Less than a hundred years ago, a woman was considered past her prime, and an old maid, if she passed the age of 18 without getting married. People in general were considered to be getting old by the time they reached their 30s. Well, it is understandable considering the fact that the average lifespan was far shorter than it is now.
Let’s look into the studies being conducted and how plastic surgery, and proper diet, can keep skin looking amazing.
What Aging Entails
For humans, aging does involve wrinkles, a decrease in brain function, an increased risk of many chronic diseases and memory loss, not to mention the inability to physically function as we once did. Making smart choices in every aspect of your life is up to you, and the right choices can slow the appearance of aging and reduce the risk of disease. Some causes of aging that may or may not be in your control are:
- Inflammatory response of the immune system
- A weak immune system
- UV rays from the sun
- Hormones
- Stress
- Inappropriate diet
- Lack of sleep
- Lack of exercise
There are many critics of research and theories to prevent aging. Most of them are convinced that aging is not a disease, and is an unavoidable consequence of life. If aging is not a disease itself, then why are so many diseases prevalent in older people who spent the previous part of their lives healthy?
Most medical practitioners look at these aging diseases as a normal aspect of the deterioration of the body due to age. Others refer to aging as a special disease or aging syndrome. Perhaps if the aging process were slowed or stopped, then many diseases would also be!
We Don’t Want To Look Old
In the US alone, anti-aging is already a $50 billion industry distributed among diet, nutrition, exercise, hormone replacement, supplements and over the counter anti-aging treatments. The American Medical Association is extremely critical of this industry, and continues to assert that these treatments have no basis in scientific fact.
The billions spent on cosmetic surgery each year is well-merited, and offers drug avoidance. Since many of today’s drugs are rather addictive, professional plastic surgeons like Dr. William Adams MD, who practices out of St. Petersburg, Florida, are educating the masses on how plastic surgery procedures do justice for anti-aging purposes – and help those ‘of age’ to avoid lethal drug combinations.
Current Studies
Here are a few of the current research studies being done on animals that show a great deal of promise for human anti-aging in the near future.
- Resveratrol and other drugs and supplements have delayed and even reversed aging in mice. Studies at Harvard have been able to demonstrate that resveratrol may activate a longevity gene, similar to the way calorie restriction has been shown to. Resveratrol is found in the skin of red grapes from which wine is made.
- Transcendental Meditation techniques are now believed to be effective in reducing aging processes.
- A combination of acetyl-L-carnitine and alpha-Lipoic acid, both of which are available at health food stores, has been shown to make old rats look (inside and out) and act like young energetic rats. It is now being sold commercially as a human anti-aging treatment, since both supplements were already approved for human consumption.
- Gene manipulation and genetic engineering in mice have both increased mice lifespans by as much as 26%.
- A drug called MK-677, in studies of humans age 60 to 81, increased muscle mass by 20%, and their growth hormones rose to a level that is typical of young and healthy adults.
- The drug Kanamycin, generally used as an anti-rejection medication for transplants, has been proven to extend the lifespan of mice by 38%, when they are already aged.
- Walnuts improve motor skills and brain function in old rats. The human dosage would amount to 7 to 9 walnuts per day.
- Mitogen-activated protein kinase has been shown to give elderly human muscle tissue the ability to repair itself that is comparable to the ability of youthful muscle tissue.
Conclusion
These new studies and current research are very encouraging to those of us who are no longer quite as young as we used to be. I’m quite sure I could eat a few walnuts every day or take a few supplements, if that is what it takes to maintain youth; plastic surgery has been improved drastically, too, which means professionals like plastic surgeon Dr. William Adams MD will continually thrive in affluent communities like St. Petersburg.
Unfortunately, today we do and will continue to age. However, today’s current advances in anti-aging methods and treatments allow us to do it more slowly and gracefully, and maintain our vitality and energy much longer than ever before.
