Taking Control of Personal Health: Part II

I recently ran across a series of short articles written by my father. He runs a Health and Longevity clinic on the Upper East Side of New York City. His major focus is for people to live actively for as many years as possible. This allows his patients to live longer lives, enabling them to work, play, travel, learn, love, and spend time doing so many activities that we all deserve to enjoy. Life is a gift, and we all want to achieve fulfillment. This is what he strives to provide.

Over the next several weeks I am going to share some excerpts of his works. This is the information that he shares with his patients over time. These articles help people to start thinking about their helath differently, and taking their lives (and destiny) into their own hands.

I especially appreciate this article because it is meant to wake people up from the belief that as we get older, we should just accept slowing down and feeling worse. Yes, our bodies change. But, we can learn to change with it.

I think you will find these interesting, useful, helpful and enjoyable.

Part II

Premature Aging

Similar age groups today compared with those 75 years ago show a significant drop in hormone levels. For males, this may be up to a 40% drop in testosterone. The so-called metabolic syndrome (consisting of obesity, elevated cholesterol, and blood sugar problems or diabetes) that develops in middle age patients is many times a sign of chemical and hormone imbalance. I have covered these areas before with a previous article, Hormone Disruptors. Many of the chemicals mentioned in that article are also included with this recent article, 9 Chemicals that are Killing Your Testosterone Levels and Stealing Your Manhood. The real culprit are xeno-estrogen like chemicals that display estrogenic qualities. And it may not be just one hormone out of balance. There is a hormone orchestra. A part of this orchestra is the sex hormone section containing testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, and other hormones within that section alone. All three of the above have something to do with health in both men and women. Progesterone has not been considered significant in males. But that is another story. Then consider sections related to thyroid, adrenal, and growth hormones. This chemical and hormone picture is complicated and balance is interrelated among various hormones. Plastics are the largest source of xeno-estrogens. Pesticides such as roundup disrupt testicular function. A very pervasive chemical class are the Pthalates. One example is the BPA on our printed receipts. Studies have shown that holding a receipt for just a matter of a few seconds will increase BPA blood levels almost immediately. Another interesting comment made in the article concerned Gore-Tex. So even clothes can introduce chemicals into our system. Certain food preservatives may also affect hormone balance. MSG is a bad one encountered in many processed foods. Genetic changes in GMO foods can also lead to gastrointestinal and immune disorders. Another source of toxins can be exposure to fumes in the air or chemicals used to clean inside a building. So the bottom line is that we are doing this to ourselves. The changes are subtle and accumulate over time. Generally, there is nothing acute that makes us seek emergency medical care. And if things accumulate over 40 or 50 years, sometimes it is quite difficult to detoxify. Look at two sides. Accept the metabolic changes and degenerative conditions that come with so-called aging. Then go for medication or surgery to take care of things as they arise. Or look at disrupting a premature aging process by maintaining normal physiologic hormone balance. Detoxification is a big part of this process. This is not a matter of treating diseases and conditions as they arise. Preserving health and longevity are the goals. This is what I do.