With our youth-centered culture there is an ever-growing movement towards reversing the natural signs and conditions associated with aging in order to prolong both life and the quality of life. Anti-aging solutions include a vast assortment of treatments, theories, plans and products each with their own effectiveness, benefits, drawbacks and limitations.
Anti-aging treatments
Experts in the field of anti-aging tend to differ on the best methods that can be used to achieve the goal but, that said, the basic methods seem to break down into a handful of general categories:
Diet and Exercise: Getting and staying as fit as possible is a proven way of helping to add years to your life and vitality as those years pass. Beyond watching what you eat (eschewing overly processed food in favor of healthier choices as well as limiting such things as fried food, sweets and salt) and keeping a close watch on overall caloric intake, some experts even recommend occasional fasts to cleanse and recharge the body.
A regular program of exercise and physical activity is another vital component in the anti-aging effort. Getting moderate (and regular) exercise can not only improve your appearance but add years to your life and make the quality of those years all the more beneficial.
Lifestyle
Aging can be exacerbated by things such as stress, so finding a balance in your life is also an effective anti-aging treatment. Things such as having a vocation that brings challenge and commitment (rather than resentment, frustration and stress) and taking time to relax and recharge are extremely important when it comes to staving off the ravages of time. Being prosperous, however you define that, and in a good place in life is also a boon in the anti-aging process.
Drugs and Other Applications: Above and beyond the management of diet and lifestyle, there exists a wide array of treatments designed to aid in the anti-aging process.
There are drugs, vitamins and herbs all designed to slow and reverse the process of aging. Some are effective, some are not. Some experts insist that taking anti-aging drugs regularly can add years or even decades to your life.
Cosmetic solutions, including things such as wrinkle-removing creams and lotions, moisturizers, skin bleachers, age spot removers, etc., are available in abundance (and, again, with varying degrees of effectiveness).
Medical procedures to aid in anti-aging are also widely available. Included among these are things such as plastic surgery, including facelifts, tummy tucks and laser skin treatments for age spots, wrinkles, acne scarring and other effects of age. Some patients opt to go with hormone replacement therapy or topically injected substances such as collagen and Botox.
The next frontier?
Some experts foresee a time in the not too distant future where anti-aging solutions will include things that once seemed like the stuff of science fiction. Foremost among these is the notion of cloning–including growing replacement body parts for those worn out by age.