Anti-aging and Regenerative and Functional Medicine may be misleading to some people. This type of medicine deals with stopping or reversing the aging process. Although one’s physical appearance is what is often thought of when the term “anti-aging” is used, that is only one very small aspect of this type of medicine. Many providers, like me, do not focus on this aspect as much as halting or reversing the internal aging process. I do not do any kind of skin procedures in my practice but can refer you to someone if you desire. Some people do want to improve the external once we get the internal feeling better and younger… that is a personal preference.
We as a people have begun to age internally much quicker than in years past. Modern/traditional medicine has done a phenomenal job at keeping people alive much longer. The goal of anti-aging medicine is to not only keep people alive longer, but to keep them healthy and functioning for longer periods of time. We are aging internally much faster and our chronological age is younger than our internal age. After all, what is the point of being kept alive longer if we do not feel good, do not have our mobility or even our cognitive function?
Through proper diet, exercise, detoxification, balancing hormones and supplementing minerals and nutrients we can slow down or even in some cases, reverse our internal aging. It has been proven scientifically that we can no longer “eat our way into good health”. The foods of today, even if they are organic are lacking many of the nutrients that used to be found naturally. Although eating a healthy diet is vital to our existence, proper supplementation is also a must.
Nutritional supplements are a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States however; many people are not truly educated about the importance of a good quality supplement. In fact, there are multiple grades of nutritional supplements. The lowest grade is that found in animal grade. The highest quality, is called “pharmaceutical grade”. This grade of supplement is often only sold by health care providers. It is the most pure quality, is more bioavailable (able to be absorbed) but often more expensive.
Through this type of medicine, I hope that patients can avoid or stop some of their pharmaceutical drugs. My goal is to try to pinpoint the origin of the problem and repair it. I want your body to heal itself. We live in a toxic world and our bodies and minds are paying the price. In order to live in this fast paced world of electronics, we must care for ourselves. We must decide that our health is a priority. I am in no way anti-pharmaceuticals. Pharmaceutical drugs have a place in medicine, but I think we need to try to correct the problem that is causing our symptoms, not just treat them with drugs.
Many, including insurance companies, consider this medicine as “alternative medicine”. In actuality it is medicine that deals with the pathophysiology and natural chemistry of the body. This medicine is like finding the piece of the puzzle causing a person’s symptoms. The functional medicine providers job is to try and find the problem and treat it, the symptoms should go away. Anxiety for example can be caused by numerous things… we do not have a “Prozac deficiency” but you may have other excesses or deficiencies that cause the symptoms of anxiety…
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