Dr. Maher’s “ Five Steps to the 100 Year Health Span”, Part III of III

Recall that in step 3 we said that the Neuro-Endocrine Theory of Aging tells us that we age because some hormones get lower and some get higher. As anyone over forty can tell the ones that get lower with age must be the “hormones of youth”!

The hormones of youth are by and large anabolic hormones. That means hormones that build us up. There are two kinds, the amino acid based hormones and the steroid hormones.

The amino acid based hormones include human growth hormone (hgh), melatonin, thymus (immune system) hormones, and thyroid hormones. These hormones help us to grow, sleep, fight off microbial invaders and cancers, and burn fat as energy. As we get old we must admit there is a tendency to shrink, wake frequently ay night, get deadly pneumonias and cancer, and get fat and tired.

The steroid hormones are made from cholesterol, which is why a very low cholesterol is associated with increased morbidity! Cholesterol becomes pregnenolone which can either become mostly cortisol when highly stressed, or turn into one of the sex hormones like progesterone and DHEA and from there to testosterone and the estrogens. These later hormones help keep us trim, strong, sharp and well… sexy!

It should be noted that a good way to help maintain a more youthful hgh and testosterone level is to perform regular medium intense exercise, like heavy weight lifting and wind sprints. Even optimizing zinc and magnesium can help raised testosterone levels. Or to play truly competitive sports and win! Sex three times a week works, too! (No, I can’t write you a prescription!) And the same contemplation of classical music that lowers cortisol greatly enhances DHEA. Perhaps more familiar is that there are plant estrogens (phytoestrogens) in foods like soy, alfalfa and flax and herbs like black cohosh.

We should also know that insulin and hgh are antagonists, while DHEA and cortisol ratios (10 to 1, respectively) are more important than absolute levels.

So again we see how following the previous steps 1, 2 and 3 may minimizes the need for step four, while also supporting any endeavors in that direction.

Nonetheless, if there is one breakthrough that truly birthed the modern anti-aging movement it is the discovery of more or less affordable, reliable, safe and convenient ways to restore the hormones of youth to a more “youthful” level in those of us well into middle age and older. Here is first arena that we have it over those locales and cultures which much more easily support a lifestyle that follows steps one and two from the cradle to the grave.

Estrogen was the first hormone of youth used on a wide scale as a “youth hormone”, and it is still commonly prescribed for the symptoms of menopause. Menopause is a time when estrogen levels do not merely slowly decline like the other hormones of youth as we progress into enter middle age. Estrogens often plunge, relatively speaking!

Unfortunately, the estrogen prescribed is mostly synthetic estradiol, taken from the urine of a mare! And often it is prescribed with little investigation into the total steroid hormone picture, including the other two main estrogens (estriol and estrone), as the steroid hormone functions are intertwined in a delicate balance.

Today, however, we can find doctors more familiar with anti-aging paradigms who will by thorough questioning, exam, and lab testing determine which, if any, of the steroid hormones need to be enhanced, preferring natural (meaning identical to human) hormones to synthetics analogues (almost like human hormones).

And anti-aging doctors do the same for men as well, who also experience a middle-aged sex hormone decline, albeit much more gradual, called the androcline.

Though the promise inherent in optimizing the hormones of youth is exciting, admittedly we are on the frontier, with much to be learned, and if history is any judge, some things will be learned the hard way. This same promise has also regrettably, though hardly surprisingly, lead to marketing hyperbole, questionable products, and profit driven encouragement of indiscriminate “shot gun” use. As always, but in this arena especially, caveat emptor!

But at the same time, let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water! Just make sure to proceed with guidance and the proper tools and resources necessary for a science-based pursuit of vital longevity.

Step 5: Shore Up Your High Risk Factors

Half of us will die of cardiovascular disease. The other 35% of us will die of cancer, diabetes and pneumonia. Interestingly, a recent John Hopkins Medical Letter found that Okinawans have 80 per cent fewer heart attacks and 75 per cent fewer cancers of the breast, ovaries and prostate than North Americans. So step one is again the most important step!

But you dear reader are likely not genetically or culturally Okinawan. We have most of us lead more or less typical western lives for much, if not all of our lives. Therefore, we likely have weak points that we can identify early and take specific steps to try to restore, as much as reasonably possible, healthy structure and function to those aspects of our physiology.

For too many of us that major risk factor is obesity. This of course is a huge topic, but let me suffice it to say that that lean body mass optimization strategy which best incorporates the above four steps is that strategy that is both most likely to bring long lasting results and the related health benefits for which we seek.

Senile dementia is of course frightening to many of us, for it takes away our independence, our dignity and, as we age perhaps our even more precious possessions, our very minds and families. In addition to the four steps above, there are true “brain foods”, called nootroopics, both over the counter and prescription, that truly, as Grace Slick once encouraged us, “feed our heads”. Over 25% of peoples over 65 already have clinical signs of senile dementia. So some of us should start these nootropics as early as our 40’s!

We can counter the downward spiraling effects of age related mild or mild-moderate depression using natural products that help restore a more youthful profile of brain messenger chemicals (neurotransmitters), restoring for us the joi de vie.

Macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in those over 65. But today we can diagnose it early, and help delay its onset by using herbs (gingko biloba, vinpocetine) that increase the flow of blood and oxygen to our retina’s and special antioxidants (from fruits and vegetables) that protect them from the oxidizing effects of ultra violet light. We can do the much the same for cataracts, glaucoma and diabetic neuropathy if we start early.

Osteoporosis is one of the banes of those who have made it into their 80’s, often in otherwise good health. This is equally true for both men and women by that age by the way! And just taking calcium and estrogen is clearly NOT the answer. But today we can measure our bone density in middle age and begin and monitor the progress of our efforts by simple urine tests to see what truly is and is not working for us. And then adding to the four steps above, we can supplement macro and trace minerals efficaciously.

Osteoarthritis is almost universally familiar to at least some extant to those of us over 50, and not a few of us even earlier. But today, instead of just temporarily masking the pain with non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDS) we can take those nutrients, like glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM, that help to keep our cartilage young, moist, springy and pain free.

In all these Step 5 endeavors the following are generally true:

1. The earlier we start the better and the more likely over the counter products will useful, as compared to prescribed medications. 2. The more we incorporate the above first four steps, no matter how tardily, the more likely the success with over the counter products or, as needed, prescription meds.

In closing, let me say that I know that all the above means considerable effort and investment of time and money. But let me prophecy as follows:

We all most likely will either invest our time and money in our health and longevity, or we will spend our time and money on our diseases as we age. The only sure way out of this conundrum is to die earlier than most!

If, as the old and infirm have constantly reminded us, that “there is no wealth greater than health”, then let me encourage you to start investing wisely, starting today.

End Part III of III

Come and grow younger with us!

Vitally yours, Dr. John H. Maher, ABAAHP Editor, "Longevity News" subscribe@rxforwellness.com www.RxforWellness.com "Your FREE AntiAging Prescription Online!"

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