I have had a Naturopathic and Anti-Aging practice for 13 years. Those of you not familiar with Naturopathic doctors can think of us as being like your medical doctor, however, we use natural therapies like herbal medicine and nutrition and treat the cause of your health problems rather than suppressing your symptoms with drugs.

I have been incorporating Anti-Aging concepts into my practice for over 5 years and in the last year have been using an Intense Pulsed light system in my office. This works like a mild laser with minimal down time to work on issues like acne, age spots, rosacea, broken blood vessels and hair growth (great for removing hair related to aging like facial hair for women and ear and nose hair for men).

The term Anti-Aging medicine was first coined in 1993. Most people, including myself, find the name Anti- Aging medicine misleading. You can clearly not stop aging but it is possible to slow down the signs and keep your body healthier for a lot longer than we used to believe possible.

The basics of any Anti-Aging program focuses on five key areas; diet, exercise, nutritional supplementation, hormonal enhancement, and stress reduction. Although I will be touching on all of these aspects of the medicine, I will be spending most time on diet as this is information that you can take home and safely use today.

Anti-Aging medicine believes that aging should be viewed as a collection of chronic degenerative diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, angina, macular degeneration, cataracts, atherosclerosis and Alzheimer’s. Anti-Aging medicine believes that aging as a disease can be treated and it is never too late to begin.

Seventy percent of longevity and health is related to your diet and lifestyle and therefore is controllable. The other 30% is genetic and in the past few years it has been determined that the influence that your genes have on health is also determined by your lifestyle choices. Due to this new information you no longer need to feel like you are at the mercy of your genetics and whatever they decide to express.

After the age of 40 certain events in our DNA are triggered that set us up for more rapid cellular aging and with this, increased risk for various degenerative diseases. Why does your body do this to you? The simple answer is our physiology, like all other species on the planet, has been programmed to keep us around and healthy long enough to raise our children to an age where they can begin to look after themselves. Humans have made amazing advancements regarding our lifestyles and environment which enable many of us to live much longer than we used to, but our bodies have not changed along with our worldly progress. Due to our programming, the older we live the more likely it is that we will get an age related disease.

Due to your body’s programming once you are in your 40’s most hormones begin to decline. The hormone melatonin which is made by the pineal gland decreases by 40% from that of what it was at the age of 20. Melatonin helps a person get a better quality of sleep and is also a mild antioxidant. When sleep is not as deep as necessary, growth hormone which is made mainly during deep sleep between 1 and 3 am and during vigorous exercise, is not manufactured properly and a deficiency of this hormone occurs. Growth hormone in an adult is responsible for speeding healing in the body and for helping to keep lean muscle which aids in keeping fat content low.

Also, for most people the production of our sex hormones (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and DHEA) greatly reduces causing women to go into menopause and men into andropause. Although all of these changes in hormonal levels are normal, it is also part of our programming to increase our susceptibility to disease. One of Anti- Aging medicine’s roles is to understand how the hormonal levels naturally change as we age. Often it is suggested for saliva tests to be performed for both men and women to assure that the hormones are at an adequate level to help promote health and vitality. Because, as many of you experiencing menopause know, hormones if out of balance can cause a lot of symptoms. And for any of you already fighting fat around the middle, a big belly for men or women is an estrogen factory. For men this means getting man boobs, losing hair faster and decreased sex drive and for women this makes menopausal symptoms worse and increases the risk of some forms of cancer.

Numerous types of supplements are utilized in Anti-Aging medicine including antioxidants as it is believed that exposure to excesses of free radicals is one of the causes of rapid aging and cellular damage. Free radicals are formed daily in the body by things like pollution and improper diet. Increased amounts of free radicals often occur as you age and unfortunately the amount of antioxidants that your body naturally makes to cope with these tends to decrease, making specific anti-oxidant supplementation a very valuable tool. Supplements may also be used for detoxifying the body or to treat or prevent disease that a person has or is genetically predisposed.

