM) directed to health care professionals
and patients. She is also director of professional
communications for Progressive Laboratories in Irving,
Texas. She can be contacted at 800-527-9512.
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