No one has found a ‘magic potion’ as yet, over the centuries so much energy and research has gone into the pursuit of the ‘fountain of youth’ but in recent years much light has been shed on the subject. Thanks to all this effort we now know there is so much we can do to slow down the aging process. Your attitude, the foods and drinks you choose to consume, the products you buy, all have a profound affect on enhancing or accelerating the degenerative process. Of course aging is inevitable, but is so much suffering inevitable? Around 85 per cent of diseases are degenerative illnesses, the other 15 per cent are genetic, infectious or trauma. So what causes our body to fall into rapid decline and disrepair? It never fails to make me wonder why we look after our cars better than we look after ourselves. Yet we can go out anytime and buy a new one when we’ve out lived the old one. It’s not quite as easy for us to trade-in our old body for a new one. I can hear you saying “there are bits we can have replaced”, yes there are, such as a new hip joint, new heart or just the valves, new liver or new blood from a transfusion, and so much more. There are bits that can be removed – saggy baggy skin! This doesn’t make you or your skin healthier. Going back to our car, we don’t generally wait for our car to break down, we have them serviced regularly making sure it has every thing it needs to perform its daily task well. ‘Well’ being the operative word, not ‘just functioning’. We should treat ourselves with the same respect, giving our bodies everything it needs to perform its daily task well and look well. Most people will wait until their body breaks down. So back to the point, why do our bodies fall into decline? Researchers have several theories such as the Hayflick Limit Theory – each cell contains a program that limits the number of divisions a cell may divide before it dies.

Another theory is the Waste Accumulation Theory – our cells simply produce more waste than they are capable of eliminating, all helped along by the things we choose to put in and on our bodies. As waste and toxins build up in the cell, it accumulates and eventually the cell drowns in its own toxic bath.

Helping the detoxification process and cutting down on chemicals is a vital part to slowing down aging. The other main theory is the free-radical theory, first developed as much as 50 years ago, offering an explanation that helps us to understand degeneration, accelerated aging, and prevention or at the very least slowing down its onset for much later in life. Free-radicals roam about trying to break up stable pairs of molecules by stealing their partners. A little like a bachelor breaking up stable married couples. Once the free-radical manages to steal a partner, the other molecule is now unpaired, unstable and is now a free radical on the hunt, a bachelor (okay a divorcee) now themselves. This chain reaction is a little like the domino effect setting off a chain reaction of a cell-damaging viscous circle. The most attention is focused on the oxygen-based free-radicals called oxy-radicals. It is these tiny molecules that are responsible for the free-radical damage we know as oxidative stress that contribute to degenerative diseases much in the same way they rust metal. We slow down this process by coating the metal with a protective covering, helping to prevent oxygen and moisture from doing its worst, by applying a primer and then a coat of paint we effectively extend the life of the metal. By protecting the metal from free-radials we can extend the life of the metal by many years. There are things we can do to protect and slow down our own deterioration. We can slow down our own rusting process, however most people choose a lifestyle that speeds up this process.

Having said all of this, not all free-radicals are all bad. We do need some free-radial activity to help fight infections from bacteria and viruses. These free-radical bachelors are also involved in the production of vital substances such as prostaglandins, hormone-like substances vital to many processes of the body. Our bodies also release free-radicals during energy production like periods of strenuous exercise, during prolonged periods of stress, excitement, anger or during an infection (fever or inflammation).

However, the majority of our oxidative damage in our body comes mostly from excess free-radicals found in our environment and the consumables we choose rather than those produced within our bodies as a natural by-product of our own metabolism. Air pollution, tobacco smoke, toxic waste, herbicides, pesticides, chemicals in cosmetics or cleaning products, preservatives, additives in processed foods and processed (hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated) oils all form free-radicals. These hydrogenated fats and oils in most foods are really destructive, and aging. Then add these factors to too many negative thoughts and you have a recipe for accelerated aging and damage. So what can we do to protect ourselves from this destruction? What can we do to equip our bodies with the right tools to cope with all this mayhem?

