Anti-aging medicine: aging in a healthy way

Anti-aging medicine has become a branch of research and applied medicine that aims to slow down biological aging and extend our life span, while maintaining our physical and mental abilities. One of the key points is a focus on lifestyle. The aim is to promote a balanced and appropriate diet, regular physical exercise, abstinence from tobacco and moderate alcohol consumption. In addition, an optimal supply of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to support bodily functions and help reduce free radicals. These aggressive molecules are produced as intermediate products of cell metabolism. However, their amount can also increase greatly due to external factors such as UV rays, environmental toxins and cigarette smoke, which can strain our endogenous protective system. This increases the risk of damaging endogenous molecules, in particular our DNA. Some consider the accumulation of molecular damage in the body's cells as an explanation to why we age and develop diseases, which is also why anti-aging medicine attaches such great importance to antioxidant therapy.

Hormones are also considered a possible factor for influencing the aging process. In the course of a lifetime, the levels of many hormones decline naturally. This raises the question of whether it is aging that causes the hormone concentration to decrease or if it is indeed the low hormone levels which in turn influence the aging process. One of anti-aging medicine’s therapeutic concepts holds the hormone deficit responsible and considers hormone replacement a suitable measure to fight the aging process.

Despite its many advocates, anti-aging medicine is not free from criticism. Opponents accuse its approach as pathologizing a natural process, raising unrealistic expectations, and using scientifically unproven methods. For this reason, it is ill-reputed and often viewed purely as a medical trend. If we considered it as part of preventive medicine, however, anti-aging medicine could make an important contribution to maintaining health in old age. By deliberately adjusting our lifestyle - which undoubtedly factors into many age-associated diseases - many added health benefits can be achieved.

In addition to regular exercise and a healthy diet, weight management plays an important role as well. Being overweight or underweight increases the risk of morbidity and mortality. For this reason, an optimal nutritional status is one of the cornerstones of health, especially in terms of increasing age. A proper evaluation, on the other hand, is often difficult. The frequently used parameters of weight and body mass index (BMI) are limited in how informative they are, as they do not allow a definite conclusion about the character of weight change. For example, weight gain is not necessarily equivalent to an increase in adipose tissue. It can also be the result of water retention or increased muscle build-up. The same applies to weight loss. Especially with malnutrition, it can be based on mostly muscle loss. seca mBCA offers a reliable alternative for measuring the body composition. Using bioimpedance analysis (BIA), the device quickly and non-invasively determines the exact distribution of fat and muscle mass as well as total body water. Thus, it not only allows for conclusions about the nutritional state, but also about the state of hydration. In addition, the seca mBCA is able to further distinguish between the individual compartments – a differentiation which is highly relevant, especially with fatty tissue as not all fatty tissue is the same. While subcutaneous fatty tissue only has a slight negative impact on health, abdominal fat inside the body is considered to be a risk factor for the development of many diseases. It is not always visible from the outside and can increase even with normal weight.

Although the desire for eternal youth remains a dream for the foreseeable future, everyone can influence their health as they grow older. As part of anti-aging check-ups and regular follow-up checks, the seca mBCA proves to be a valuable diagnostic tool. It provides detailed information for sound lifestyle advice and individualized therapeutic approaches.

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