Oh the Fountain of Youth! The International Longevity Center-USA (ILC-USA), which is a non-partisan policy research firm organized primarily in the city of New York, recently concluded a comprehensive review of scientific evidence related to “anti-aging medicine”. The highly qualified blue ribbon panel, while it finds much promise in basic research on aging, finds that there is “yet no convincing evidence that administration of any specific compound, natural or artificial, can globally slow aging in people or even mice or rats”.¹

The anti-aging industry, however, is a multi-billion dollar industry in the US, recent studies show. The industry appears to be in the control of non-scientific personnel who use terms like virtual immortality and an ageless society to attract customers to untested remedies that have not stood the test of seriously run clinical trials.

A recent Scripps Research Institute/Novartis Research Foundation study suggests that old age is actually the result of specific types of genes becoming less and less faithful of making copies of themselves. One of the authors of the study, Richard A. Lerner, makes the case that aging is disease of the bodies own (quality) control of the (its) genetic material.

A recent breakthrough uses a new biotechnological tool known as the “DNA chip” to actually study genetic material from human cells. Here’s the finding and it’s revolutionary; the study took cells from four types of people:

• Young people
• Middle-aged people
• Old people
• People with a rare disease that makes people age prematurely (Hutinson-Gilford Progeria)

After comparing 6,000 known human genes, the researchers identified 61 genes that are at least half as likely to work properly when a person no longer is young. Interestingly, the genes fall into one of two categories:

• Checkpoint genes
• Genes that themselves don’t copy

The “checkpoint” genes monitor and police the copying of other genes and stop the process if the DNA is not copied correctly. The other class, for some reason, won’t copy and slip through the monitoring process. These genes contribute to osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, skin elasticity, and even cancer.

The latest biotechnology tools have actually provided hope we can someday better understand and reverse the aging process. In fact, several theories have recently been advanced, insisting there is nothing inevitable about aging. Science and popular thinking used to hold there were genes designed for aging but, now, it is realized that may not be the correct way to think – we are not programmed to die, we are programmed to survive the issue if the genes that ensure our survival are not perfect; the key is to find ways of improving DNA repair that would delay or even offset the aspects of aging.

In summary, we now know why we age but it is a very complex process rooted in our basic genetic structure with no quick fix.

Skin is actually the first visible exhibit of what the aging process is doing to us. Professional skin care can erase the visible signs of the aging process. Skin care is of the utmost importance in keeping that beautiful, healthy, and young appearance we desire.

Cosmetics that are all-natural and selected based on carefully blended formulation clearly matching our specific skin care needs are required. Skin care is also enhanced by avoiding the sun or being careful to cover the skin or use appropriate SPF sun lotion.

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¹ Dr. Michael Smith, MD, Web MD 3/6/02