Before I continue I wanted to mention briefly about a company that my husband Brian and I just started called Basic Lab. Basic Lab is an affordable way that we are making tests not normally available to the general public available. Its a great way to test things like calcium absorption, adrenal function, dietary and mineral analysis, even genetic predisposition to diseases. Basic lab is a great way for someone who is taking charge of their health to be able to objectively and scientifically test how well their health program is doing and you do not need a referral.

Concepts of Treatment

Diet

Eating the proper food means nothing if you can not absorb or digest it. Somewhere between the age of 40 and 45 the amount of stomach acid that you will make starts to decrease. Some common symptoms of a stomach acid deficiency include bloating especially if it gets worse as the days goes on, skin problems and constipation or diarrhea. A few habits that you can keep in check will help to control how quickly and severely this may happen.

Do not drink with your meal within 20 minutes of eating. Drinking with your food dilutes the stomach acid that you have produced and slows digestion, increasing your chances of putting on fat. Eat slowly. Eating quickly tends to lead to over eating as your stomach doesn't register as being full for at least 20 minutes after putting food into it.

It is estimated that 90% of the population has a zinc deficiency due to our food not being as whole grain as it used to be. Zinc is very important in the production of stomach acid. White spots on the fingernails is a common symptom of a zinc deficiency, there is also a test that I have through Basic Lab to test for this. If your zinc is low, a safe daily dose would be 40 mg daily with food or you can increase foods like seeds, nuts and whole grain foods.

If you drink coffee, stop. Due to its effect on cortisol and insulin levels it is estimated that coffee can add 7- 10 pounds of fat onto a person's middle per year with just having one daily. And no, decaf is not any better. Instead you may want to try to acquire a taste for green tea as two cups daily actually will help to burn unwanted fat.

Although exercise does help, diet is at least 85 % of weight loss and one of the biggest keys to weight loss and keeping your body healthy is keeping blood sugar stable.

I think everyone here likely knows at least a few reasons why sugar is not good for you, but let me put a slant on it that you may not have heard of before. Not only does sugar take more vitamins and minerals from your body than it gives back and make your blood sugar go haywire, sugar also causes glycation. This is where oxidized glucose coats the surface of proteins in the body making them work less efficiently and the main protein that it likes to effect is collagen. Collagen gives skin its firmness, among other things and is the most plentiful protein in the body. The visible effects are premature wrinkles, puffy looking skin, cellulite, patchy complexion and excess body fat near the waistline. This is all due to elevated blood sugar and insulin levels, as well as increased cortisol levels.

It is best to eat three meals daily and two snacks (mid afternoon and after supper). Feeling a little hungry before the next meal is normal and means that you are burning some fat. If you get really hungry or tired within 1- 2 hours after eating you may either be eating too many carbs, too big portions or not enough protein.

Divide your plate into 3 sections protein being 1/3 of the plate and the rest of the plate being carbohydrates (non-starchy vegetables), ½ cup of a starchy food and a dash of good fat.

Protein

You need to have protein with everything that you eat as it stabilizes blood sugar. A typical protein serving size is the size of the palm of your hand and half that amount for your snacks. If you are getting your protein from vegetable sources combine the following foods to get a complete protein from your food choices; grains and beans (e.g. rice and tofu), grains and nuts or seeds (e.g. almond butter sandwich), corn and beans (refried beans and corn chips).

Any animal source protein should be low in fat.

Some types of fish are especially high in the essential fatty acids, which are great for the skin and decrease inflammation. To get a good amount of these fats eat three servings of the following fish per week; wild salmon (not farmed), sardines, herring, mackerel, tuna ( minimum intake due to higher mercury content ). Sockeye salmon is the best of all choices as it is the highest in good quality fats and is always wild.

Carbohydrates

All carbohydrates stimulate the production of insulin (including vegetables and fruit). Excess insulin makes you fat and keeps you fat, accelerates aging and increases risk for chronic disease. You must consume carbs with every meal but the type, along with adequate protein, dictates how much insulin is secreted and how well the body performs for the next 4 to 6 hours. If you control insulin you'll burn excess fat, control silent inflammation, reduce the risk of chronic disease and improve mental and physical performance.

