By Otto Rodriguez
Miami-Dade Health
Eternal youth has been an elusive dream for mankind, and though reversing the human aging so far remains fiction we keep trying methods, diets and even drugs to look younger.
It’s known that regular exercise and a balanced, adequate nutrition can make us live longer, but reversing the normal process of aging is another story.
When it comes to age-delay, one of the most popular and recent trends is called “caloric restriction”. A study published in 2017 in Scientific American, shows that five days of hunger each month may reduce risk factors for aging and age-related diseases.
One of the diets put in place to support the research study was completely plant-based and featured vegetable soups, energy bars, energy drinks and a chip snack, as well as mineral and vitamin supplements.
Hormonal therapies are another tool in the arsenal of doctors, researchers and those who want to look younger. These therapies are based on the fact that the levels of many hormones in the human body decrease as we age. The most famous of these treatments involve human growth hormone (HGH) injections. Growth hormone has a history as an anti-aging treatment and some evidence suggests it has beneficial effects in elderly people because increases muscle mass, strengthens the immune system and increases libido.
Another theory of aging is the free radical idea. Science shows that when oxygen is used to make energy in human cells, it releases reactive compounds called free radicals, also called reactive oxygen species (ROS). To fight them, cells have an array of defenses called antioxidants, many of which can be synthesized or extracted, purified, and then sold, generally in tablets, as anti-aging drugs. Some of the most popular antioxidants are vitamins A, C, and E and coenzyme Q10.
Though you have probably seen many commercials that highlight the benefits of the coenzyme Q10, there is little evidence this supplement actually reverses aging.
Other therapies that have gained popularity in recent years are telomere-based therapy, stem cells, and one known as ALT-711 that is related to the way glucose adheres to certain proteins.
While researchers continue to debate about different methods to make us look younger and future therapies are divulged in the scientific circuit, there is a not-so-secret guide to a long healthy life: a varied, rich diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables and low in carbohydrates and fat is probably the most realistic fountain of youth humanity has been looking for millennia.
