The Price of the Fountain of Youth
I surmise that the quest for the fountain of youth is what we call a “universal truth” in the consulting world. We define it as a human desire that many (most? all?) of us experience.
What if we had the chance to turn back the clock and find the fountain of youth? To turn back the clock to an age where we never even thought about our age?
Or what if we could retain our experiences, memories, and wisdom but LOOK and FEEL 10 years younger? I’d guess many of us want that.
We live in a world where prescriptions reign, and the quest for beauty means quarterly appointments for injections. We’ve associated beauty and youth with a bunch of…well, unnatural things that cost us time, money, and perhaps even our health.
According to McKinsey, “In 2022, the beauty market—defined as skincare, fragrance, makeup, and haircare—generated approximately $430 billion in revenue.”
The cosmetic surgery market size was $67 billion in 2021.
The U.S. botulinum toxin market size was valued at $4.58 billion in 2022.
People pay a lot of money to look and feel good.
Many of these solutions are fleeting or superficial. And, many of these solutions have long-term damage to our bodies, skin, and self esteem.
I believe there is a better way to look and feel awesome naturally, and considering my own ability to reverse my age, nothing will convince me otherwise.
Reversing Age
I reversed my biological age by more than 15 years, which affects how my body functions–including normalizing my cycle!
Every single one of my biomarkers that I’ve tracked via Function Health has been optimized. My kidneys and liver act 15 years younger, my hormones are balanced and there are NO symptoms of perimenopause.
My glucose levels, which were in range but a tad elevated, went down. And with that decrease, my risk for diabetes went down. And of course we know that elevated glucose levels spikes insulin. According to Function Health, “Elevated insulin levels cause weight gain, hunger, loss of muscle, fatty liver, low sex drive, PCOS, infertility, cancer, memory loss and dementia, and heart disease even if blood glucose remains normal. By the time blood sugar (glucose) is elevated, the body is already in a negative spiral.”
Knowing my glucose ranges could be optimized a bit helped me reduce sugar, do more high-intensity exercise (which is ideal for me and my muscle type), and eat more savory foods. I also walked a bit more after big meals, which helps stabilize our glucose.
While we are born with our genes and can’t change them (yet), we CAN change the way they act. We can make changes that improve the way our cells function, and reduce our risk for disease.
I am living proof that this is possible.
The Mind-Body Connection
You knew I was going to chat about the mind-body connection…
the reality is our emotions absolutely impact our physical health.
We know this from when our hearts pound and heart rates elevate before getting on a stage, or going on a date, or going for a job interview. All this can be positive, unless it’s continual elevation without actively taking the time to re-balance.
We understand the mind-body connection when we can’t sleep and feel moody and depressed.
Or, when we feel anxious and irritable after a long day with back-to-back meetings or errands and no time to relax.
The human body is amazing and can take a lot of pressure. But without balance, pressure causes inflammation and increased cortisol. We must actively take the time and measured steps to reduce inflammation and cortisol–and avoid the things that cause TOO MUCH pressure, especially in repeated doses.
My cortisol levels, while still in a healthy range, are tracking in a not-great trajectory. The reason is because I had some personal things come up that affected me. I wasn’t able to balance the stress with a few back-to-back hits….
Mending A Broken Heart
In the past few months I:
1. Said goodbye to an animal I loved
2. Fell for someone unavailable
3. Had a few consulting gigs fall through
My ego is in a fragile state even as I write this.
But, guess what? Despite all these hits to my heart, I have learned how to immediately course-correct and get my state of mind in a more balanced place quickly.
So despite these things, which…well, they mean I’ve been LIVING, all my heart biomarkers improved. While some are still in sub-optimal ranges, all are hugely improved.
I had been quite upset at my heart biomarkers being less than perfect, to be honest. I work out every day and I do not eat processed food, and get enough sleep every night.
Some of the heart concerns are hereditary. But it turns out, two very small tweaks in my lifestyle were able to get me back on track.
1. One of the biggest factors for me was to stop putting so much stress on my heart with intermittent fasting. For almost a year I’d been fasting after 8pm every day until about noon. I started eating small bites such as a handful of blueberries and a banana and some cashews every morning before walking my dog, then having a real breakfast.
2. I started eating fish after a 3-month vegan experiment. I introduced fatty fish such as salmon back in my diet twice a week.
Some of what I’ve been doing was at the recommendation of my acupuncturist and functional health expert–she’s the one who suggested I refrain from fasting, as it may be causing strain on my heart. No Western Medicine doctor told me that, in fact, even the Function Health doctors suggested exercising more (when I exercise every day).
After just 8 weeks of doing these small improvements, my heart biomarkers improved.
There is so much more to discuss and walk through, and I’ll write a longer blog after the holidays. But it is crystal clear to me that tracking our biomarkers, understanding what can be improved, and using personalized programs to optimize our health is the future.
We have the ability to tap into the fountain of youth. Naturally. Holistically. And sometimes, with just small steps we take each day.
I want to share with you how I reversed my biological age by more than 15 years during a LIVE Webinar in a few weeks–July 26, 2024 at Noon Eastern.
I’ll walk through my Function Health lab results, and have a functional health expert interpret them so attendees can understand how they, too, may start reversing their biological age.
Together we’ll discuss how:
1. Modifying what you eat and when you eat can make a big impact on your biological age.
2. How small changes can make a big impact.
3. How reducing stress and getting enough sleep lowers cortisol levels which are directly linked to aging.
I can’t wait to connect with you!
Sign up today!
Please note: I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice. Please use this session for informational and educational purposes.
