Taxes are inevitable, death is inevitable, and yes, aging is inevitable. Sore and tight muscles and achey, degenerative joints, however, are not an inevitable part of aging. The same can be said for disease and sickness. We are all getting older, but we are not all going to end up with sore backs or degenerative knees or heart disease or other illnesses - at least not in the same way.

What happens to most people as they age? Aerobic efficiency drops, muscle mass decreases, bone strength usually drops, basal metabolism slows, body fat increases and memory and cognitive abilities decline. But these changes can be reversed and to some degree even prevented. With the exception of a small group of people, we can all avoid these things if we have the knowledge of what to do and work at it.

Most of us think that aging is accompanied by decline and ailments because that is what we see. Most of the society we live in supports this decline. With a lack of physical activity, increased refinement of our food, worsening of dietary habits, and more stress-filled days, most individuals create this negative picture of aging. 

Many people are told and believe that if you are older, you should feel bad, and there is nothing anyone can do about it - except maybe take drugs which in many cases makes things worse. it is not uncommon for individuals in just their 40s and 50s to be on half a dozen different medications. There could be nothing further from the truth.

A few months ago I read the book, Born To Run. While the book has become more popular for other reasons (barefoot / minimal footwear running being one of them), what I found intriguing was the author's description of the Tarahumara Indians. These people are runners. They don't walk or ride horses or drive cars. They run from village to village - over dirt and rocks and through canyons.

Living in remote villages, the Tarahumara have been conditioned for long-distance running. They are known to run fifty to sixty miles a pop to hunt, deliver a message, or simply because they find it enjoyable.  You want to know the most fascinating part of all of it though? These people believe that the older runners are their best!

The Tarahumara know something that Western medicine is just learning about maintaining stable, long-term health. That is, maintaining function, eating and living simple, having interests, and keeping active are necessary.

So take a step today - literally! Get outside and walk (or run); then get to the grocery store and buy some fresh vegetables for lunch or dinner. Do some breathing work to relax your muscles and your busy mind; give a shot at meditation. Turn off the television and read a good book; work your brain. Work on preserving your health every single day. Make it a priority!

                         "If it is to be, then it is up to me."

I recently worked with a patient who came to me with a chief complaint of trochanteric bursitis. I asked her if she had come up with that herself. She replied, "No, my doctor told me that was what I had." I commented, "Oh, so something must not be working right! Let's get to work and figure out what that is." It is only my opinion, but the diagnosis doesn't matter a whole lot. What matters is finding the dysfunction and addressing it accordingly and efficiently.

It is the same with disease. Just because you have been told you have a certain disease does not mean you know the cause. Your doctor has given you a diagnosis. He or she has given a name to the diesase or dysfunction they think you have. The diagnosis does not necessarily mean you know what is wrong though, right? You just have a convenient name for a group of symptoms.

For example, let's say you go to your doctor and he tells you that you have asthma. So now you have a name for your collection of symptoms. The actual cause of your problems with breathing can be a number of things. Perhaps you are allergic to dairy foods; maybe you are breathing in toxic chemicals in your home or workplace; maybe you are suffering from an allergic reaction to the color dye in your favorite sports drink or chewing gum. Those are all possible causes of symptoms that might resemble asthma. The name "asthma" does not tell you anything, however, about the cause or the source of your symptoms.

So what happens next? Usually once your symptoms have been given a name (diagnosis), the thought process stops. Now neither you or your doctor has to think anymore right? Just look to the book for a treatment for you and you, in turn, take a drug (or in our hip patient a cortisone shot to the joint) that suppresses your symptoms.
 
Instead, when you receive a diagnosis, all involved should be thinking, "what can we do to address the possible causes?" Rather than choosing the perfect drug for each problem (external cure), why not try to identify and understand the factors that led to the development of symptoms or dysfunction.

The main point here is the same disease or the same hip diagnosis may have ten different causes, or the same initiating factors can create ten different diseases or pelvic / lower extremity symptoms. Just because you have been diagnosed with a disease or musulo-skeletal ailment does not mean that you know your problem, or what is going to happen, or even how to best overcome it. The conditions that affect most people are usually the result of a series of events, a domino effect that begins with several different forces. The how and the why must be addressed; otherwise the treatment is just going to cover up the symptoms or address only one aspect of the problem, which will never lead to true health and healing.

Over the past couple of years, the incorporation of nutritional supplementation into one's lifestyle has been viewed with more favor. Degenerative diseases are driven by inappropriate lifestyles, which are typically associated with poor dietary habits and inadequate levels of exercise.

All of us should endeavor to eat properly and exercise everyday. There are several appropriate supplements that support this effort. That being stated, yes, I am a fan of taking supplements.  I am oftentimes asked what supplements I take and why I take them.

I take a multivitamin / mineral, EPA / DHA (omega-3 fish oil), coenzyme Q10, probiotics, alpha lipoic acid, acetyl-L-carnitine, magnesium / zinc, B supreme (B complex), vitamin D, and a brain supporting supplement called, Brain Vitale. All of the nutrition I take is made by Designs For Health. A brief explanation for why I take these follows.

Multivitamins help prevent the development of degenerative disease. Due to changed farming habits, lack of organic matter in the soil, genetically altered foods that are overprocessed and overprepared, and chronic intake of prescribed and over-the-counter medications, most everyone is susceptible to being deficient in one or more nutrients. A good multivitamin / mineral supplement typically contains all the key nutrients that we get from food.

EPA / DHA from fish oil reduces inflammation and is thought to help prevent and treat numerous diseases. Supplementation has been shown to reduce levels of inflammatory mediators. I take 3 grams a day.

Co Q10 functions to produce ATP (energy), reduce free radicals, and to regulate skeletal muscle gene expression. Nearly every disease studied has shown to be associated with a reduction in ATP and an increase in free radicals.  I take 100 mg a day.

Probiotic supplements improve gut health and function. Most probiotic supplements typically include lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidobacterium. I take one Probiotic Synergy sphere a day.

Alpha lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine have been shown to slow or reduce aging. The combination of these substances promotes ATP synthesis and reduces free radicals. I take 800 mg of acetyl-L-carnitine and 300 mg of alpha lipoic acid a day.

Magnesium is required for over 300 metabolic reactions! Research demonstrates that when we become deficient in magnesium, we destabilize the immune and nervous systems, which can lead to inflammation and nervous system hyper-excitability. Zinc is an immune booster and is also deficienct in most people. I take 500 mg of magnesium and 30 mg of zinc a day; in addition to what is in my multi.

B Supreme (B complex) contains the vital B vitamins our bodies need. B vitamins (particularly folate, B6, and B12) make methylation and sulfation work for us. Problems with these two processes are involved in all mental illness and neurological dysfunction, especially depression, autism, ADHD, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and more. Inefficiency with methylation and sulfation are also responsible for heart disease and cancer. I take one B Supreme capsule a day.

Vitamin D deficiency affects over half of the population and is almost never diagnosed. Deficiency in this vitamin has been linked to depression, dementia, many cancers, autoimmune diseases such as fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis, high blood pressure, heart disease, chronic muscle pain, and bone loss. I take 2000 IU a day. 

I take two capsules of Brain Vitale every single morning. This super supplement contains phosphatidylserine, Ginkgo biloba, acetyl-L-carnitine, phosphocholine, and inositol - all nutrients the brain depends on for maximum function.

I take the above in addition to eating what I have promoted in past newsletters - an anti-inflammatory diet. My hope is that the combination of the two along with regular physical activity will allow me to live long and maintain the current personal and professional lifestyle I enjoy.