What is “anti-aging medicine”?
The following is the definition given by the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (of which I am a member): “Anti-aging medicine is a clinical specialty founded on the application of advanced scientific and medical technologies for the early detection, prevention, treatment, and reversal of age-related dysfunction, disorders, and diseases. It is a healthcare model promoting innovative science and research to prolong the healthy lifespan in humans. As such, anti-aging medicine is based on principles of sound and responsible medical care that are consistent with those applied in other preventive health specialties. The phrase “anti-aging,” as such, relates to the application of advanced biomedical technologies focused on the early detection, prevention, and treatment of aging related disease.” (http://www.worldhealth.net/pdf/A4M-2013-Position-Statement-HRT.pdf)
“The clinical specialty of anti-aging medicine utilizes diagnostic protocols that are supported by scientific evidence to arrive at an objective assessment upon which effective treatment is assigned. Physicians who dispense anti-aging medical care are concerned with the restoration of optimal functioning of the human body’s systems, organs, tissues, and cells… Anti-aging medicine is, in essence, a euphemism for early detection and advanced preventative medicine. It is a healthcare model that emphasizes personalized, patient-focused, high-quality, metabolic-specific medical care.” (ibid.)
What is “natural aging”?
“Natural” is a very attractive concept, and I myself seek out the natural. Unnatural is, well, probably bad. But if you think about it, what does “nature” really mean? It turns out to be elusive. Webster (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nature) lists more than eight different meanings of “nature”, including these:
- The physical constitution or drives of an organism, especially an excretory organ or function — used in phrases like “the call of nature”.
- Humankind’s original or natural A simplified mode of life resembling this condition.
- The physical world and everything in it (such as plants, animals, mountains, oceans, stars, etc.) that is not made by people.
The bottom line: OPTIMAL AGE MANAGEMENT is what we want.