There are so many aspects to preventing the unwanted aspects of aging that it’s impossible to cover them all in one article. In my anti-aging practice, patients receive counseling and direction on exercise, eating right, hydration, nutritional supplementation, sleep, stress reduction, skin care and optimizing hormones. You would probably never need my services if you did all these things perfectly. Unfortunately, most of us have not been that good, and that is why I have a medical practice!
We all know how great exercise is for your health. However, you may not be aware that exercise boosts your natural production of some very important hormones. Testosterone, growth hormone and DHEA, among others, are all increased by exercise, and they all have a lot to do with how you feel, look and fight disease. Alcohol and caffeine decrease levels of these same hormones, so stick with pure water for hydration. Other key hormone players for good health are: thyroid, adrenal hormones, estrogens, progesterone, and melatonin. So here’s another great reason to prioritize exercise in your life. I find I am most successful at this if I literally put it into my daily schedule and schedule all other things around it. Make an appointment with yourself, for yourself, every day!
In anti-aging medicine, we believe that you age partly because your hormones decline or are out of balance. Extensive medical research has shown that optimizing and balancing your hormones can effectively treat and/or prevent heart disease, osteoporosis, obesity, diabetes, falls, frailty, memory decline, loss of sexual function and libido, depression, thinning skin and hair, fine lines and wrinkles on the face, and urinary incontinence, just to name a few age-related symptoms. With a physician skilled in the use of bio-identical hormones and functional balancing, you can achieve youthful hormone levels in a safe manner. In my practice there are no “programs.” Each treatment is individualized and customized to a person’s unique chemistry and life circumstances. This requires in-depth, office visits and laboratory testing, where my goal is to find the root cause of someone’s complaints rather than giving a medication to just patch up the symptoms. This is known as “functional medicine.”
To maximize your hormone potential naturally get seven and a half to eight hours of good solid sleep per night. If that’s not happening for you, make an appointment to see someone who can help you. Take at least 30 minutes every day to have some tranquil moments – meditation, yoga, whatever it takes to get you grounded with a relaxed mind. This is necessary to avoid the adrenal fatigue that is so common in our busy lives. Avoid sugar and unnecessary carbohydrates. Eat mostly good quality, lean protein sources such as organic chicken and fish, healthy fats such as nut oils and olive oil and vegetables. Think like a caveman or cavewoman. What was outside your cave to eat 20,000 years ago? There sure wasn’t anything processed or agricultural. People in the Paleolithic Era did not eat breads or pastas or the milk of other animals; or fruit, except in the summer. Choose foods that are free of toxins, pesticides, antibiotics and hormones. If you’re not getting eight to 10 servings of high-quality vegetables every day (with occasional fruits) then consider a greens supplement like NanoGreens, which gives you the equivalent in a good-tasting drink. (Available for purchase in the office or on our Web site.) Most people also need to supplement vitamin D, fish oil, and a good multivitamin, because our soils are not as rich as they used to be.
The best way to keep the doctor away, for your skin at least, is to prevent sun damage. Avoid the sun as much as possible during the middle of the day, wear sun-protective clothing and a wide-brimmed hat and use sunscreen. A good sunscreen will have either zinc or titanium dioxide, or Mexoryl, to block both UVA and UVB rays with an SPF rating of at least 30. And don’t forget to wear UVA/UVB-blocking sunglasses that wrap around the eyes to the sides and above and below. The more they wrap, the fewer “crows feet” you will have in the future!
If you’ve already blown it in the skin department there are plenty of rejuvenating skin treatments available to help you regain some of that youthful look you are missing. Botulinum toxins (Botox, Dysport, Xeomin) are great for relaxing wrinkles in the forehead, frown lines and “crows feet.” Injectable fillers, such as Sculptra, Juvederm Voluma and Perlane, are used to restore cheek and temple volume and make hollows under the eyes disappear. The wrinkles at the corners of the mouth and from the mouth to below the nose increase in depth as we age and these are ideal locations for fillers such as Restylane, Juvederm or Radiesse. Belotero is a relatively new filler specifically designed for fine/etched lines and wrinkles and is my new favorite product to use for those hard-to-correct lines or for those who cannot tolerate or do not want to use the botulinum toxins. If you have small wrinkles all over the face, or blood vessels and sun spots, IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) or Laser resurfacing can be used to restore even color and smoothness.
In general, the sooner you address these problems, the easier and less expensive they are to treat. It’s much easier to maintain a youthful look than to try to recover it once it is lost. So don’t wait! In my practice, you can be sure the very best knowledge and experience are going into your treatment. Be careful if you decide to shop around – many places advertising lower prices can do that because the doctor is nowhere to be found!
Darren Farnesi, MD is a Diplomate, American Board of Family Medicine; Diplomate, American Board of Anti-Aging, Functional and Regenerative Medicine; Advanced Fellow in Anti-Aging & Functional Medicine; San Diego Magazine – Top Doctors 2008 and medical director of Medical Age Management, Inc.
Medical Age Management offers a complete line of services including aesthetic, medical and surgical skin care; weight loss; functional medicine; nutrition; hormonal system balancing and bio-identical hormone replacement. Plenty of free parking. Located at the gateway to Hillcrest right in front of the Rainbow Flag. Please mention you saw this article when making your appointment.
