Читать книгу Vibrance for Life - Lorraine MD Maita M.D. - Страница 6

Did you wake up one day, stiff, sore, tired, and forgetful, and wonder what happened to you? Or perhaps, the figure you look at in the mirror is fuller and rounder in certain spots, your skin has lost that youthful glow, and there is something not right. Your libido or energy may be low, or you may have a vague, listless feeling that you have lost something. Where did I put those keys? What was so and so’s name — you know, from where you used to work? What happened to my memory? Could it be Alzheimer’s? And why don’t I have the strength to lift those boxes anymore? There must be something wrong.

You go to the doctor and have some tests run, and you are told that you are just getting old! No, not those words, not me! I don’t want to be old, lose my mobility, my memory, or my vision or other senses. You go through all of the stages: anger, denial, bargaining — yet you feel that somewhere somehow there must be a better way. The bad news is that we are all aging from the moment you are born, and nothing short of death will stop that process.

Take a deep breath. The good news is that you can modulate the process. Aging doesn’t have to be a rapid nosedive into a wheelchair and having a hearing aid, dentures, and poor sight. We are living much longer than previous generations and are determined to make those years count and have the quality of life be a life worth living. We not only want to survive, we want to thrive.

There is so much to think about, and there are so many choices. The air is polluted and we can be prone to allergies. Our food and water are contaminated. Snake oil salesmen play to our fears, promising quick fixes and the fountain of youth or a magic bullet. There is a plethora of supplements and health aids, and it is difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. It can seem so overwhelming.

Even as a medical professional who has dedicated my career to health and healing and preventive medicine, the information overload of products, tests, medications, and programs is daunting. Sorting through to find what is scientifically valid and appropriate for someone can be difficult.

I worked in an emergency room and in hospitals in New York City, and I thought I saw it all. People came back over and over again with the same ailments. It was like the movie Groundhog Day. Even though I worked hard to treat and stabilize people, they would return again and again. I sometimes saw people suffer or die prematurely from something that could have been prevented, and I agonized over what I could do to make a difference.

A turning point for me was seeing a man with most of his fingers cut off and all of his toes cut off still smoking a cigarette. This was the very thing that caused the loss of his digits. It was sad and sobering that, even with the best medical care, we couldn’t get through to him. I vowed to work hard to educate people, and motivate and inspire them to prevent illness — or to at least catch it early when it was treatable and didn’t do any permanent damage.

So I studied and tried to apply the knowledge, and I learned that not everyone responded to the”best”treatment or the standard of care. I quickly learned we are all unique and looked for signs to unlock the secret code to how to prevent or treat chronic disease.

Anti-aging medicine is giving us more answers now. Each person metabolizes the same things differently based on genetics, lifestyle, environment, and hormonal, nutritional, and attitudinal status. The aging process is the same for everyone; it’s how we respond to the process and how we determine what part of us is most likely to break down that hold the key.

This field of medicine is so exciting, because we are beginning to unlock the codes to how we age and how to slow the process. I get so excited when I see people turn their lives around every day and tell me that they feel great again. They have renewed energy and strength, they have sharper mental focus and improved memory, their weight comes off, their skin glows, and they feel great.

This can be you. With motivation and dedication, you can live younger. I will guide you through some of the basics you can do on your own. This advice is what I give to my patients. I hope to inspire you to seek medical guidance, adopt any or all of these practices to slow the aging process, and maintain the energy and vitality of youth so you can live your dream life, personally and professionally.