62% of Americans use anti-aging products on a daily basis, according to the RealSelf Sun Safety Report. 

Anti-aging has grown to be a multibillion-dollar industry, consequently, extensive research has been conducted on how we can look younger for longer. 

We now know that the most effective way to combat aging is to heal and nurture your body from the inside out. Although skincare products can help maintain supple-looking skin, anti-aging can really be so much more than that. 

At Next Health, we believe anti-aging is not just about enhancing how you look, but how you feel. 

In considering a holistic approach to anti-aging, below are some key lifestyle factors and advanced services that can optimize how you look and feel: 

Diet 

Diet is critical for all aspects of wellness. On the aesthetic level, your skin is one of your main detoxification pathways, meaning any impurities or toxins ingested can show up on your skin in the form of acne or other skin problems. 

In fact, numerous studies have considered how nutrients affect skin wrinkling, dryness, and thinning. Scientists believe that the vitamins, minerals, and namely, antioxidants, are associated with fewer wrinkles and higher levels of moisture in the skin. It is also speculated that saturated fats and sugar, especially refined sugar, are linked to a higher likelihood of wrinkles. 

However, your diet’s impact on your skin is really only the tip of the iceberg. Your diet greatly influences the health of every organ, particularly the gut. The gut is one of the most vital systems in the entire body. In short, the gut is responsible for 75% of your immune system, 90% of your serotonin production, the production of healthy cholesterol, and so much more. Thus, when the gut is compromised, all other bodily systems suffer. 

One of the main ways gut health is impaired is through inflammatory foods such as processed foods, refined sugar, and trans fats. These foods elicit an inflammatory response in the gut that can cause the intestinal lining to swell. When the gut lining is inflamed, the intestinal barrier loosens, allowing particles and toxins to leak out into the bloodstream, inducing a variety of symptoms. This is known as leaky gut syndrome. 

It is important to note due to the gut’s interconnectivity, inflammatory foods can lead to systemic inflammation, which is linked to premature aging. This is because inflammatory foods contribute to oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is essentially damage to cells and is one of the main causes of aging. Combating oxidative stress is integral to the anti-aging process.  

A great way to repair cellular damage and alleviate oxidative stress is fasting. Fasting is an effective way to remove cellular waste from your system as it can increase the production of enzymes involved in detoxification. 

There are a variety of popular fasting methods out there such as intermittent fasting (avoiding food and any caloric intake for a twelve-hour period daily such as between 8:00 pm and 8:00 am). There is also the fasting-mimicking diet, pioneered by Dr. Valter Longo, Italian-American biogerontologist and cell biologist. His research demonstrated that fasting-mimicking diets “trick” the body into fasting mode allowing you to reap the benefits of fasting while still eating minimal calories throughout the day.  Fasting-mimicking diets are typically done through a structured meal plan such as those provided by Daily Dose. This is because fasting-mimicking decreases caloric intake for a set amount of days in order to induce a fasting state, which is difficult to do without guidance.   

Benefits of fasting include: 

• Promotes weight loss 
• Reduce blood sugar and cholesterol 
• Combats inflammation 
• Slows cellular aging 

After fasting, an anti-inflammatory diet prolongs the benefits of a fast as this can continue to combat inflammation and promote overall wellness. Anti-inflammatory foods are typically rich in antioxidants. Examples include: 

• Berries 
• Kale 
• Spinach 
• Broccoli 
• Red cabbage 
• Tomatoes 
• Fatty fish 
• Olive oil 

It is important to note that it can be difficult to get all the nutrients you need from diet alone. To fill in your nutritional gaps, consider high-quality supplementation. 

Because your metabolism is one of the functions that most noticeably declines with age, we suggest supplementing with Metabolic Maintenance Amino Acid Base Powder, which is packed with nine potent amino acids and cofactors that can help improve metabolic function. These amino acids are actually free-form amino acids, which the body can easily and readily absorb and utilize as essential building blocks for other necessary components of health in the body. 

Supplementing with free-form amino acids can be particularly beneficial as they are very difficult to obtain through food. 

