We all age…… some earlier….some faster…..but aging is inevitable.

But how and why do we age ? Physicians and researchers have started asking this question in hopes of turning back the clock on aging.

Until recently there was very little interest on aging and wellness, today’s healthcare focuses on treating a disease once we already have it.  The treatment is focused on maintaining the disease process in order to extend the years of human life…lifespan.  However, in the last few years there has been much research and attention on aging and wellness. This has begun to shift the focus of healthcare to wellness and quality of life…healthspan. People do not want to live longer being sick, but to live longer healthier lives (Quality of life not quantity). They want to look and feel younger than their chronological age, be more active and alert … not just more sick years.

Age is a number determined by your birthdate… referred to as chronological age. Now we can determine you’re biological age using the Horvath clock. This age correlates with the age of your cells. The aging process occurs at the CELLULAR level….we are only as old or healthy as our cells are. Our biologic age clock is running and the older we get the faster it runs and the chance of having a chronic disease or cancer increases exponentially.

We know that lack of exercise, obesity, smoking, exposure to UV radiation, stress, inflammation, and disease all speed up the aging clock and that adequate restorative sleep, avoidance of stressors and sun damage, regular exercise, intermittent fasting and caloric restriction can slow down the aging clock. Up until recently there was not much hope that we could actually stop or even reverse the aging process. The Time article  ‘Fountain of Youth’ sheds light on NAD+ and the possibility of halting or even reversing the aging process.  Now that we understand the science of how and why we can utilize therapies that will address all the tenets of aging.