Most of us have now heard of anti-oxidants. They prevent or slow down the damage caused by free-radicals. These days our environment places a tremendous strain on our bodies. However, we do have a choice over whether to consume anti-oxidants or free-radicals, directly speeding up or slowing down our aging process. We do have a choice to use products that have less chemicals, we do have a choice to consume foods that have less chemicals, we have a choice to have less toxic thoughts. Antioxidants act a bit like Kamikasi pilots in that they sacrifice themselves by donating one of their own electrons. Certain vitamins, minerals, and plant compounds are very effective anti-oxidants protecting us from rusting so to speak. Researchers are telling us over and over again how the lack of antioxidants are contributing to degenerative diseases like heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, eye problems, pain and needless suffering as we age, and more wrinkles than is necessary.

The goal is to look at health care as a method of promoting wellness rather than treating illness, these are two completely different things. Prevention is easier and less expensive than waiting to treat a disease. People often say to me in our clinic when discussing lifestyle changes, ‘I don’t want to live to 110’. I am not saying for one minute that making lifestyle changes will make you live for a very long time. It’s the quality of life that is so important and we owe it to ourselves to be as happy and as healthy as possible. Be positive and play an active role in your own health.

What does prevention mean to you? In conversations I have with people about their health, they tell me they are really healthy. So how does one define healthy? Is healthy merely an absence of a named disease? In other words your Doctor has not given you a label such as angina or diabetes, a named disease, so therefore you must be healthy. I hear things like – I have my annual check-ups and various tests every year and I am told I am 100% okay. What does this mean, “100% okay”?

I observe people who eat and drink all sorts of unhealthy foods and drinks, are not active, are often over weight and put up with many physical annoyances. Annoyances like aches and pains, headaches, migraines, blocked nose, painful digestive problems, asthma, insomnia, fatigue, various skin conditions, hypo-glycemia, and more. They would definitely consider themselves healthy. Many people I know consider taking conventional tests as their ‘preventative’ measure/medicine.

To me this is like ‘Russian roulette’. You are pulling the trigger until one day, bang! The tests, suddenly, come up with a ‘negative result’, you’ve taken the bullet! Just like that. Suddenly you have heart disease or diabetes or suddenly you have a thyroid that has stopped working properly. So why should you worry if your tests keep showing you are in the clear, that the barrel was empty this time? In truth you don’t just wake up one day with a thyroid problem or a heart disease problem. It has taken many, many years to develop. Few tests give you any indication of things in their very early stages, for instance a thyroid that is struggling. The tests will keep showing your thyroid is absolutely fine. Then when ‘broken’ so to speak you are told your thyroid is under-active and you need medication, what happened in the interim, the time leading up to this problem? Of course there are always exceptions, where a thyroid could have a problem overnight – for instance in a case of a car accident, where whip lash can dramatically affect the thyroid function.

It is true some cancers can be detected in their early stages of development, and that is wonderful. However, most research shows time and time again that a really healthy lifestyle can cut down our chances of suffering cancer in the first place. And that a typical lifestyle encourages the on-set of cancer. Here is one example – you may decide to take ‘hormone replacement estrogen’ and as a ‘preventative measure’ take an annual mammogram because artificial estrogen is known to increase your chances of breast cancer. Many people consider these mammograms, as their preventative measures! To me prevention is not even considering taking something that would encourage cancer in the first place but to find herbs, supplements and a change in lifestyle to minimize the natural transition and generally make you healthier in the long run improving your quality of life. Bear in mind that the menopause is natural even though the medical profession have declared it a disease. With that logic then puberty is also a disease! Eat, drink and be merry, after all the tests keep telling you that you are 100% okay. However you know (deep down) that the barrel has a bullet and eventually the gun will go off. Or maybe you think you can cheat that lifestyle of yours and not eventually pay the consequences. Many of the common diseases we are suffering in the developed Western world are preventable in a truly preventable sense, with some changes. Change your lifestyle now, don’t wait until it is serious (a negative test result), before you change things. Get healthy now. This book will show you how to slow down the aging process healthily. How to improve your health and improve your skin, no matter how old or young you are.

This is where alternative medicine differs from conventional medicine. We see things differently. Health is not just the absence of a disease, but a real state of wellbeing and vitality. We see all symptoms and signs as significant (no matter how small) as they all add up to reveal a picture about your state – which organs and systems are struggling, what deficiencies, and imbalance you might have.