For those interested, Next Health offers an entire Anti-Aging Supplement Protocol through Fullscript, a trusted online dispensing platform. 

Exercise 

In addition to combating inflammation, promoting mood stability and cognitive function, as well as over health, exercise has been shown to have numerous anti-aging benefits. 

This is because studies show that exercise can actually extend our telomere length. Telomeres are the caps on the ends of DNA strands and their length decreases with age. This decrease in length contributes to worsening cellular function. Specifically, it contributes to cell senescence, meaning the cells can no longer divide. It is well-documented that telomere length is linked to certain chronic conditions, especially high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease. 

According to TIME, several studies have shown that higher levels of physical activity are related to longer telomere lengths. Research shows this is particularly true in older individuals. Although it is unclear if this relationship is causal, longer telomeres are believed to be advantageous in reducing the risk of age-related decline.

As far as how much exercise is needed to promote longevity is unclear. Some movement is always better than none. Taking a walk during your lunch break, doing a home workout video after work, or waking up a little earlier to get some exercise in on a regular basis can be incredibly beneficial. Today, the average person spends more than half their day sitting and the typical office worker spends 15 hours a day sitting. If you don’t go out of your way to make sure you are moving your body, it is very easy to lead a sedentary lifestyle. 

Rest 

Stress is a common contributor to premature aging. Research shows that chronic stress leads to premature wrinkles due to the fact that cortisol, the “stress hormone” breaks down collagen in your skin. 

Stress takes a toll on other bodily systems as well as numerous studies have linked chronic, long-term stress to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, heart attacks, strokes, gastrointestinal problems, sexual dysfunction, mental health conditions, and more. 

Consequently, rest and relaxation are essential to any anti-aging regimen. Constantly forcing yourself to perform at your peak does not lead to increased productivity, it often leads to higher stress levels and potential health problems. In fact, data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development shows that working more hours is linked to lower productivity levels. The most productive countries are Germany and France, each legally requiring more than 30 days of vacation. The United States requires no paid time off, meaning workers accumulate more hours on the clock yet America is only ranked the third most productive country based on worker output. Moreover, due to the United States’ dominant productivity culture, only 25% of Americans take their full allotment of vacation time in order to remain competitive in their field. 

There is no real reward for avoiding relaxation to focus on other demands in the long run. In addition to taking time off, there are simple relaxation exercises you can add to your daily routine in order to avoid burnout and premature aging. Meditation, deep breathing exercises, and yoga are all effective stress-relievers to add to your daily routine. 

To learn more about relaxation techniques and the importance of alleviating stress for your health, click here. 

Another essential component of rest- sleep. Sleep is vital for repairing and restoring our body. Without sleep, cellular function is greatly compromised, leading to all kinds of dysfunction including systemic premature aging. In fact, A UCLA study suggests that just a single night of insufficient sleep can make older adults' cells age at a faster rate. Sleep is often one of the first components of wellness to go with a busy schedule. However, sleep is not a luxury, it is a necessity, so much so that neuroscientist and author of Why We Sleep: The Power of the Mind and Dreams, Dr. Matthew Walker stated that, “Routinely sleeping less than six or seven hours a night demolishes your immune system, more than doubling your risk of cancer.”

Next Level Anti-Aging Services

Unfortunately, the reality is, that it is nearly impossible for many of us to live a life centered around optimizing our health and wellness. We take advantage of our bodies’ resilience: we can skip meals, miss a workout, and run on a few hours of sleep and still feel relatively fine. 

That is why Next Health has developed advanced medical services that slow and even reverse the aging process: 

Hormone Optimization 

Hormonal decline is one of the main causes of aging. 

Hormones are chemical messengers that send signals to your cells regarding nearly every bodily process including hunger, sleep, libido, mood, and so much more. Therefore, a decline in hormone function is often the cause behind impaired cellular function that leads to many of the stereotypical signs of aging such as low energy, muscle loss, hair loss, worsened athletic performance, brain fog, impaired cognitive function, weight gain, and others. 

