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Strategies Toward more Vitality
by Dr. Max Sawaf MD, Medical Director, CosmeSurge Vitality & Esthetic Centers
Are you tired of being sick and tired? Are you stressed out, snapping at
your spouse or children? Losing your memory, your libido? Are you having
trouble sleeping or struggling with your weight, irritable bowel or
recurrent allergies?
The body is a remarkable miracle. Our body builds more than one hundred billion cells per day, our blood cells are replaced every three months, our platelets
every ten days, our bones every two years and our taste buds every day. On a molecular level, man renews himself every eleven months.
However, our diet and life style can overwhelm the body’s incredible repair system. By adopting the following anti-aging
strategies, you can help your body repair itself. When you think of it, you will realize that most people are in the habit of keeping habits. Get into the habit of breaking habits. Imagine if you only changed four habits every year. Five years from now, you would have twenty positive new habits. As Pablo Picasso once said,
“It takes a long way to become young.” Here are seventeen ways to reinvent your chemistry:
Quick and easy anti-aging habits to adopt:
Floss and brush your teeth at least before going to bed (twice a day is even better).
Gum disease increases the Creactive protein (CRP) which ruins your arteries and increases your chance of heart attacks; it weakens your immune system. This simple
step makes you six years younger.
Drink more water: We live in a polluted world. To some extent, the solution to pollution is dilution. Do not wait until you are thirsty. Thirst is a late sign of
dehydration. Drink from glass rather than plastic bottles since plastic could release chemicals that interfere with your hormone systems.
Laugh: Turn on the humour by making fun of your self and of funny situations. When watching TV, avoid depressing news and switch to comedy shows. Laughter reduces
stress.
Decrease inflammation in your body which leads to aging: Choose quality fish oil (EPA twice more than DHA, mercury free, total EPA and DHA of 750 mg per day).
Eat two pieces of fresh garlic per day, provided you are not married!. A better alternative is to take two pills a day of aged garlic (not the garlic pills at
most health stores). Garlic thins the blood, decreases inflammation and prevents clots. Red wine can also do that, but should you exceed an average of one
glass per day for men and half a glass for women, you destroy brain cells, your liver and you gain weight.
Wear a seat belt or a helmet if you ride a bike: Most car accidents happen within ten kilometers from where you live. Be a defensive driver. Drive a bigger
size car as you have a much better chance of not getting hurt in an accident. Never drive if you are sleepy or drunk. Sleeping behind the wheel is now the
leading cause of accidents in the western world.
Get immunized against hepatitis: Vaccination is the easiest way to prevent hepatitis, the number-one cause
of liver failure after alcohol abuse.
Patrol your health: Check your blood pressure every two years starting at age twenty then yearly from age forty. Check
your blood sugar once at age twenty, once at age thirty-five, and then every five years after that. Check your cholesterol regularly. Half the people with
these problems are not aware they have a problem. That is why they are called silent killers. Women after forty should have annual PAP smears, mammograms every
other year and perform self-breast examinations monthly. Adults over 50 should get routine eye exams, a colonoscopy every three years for early colon cancer
detection, and (men) a routine digital exam to detect prostate cancer. Check your thyroid once at age 55 and every five years thereafter.
Some moderately challenging anti-aging habits to adopt:
Get a good night sleep regularly: Men need seven hours sleep and women need eight. During sleep, melatonin and growth hormones are secreted and the brain repairs
itself. To sleep better, avoid late heavy dinners and exercise regularly.
Cut down on caffeine: Caffeine raises your blood pressure, speeds up your heart, increases stress and interferes with deep and sound sleep. It has some
anti-oxidants and gives a temporary energy boost, but overall the rise in blood pressure, stress and nerve stimulation far outweighs the benefits. Black
coffee and Red Bull have the most (100 -200 mg) followed by black tea (50 mg) and then diet drinks, green tea and chocolates (30 mg).
Decaffeinated has the least caffeine but contains many harmful chemicals.
Eat better: Start by cutting down on eating out. Drink minimal juices, even the fresh variety. Eat less saturated fat and much less refined sugar such as rice,
pasta, bread and white potatoes. Limit fruits to two servings in the evening and eat at least five servings of vegetables throughout the day.
Read more: Watch less TV and build social networks. Reading helps you become a more aware person. Knowledge and awareness change behaviour. Knowledge empowers us.
Many studies report that social contact is a significant factor in both health and longevity. Companionship, it seems, is truly a basic need.
Make exercise part of your daily routine: Exercise reduces stress, anxiety, fears, depression and Alzheimer’s. Exercise boosts your immune system, thereby
preventing chronic diseases and cancer. Building muscle prevents osteoporosis and increases your sexual performance.
A few challenging habits to adopt:
Quit smoking: There is no point in thinking
about anti-aging if you smoke. Smoking is the
number one preventable cause of death and
sickness. The success rate in quitting is
tenfold higher when you get professional help
such as my team can provide and using a
short term course of drugs such as Champex
or Ziban.
Reduce your body fat and maintain a
healthy weight and adequate muscle mass:
Obesity is the number one cause for diabetes
and second after smoking in being the leading
cause for preventable illnesses. It will soon
overtake smoking as number one public
enemy. There is a lot more to reducing weight
than eating less and exercising more.
Hormones, sleep, stress and food intolerance
all play a major role. So does repairing a gut
overwhelmed with unfriendly bacteria from
previous use of antibiotics by taking a course
of bio-available good quality probiotics.
When using hormones, I try to avoid the
synthetic versions associated with cancers and
strokes and opt for the natural bio-identical
versions that help prevent aging, cancers and
cardiac disease.
Reduce your blood pressure: Keeping your
blood pressure at 115/75 Hg or less makes
you nine years younger than if your
blood pressure were 130/86. It also
makes you 25 years younger than
someone with a blood pressure of 160/90.
Reducing your weight decreases your blood
pressure. Exercise reduces your blood
pressure even if your weight does not change.
Reducing your belly fat and insulin resistance
is a key factor. Certain therapeutic vitamins
can also be helpful such as the right kinds of
Magnesium, CoQ10, Alpha Lipoic Acid and
chromium.
Avoid poisoning your body: Avoid polluted
food, air and water. Watch for produce
imported from third world countries where
they still use DDT. Cadmium from cigarettes
lodges in your kidney and destroys it.
Mercury and lead are big issues. I perform
tests on my patients to measure heavy metal
toxicity and prescribe chelating agents to
clear them from the body before they cause
damage such as Parkinson’s disease.
Reduce stress: Life is stressful and always
will be. Eliminating stress entirely is
unrealistic. Reduce stress by saying no to
unrealistic social pressure, managing your
time, reducing long commutes and excessive
borrowing, beginning a sport or a hobby,
caring for a pet. Stress can also be internal
from accumulated heavy metals or
unbalanced nutrition or hormones.
Uncontrolled stress ages your heart, arteries
and immune system profoundly and
prematurely. The brain reacts to stress by
craving sugar, fat, cigarettes, bread, rice and
alcohol or resorts to destructive behaviour
such as excessive shoppig, gambling or
unwise speculation in the stock market.
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