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Anti-Aging Strategies
for Health and Longevity By Steven and Rose Novil Welcome to our first column for The Monthly Aspectarian on Anti-Aging. We would like to introduce ourselves. We are Steven and Rose Novil, Ph.Ds and Naturopathic Doctors. Our combined experience is over forty years of helping people to achieve their goals of wellbeing and health. Our columns will be focused on presenting cutting edge research and clinical information that has practical every day usage on slowing down the aging process. We define anti-aging as using to the best of our ability the number of years of life which are given to us by the Creator. However many years you have, living them with the highest quality and the most pleasure and joy is the goal. Happiness may be looking at the Gulf of Mexico or Lake Michigan, having the stamina to walk your dog along the beach, work full days at your office or learn new things, and of course, spending quality time with your family. Having the physical stamina and mental clarity to enjoy all of these things and more is the goal of Anti-Aging. The major causes of death are heart disease, diabetes and cancer. There is no magic bullet available right now to cure these diseases, or to take you back to your teenage years, even if you would want to go back to those stressful times! What is available right now are some sound strategies, including exercise, stress reduction techniques, and nutritional and hormonal supplementation, that can have significant positive impact on your chances of getting these diseases, and help to moderate their effects on your life. According to Life Extension Magazine (“Pathways of Aging,” January, 2004), “Science has not yet found a way to keep us young forever, ... but the latest research on aging reveals that, though we cannot actually stop the ravages of time, we may be able to slow them down ... By the time humans reach the age of eighty, behavioral choices become significant determinants of a person’s overall health and longevity.” How can you be a partner in your own health program? We are changing the motto from the old TV program “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” to “Lifestyles of the Healthy and Happy.” Anti-aging research has shown that centenarians (those 100 or older) commonly share a zest for life. They see the glass half full rather than half empty. When interviewed, many of them have shared their view that life is an adventure and learning experience. They are invested in their own lives, passionate about what they do, and are optimists. They forgive their own mistakes and others’ mistakes and are willing to move on with their lives. Let’s discuss some of the choices you can make. One of our professors was fond of saying that health is maintained through balance or homeostasis. Many healing traditions teach about this balance. Ancient Greek physicians, such as Hippocrates, believed the body is either at ease or dis-eased; the Chinese believe in the concepts of yin and yang, and the Japanese work with the concept of acid and alkaline. The terminology is different, but they are all saying the same thing. To cite an example, if someone is diabetic, they are out of balance in their ability to produce insulin in the pancreas and glutaminase in the kidneys to process the many types of sugars the human body needs to function every moment. This balance or homeostasis can be achieved by very simple behavioral changes. Most people are not aware that maintaining a new behavioral change, whether it is your diet, taking supplements, exercise, meditation practices, or adopting positive attitudes towards yourself and others, becomes a new positive habit in your life in just three weeks. We would like to suggest some strategies for you to consider. Balancing your blood sugar level. The easiest (and at the same time, the most difficult) to do, simply by changing your eating behavior. Start eating at least six small meals during the day. Plan to eat your first meal within a half hour of awakening and continue to eat approximately every two hours throughout the day. Stop eating preferably before 8:00 p.m. An excellent book outlining this plan in detail is Adele Puhn’s The Five Day Miracle Diet. After you have used her suggestions for five days, it will be easy for you to continue eating this way, and you will be amazed how this food plan will dramatically change every aspect of your health and achieve a balanced blood sugar level, one of the keys to anti-aging. Movement. One of the most positive life style changes, that brings oxygen and blood circulation to your body, helping to create two basic methods to slow down aging at the cell level. “Movement” may seem an unusual way to describe walking, bicycling, swimming, dancing, stretching, jumping, playing sports etc., but the term is used specifically to encompass more types of activities than normally referred to as exercise. These activities, done effortlessly as children, are harder to find time for or motivation to do when we become adults. For example, we began working with a fifty year old male business owner who was 65 pounds overweight when he decided to do something about his health. He began riding his bicycle for one hour daily and changed his diet; within ninety days he felt ten years younger and was 65 pounds lighter. Find the movement you like and do it! It can be walking, stretching, yoga, swimming, anything that is movement! Start slowly and please, don’t overdo it. The key is consistency, and after three weeks, it will become a positive habit. Supplements. There are many supplements and nutriceuticals available on the market making fabulous health claims. Remember that they often take a while to be effective. Absorption is key to the effectiveness of any supplementation. We feel strongly that powdered green drinks, including products like Green Magma, Super Food by Dr. Schulze, KyoGreen, Life Extension Green Formula, and wheat grass, as well as many other fine products too numerous to mention at this time, are effective in balancing blood sugar levels and providing good nutritional support. Meditation, prayer or quiet time for yourself. If you meditate or pray, it calms your body, producing serotonin, a hormone that makes you feel happy and peaceful. Many meditation practices are available, so investigate and find the one that helps you become calm and reflective. If possible, do these meditation practices before you prepare to go to sleep, for during sleep your body has an opportunity to rest and repair. This will be the topic of our next column. Helping you to become pro-active and informed partners in creating your own personal anti-aging programs is our hope. Remember to always check with your health care provider before starting any health regimen. This information is not meant to diagnose or treat any illness or disease. It is for educational purposes only. Steven and Rose Novil are doctors of nutrition and naturopathy, with degrees from Missouri College of Health Sciences. Steven has practices in the Wrigleyville and West Rogers Park areas of Chicago. A sought after speaker, he has lectured at international conferences on Anti-Aging as well as locally at hospitals, senior citizen centers, health facilities and religious organizations, and also consults with major supplement companies. In addition to working with Steven on many cases and researching new developments in the field of Anti-Aging, Rose is also a Professor of Library Science at Oakton Community College in Des Plaines, Illinois. Steven can be reached by phone at 312-225-1973 or at livonlivon@yahoo.com. |
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