Up until recently, there have been very few ways to combat this process. All of the above symptoms were just chopped up to “age-related decline.” 

This no longer has to be your reality. 

Next Health has developed Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy to target and resolve your individual hormone imbalances. 

Next Health’s Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy utilizes bio-identical hormones that are derived from yams and are “molecularly identical” to the body’s own hormones, so the body does not recognize them as foreign. This can naturally improve your body’s hormone levels, introducing you to your new normal. 

Patients have found that Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy with pellet implants is extremely effective. The pellets are approximately the size of a tic-tac, and depending on your required dose, we will determine how many pellets need to be inserted. Implants are placed under the skin, with local anesthetic, and consistently release small, physiologic doses of hormones that provide optimal therapy. 

Once the pellets are inserted, hormones are released based on cardiac output, meaning your body controls how quickly the hormones are released to maintain optimal hormone levels.​

Based on the majority of our female patients, they are pelleted once every 3-4 months. Based on the majority of our male patients, they are pelleted once every 4-5 months: 

“My male Hormone Patient who is almost 50 years old, has lost 19 lbs, gained 5 lbs of muscle, and lost 9% body fat in only 8 months!” - Karen S, Next Health NP

View Testimonial Video 

Next Health also offers Bio-Identical Hormone Injections for those who are interested. 

Optimizing your hormones levels is essential in taking a holistic approach to anti-aging. 

NAD+ Therapy 

NAD stands for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and this coenzyme reacts with oxygen in every cell of the body, specifically in the mitochondria. NAD is involved in virtually every bodily function including energy production, breathing, pumping blood, and much more. 

By improving your body’s supply of NAD+, you can enhance your mitochondrial health, which in turn promotes energy levels, repair processes, and overall wellness. One of the most unique benefits of NAD+ is it can actually reverse signs of aging, in terms of how you look and feel. 

Other benefits include: 

• Enhanced energy levels 
• Improved mental cognition 
• Elevated mood 
• Rejuvenated overall health

IV Therapy is considered the most effective way to increase your NAD+ levels because it allows for maximum bioavailability of this coenzyme.  Although supplementation of NAD+ is beneficial, some nutrients are destroyed in the gut and are not transported to cells. NAD+ IV Therapy eliminates this problem by delivering NAD+ straight to your cells. 

NAD+ IV Therapy works similar to IV drips and can take anywhere between 45 minutes and 2 hours because we modify the treatment to be paced to your liking. 

Experience the mental and physical reboot you need with NAD+ IV Therapy. 

Stem Cells and Exosomes

The future of medicine is regenerative with Stem Cells and Exosomes. Both of these treatments have the potential to be the added boost your cells need to combat the aging process and enhance your overall feeling of wellness, but what’s the difference between the two? 

Stem cells are called the “conductors” of cell communication. According to the research, they have the potential to help orchestrate and improve cell communication.

Publications report that stem cells may have regenerative qualities as they may optimize the efficiency of a variety of bodily processes. In several studies, this therapy has been shown to improve new blood cell formation, alleviate cellular damage due to oxidative stress, and improve patients’ overall vitality and quality of life. 

Exosomes are proteins that are considered “the brain” of stem cells. These powerful proteins have been shown to be vital in cell communication, meaning they have the potential to help improve a variety of bodily functions. 

Potential benefits may include: 

• Boosting energy 
• Elevating mental focus 
• Improving male fertility 
• Combating inflammation 

Because exosomes have been shown to improve cellular communication in studies, the potential benefits are not limited to those listed above. Once your cell communication is optimized, you will feel rejuvenated, recharged, and ready to take on any challenge.

Our Next Health services are designed to be as convenient as possible. We understand that although health is a top priority, optimizing your wellness should not take hours out of your daily routine. Next Level services have the potential to be effective boosts to your wellness routine that only require occasional visits to a storefront. 

Have questions about Next Health services or looking for more information on how to combat the signs of aging? Call or text us at: (310)-295-2075

Sources 

​​https://www.samhealth.org/about-samaritan/news-search/2019/03/06/better-diet-better-skin

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