The preferred form of carbs are fruits and vegetables. They are termed low-density carbohydrates, as they enter the bloodstream slowly and do not spike insulin levels. This means that you can consume large quantities of vegetables and fruits without worrying. Part of what makes a carb low density is its fiber content and an adult is aiming for 30- 35 g daily.

• Low density carbs = most Fruits & Vegetables
  (except bananas, dried fruit, corn, potatoes & carrots)

• High-density carbs = Grains and Starches
  (ie:pasta, breads, bagels, potatoes, squash and cereals)

If you have been a sweet eater or have a lot of stress there is a good chance that the fat you may be trying to eliminate has been put on by insulin spikes. If this is the case every time you have an insulin spike even if you are eating small portions and counting calories, the fat will not come off. To burn this fat you must eat foods that have a glycemic index below 50. For a complete list of these foods go to www.mendosa.com

Fat

Good fats send a signal to the brain that you are full, and act as a brake on insulin production by slowing down carbohydrate entry into the bloodstream. Healthy fats can not be made by the body and must be supplied in the diet.

• Good fats = wild fish oils, olive oil, almonds & avocado

• Bad fats = fatty red meats, egg yolks, organ meats & partially hydrogenated oils

If you are looking to supplement with a healthy fat I suggest a fish oil as some people do not have the ability to convert a vegetable based fat like flaxseed oil to its usable form. If using a fish oil make sure that it is from the body not the liver, from a wild source and is distilled or pharmaceutical grade to limit exposure to heavy metals.

Extra virgin olive oil is a great source of healthy fat but is best to not cook with as it has a low burning point and can easily form transfats. For cooking I suggest coconut oil, safflower or sunflower and make sure it is organic as fats have a habit of storing any chemicals that they may have come into contact with.

One serving of fats and oils equals; one teaspoon of oil or butter, six whole nuts (not a handful), one tablespoon of seeds, ¼ avocado or ½ tablespoon of a nut or seed butter.

Foods to eat more of to slow aging; dark leafy greens cooked or raw, extra virgin olive oil , rosemary, turmeric, ginger, soy products, garlic and onions, berries, nuts, oats, wild cold water fish and orange vegetables.

Diet Resources

If you need more help with making your lifestyle change look into " A Week in the Zone" by Dr. Barry Sears. For a diet very similar to "The Zone" but with more information regarding how diet effects the skin see "The Perricone Prescription" by Dr. N. Perricone, M.D. A great Canadian slant on controlling carb intake is " The G.I. Diet" (G.I. stands for glycemic index) by Rick Gallop, who also had a hand in developing the Blue Label products for the Atlantic Superstore.

Stress reduction

Almost everyone that I see in my practice is overscheduled and trying to fit way too much into their lives without having any down time to balance things out. Exercise, tai chi, yoga and meditation are invaluable tools to acquire if you are busy. And for those of you who struggle with anxiety, anxious people tend to have an abundance of energy which requires an outlet and actually need vigorous exercise.

Sleep tends to be one of those things that people let go of if they are busy. A typical adult requires 7- 8 hours of sleep nightly and to maximize your melatonin production for deep sleep it is important to have you room be very dark, and to minimize your alcohol and caffeine intake as these both suppress its creation.

Have you ever noticed how many people as they age sleep less and less. This is not because the body requires less sleep, it is a sign that they are making less melatonin and the quality of their sleep is lacking, making them not sleep deeply enough to stay in bed.

Closing

In the year 1900, life expectancy was 46 years, now it is approximately 73 to 79 years. If you are going to be around, at least that long, you'll want to be as healthy and good looking as possible to enjoy your stay.

Start today.

You have incredible tools at your fingertips and a lot more control over where your health and future go than you may have thought. That's just the beginning; Anti-Aging medicine is advancing health care with amazing speed.