Allen S. Cohen, M.D.
Dr. Cohen graduated with honors from the New York University
School of Medicine in 1971. He is both a patient and a practitioner
of Anti-Aging Medicine. Certified by the American Board of Anti-Aging Medicine,
he practices in Beverly Hills, California. Dr. Cohen's web site can be found
at www.allencohenmd.com. |
What is Anti-Aging Medicine?
Guess what?? If you have been taking vitamin
supplements, hormone replacements, or medicine to lower your cholesterol, you're
already participating in Anti-Aging Medicine (AAM).
As a newer area of medical practice, Anti-Aging Medicine (AAM) is still a mystery
to many patients. (The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine is less than
10 years old and its associated board is only 5 years old.) Basically, the
idea is to consolidate proven information from other medical disciplines (Cardiology,
Urology, Nutrition, Exercise Physiology, etc.) and to provide it in a framework
aimed at delaying, or even reversing the effects of aging on the human body.
In my programs for patients, I like to tell them that Anti-Aging Medicine functions
in five main areas. Your Anti-Aging physician will provide you with specific
advice and prescriptions for your particular needs.
- Hormonal Replacement -- This is the focal point of AAM. The use of
Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is to me the most exciting medical breakthrough
in the thirty years since I finished medical school. Studies have shown (New
England Journal Of Medicine 7/5/91, D. Rudman, MD et al) that six months of
administering HGH to patients over 60 years of age resulted in an almost 9
percent increase in lean body mass and over 14 percent decrease in body fat
without exercise programs. Adding sex hormones to this HGH regimen has since
been shown to offer additional beneficial effects. You can starve yourself
down to almost any weight, but dieting can't build muscle -- HGH can.
- Diet -- The healthiest diet is one with complex carbohydrates (vegetables
and fruits not candy and cake), fats of an unsaturated nature (think of olive
oil for dressings and canola oil for cooking) and proteins of a good quality
and again low in saturated fats (think of fish and chicken). Nothing so earth
shaking here. What I find is that in today's "diet" conscious world, fat intakes
are often too low and of the wrong type.
- Exercise -- Something we all are familiar
with, but a bit of guidance is necessary in deciding the types of exercises
involved. Of course aerobic exercise for cardiovascular health is important,
but so is stretching for maintaining flexibility, and weight training is an
essential part of keeping bones strong.
- Vitamins and supplements -- I believe
that no one's diet is adequate in terms of optimum nutrition. Even
going by the government's RDA (recommended daily allowances), survey after
survey has shown that people don't eat the correct variety and quantity of
foods to get good nutrition. The foods we eat are raised on depleted soils
and are genetically altered to have appealing color and long shelf life. The
main goal of nutrition is seemingly forgotten.
- Relaxation -- Call it by any name: stress management; relaxing; kicking
back... relaxation is an integral part of AAM. Whether relaxation is achieved
via meditation, visualization, or prayer, patients need guidance and encouragement
to relax fully.
Anti-Aging Medicine...could it offer something for you?? It's a proactive area
of medicine aimed at improving your health and well-being, not at treating problems
after they've developed.
Click here for related information.
Created: 11/29/2001 - Allen S. Cohen, M.D.
