A New Medical Paradigm That Redefines Aging

Western medicine’s reliance on drugs and intervention procedures to treat symptoms of disease. This dependence stems from an antiquated way of thinking about and applying medical advances, one that overlooks an enormous opportunity to avoid disease, preserve health, and extend a high quality of life. Indeed, most scientists and medical doctors still think of aging as a disease instead of what it is: a gradual slowing down of cellular processes. If we shift our thinking about aging to this more accurate way and seize the opportunity to re-energize our cellular systems by giving the cells what they need to stay efficient, then the so-called negative effects of aging—the digestive problems, the sleep problems, the loss of energy, the dwindling of mental focus, the memory loss, the loss of muscle and bone strength—are no longer inevitable. My approach to healthspan (i.e., healthy longevity) is about aging better. I don’t want to help my patients extend their lives for the sake of it; rather, I want to focus on how they can remain vital and productive and able to enjoy all of what they want to do in their so-called “second half.” This is a paradigm shift based on real science and one that will reshape your patient outcomes now and into the future. 

Cellular Redox: A Key Contributor to Cell Efficiency

As practitioners committed to preventing and halting disease, producing better treatment outcomes when our patients do get sick, and redefining the expectations of so-called normal aging, it’s important for us to incorporate recent research that points to the importance of cellular redox and its impact on how the body continues to produce and utilize energy. This vast, interconnected metabolic system is made up of more than 8,700 reactions and 16,000 metabolites. As we age, the pathways and mechanisms of this system become more vulnerable to damage, which in turn leads to loss of function and/or illness or disease. But by using an array of supplemental interventions, we can support the body so that it resists damage and controls the excretion of toxins and the buildup of other harmful metabolites. Specifically, by supporting redox—the chemical reactions that occur within cells to maintain a balance between reducing and oxidizing agents—we have a targeted method of supporting overall homeostasis, cellular efficiency, microbiome integrity, and productive immunity. 

Redox homeostasis is the most important way the body achieves this multifrontal offense to control inflammation, the single most powerful cause of all diseases and genetic mutations. Indeed, helping the body achieve redox balance can help us age better because it

• improves mitochondrial function,
• increases cell efficiency,
• tamps down inflammation,
• Mitigates and manages oxidative stress,
• helps transport nutrients to cells,
• supports microbiome integrity,
• restores immune adaptability, and
• protects nuclear and mitochondrial DNA from epigenetic damage.