I would like to make it clear it is important to have tests, but just because your tests reveal everything is okay, don’t be complacent. Remember chronic conditions take years to develop most often go undetected until it is well advanced, even with tests.

Scientific evidence backs up the idea that the type of diet we choose has a very deep and fundamental impact on the way we age. This has far deeper more reaching consequences than the genes we have inherited. We can’t choose our genes but we can choose our lifestyles. What does this mean? People tell me they have several close family members who are diabetic. So they have the idea that they have no say in their own destiny, that they too will eventually be diabetic. Yet I see them eat loads of refined carbohydrates – doughnuts, cookies, bread, pancakes, pasta, chocolate, sugary foods, sodas, coffees, with next to no fresh food what so ever. Their diet is so very lacking in enough vital nutrients, but full of foods that will speed up aging and encourage diabetes. Though this diet will not guarantee diabetes, it will certainly increase your chances of getting diabetes, regardless of our close family members. A self-fulfilling prophesy. You inherit genes but you also inherit habits. Born in Japan you might have acquired a taste for raw fish, born in America you might have acquired a taste for doughnuts. That is not genes but acquired taste and habits.

When we think of aging, we think of it involving some degree of physical and mental decline, however there are many people who maintain comparatively full physical and mental health throughout a very long life. A healthy life depends on many aspects; a person’s constitution, their family or society, their past lifestyle, whether they are lonely or fulfilled. Whether they smoke or drink too much. Diet plays a huge part in our physical and mental well-being, but it is not the only aspect we need to consider. Too much research has been done to ignore the facts – aging can be a very pleasant experience. It can be the best years of your life. There is a huge amount to look forward to.

I recently came across a 55 year old man in our clinic with mild diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, poor digestion, heartburn, over weight, but for him the biggest worry was that he had been refused further medical insurance (he was from the US) due to his state of health, the amount of surgery he’d already had and the large amounts of medication he was taking. The condition this man was in is pretty typical in our Western society. On the other hand there is a 64 year old who visits the clinic for acupuncture as part of his maintenance program (prevention), has none of these problems, is taking no medication what so ever, is not over weight and is extremely fit, still riding a bike for many miles up and down the mountains around here. I don’t except you to buy a mountain bike for one moment, I am just pointing out that anything is possible. You can choose your path.

We are all at great risk of not getting adequate nutrients due to refining and processing of food but even more so as we get older, due to the decline in our digestive function. Fewer calories are needed due to a reduction in general activity, and for some appetite declines, which may be in part due to changes in taste and smell. As we get older we can often lose our sense of thirst, so dehydration is more likely. Our digestive system starts to cause us a problem, having been so abused for years. The stomach slows down its production of digestive juices and enzymes this in turn affects absorption of vital nutrients. There is a big reduction in lactase (enzymes that breaks down lactose, milk sugar) production, which causes milk intolerance. Constipation is often a problem as we get older (especially for women), as more fiber is needed compared to our younger days. Medication can change the way food tastes, cause nausea or the way the bowel works. For some people having to eat alone can put us off bothering to cook and eat well. Smoking robs the body of large amounts of vital nutrients. Nutrients that are needed to repair joint ‘wear and tear’ or maintain healthy bones or even teeth, or good healthy skin, – the list is endless.

Are the scales screaming out “you are over weight” but you knew this before you got on the scales, because your ‘lower front’ was causing your ‘lower back’ a problem!

They are now telling you that menopause is a disease! What does that make puberty? That osteoporosis is only a matter of time. Prostrate cancer, no man gets away with it! That incontinence pads are now for life! And soon you will be battling with false teeth!

We need to look at the facts – a speedy decline is not inevitable. There is so much research that proves things can be different, that your life can be different. That your life can be so much better, you can be healthier, happier, slimmer, and more active and more attractive, late into your life.

Do not be brain-washed by the advertising companies, by the lure of all those addictive ingredients, sitting on the shelves that are aging you. Think positively, as it is never too early or too late to start an anti-aging program.

See the article on inflammation and anti-inflammation – To slow down degeneration and aging you need to understand this aspect.