How Do We Age - Robert Seik, PharmD

How do we age, we burn up, dry up, turn to stone and we rust. This video gives you the details of aging and how you can delay the process.

When Robert Seik, PharmD, owner of Partell Specialty Pharmacy received his training from the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, a physician, Dr. Eric Braverman, lectured to the audience on the processes that cause aging. Simply put, he said we burn up, dry up, turn to stone and we rust.

If you support the body's physiologic symptoms to help us maintain our good health, to maintain good repair and to rid the body of environmental toxins, it is possible to maintain our body's functions as long as we live.

We dry up-our body needs water and it needs certain ions, like Sodium, Magnesium, Potassium and Calcium. These ions tell the water where it belongs. Water needs to flow in and out of cells so it can be used during metabolic processes, lubricate the joints, and help keep the cells clean. If we don't have the right balance of these electrolytes then water doesn't go where it is supposed to go.

That's why in Functional Medicine, they focus on Magnesium supplementation, which is found in dark green, leafy vegetables. Sodium is also a large focus, which you can find in pure nutrient dense sea salt, like Hawaiian or Mediterranean sea salts.

Dehydration is also a problem. Mild dehydration may manifest as slight fatigue, brain fog and hunger, Robert recommends that people in Las Vegas drink at least a gallon of water a day as well as 1 Liter per every hour of exercise. This water should be pure water, not exposed to a lot of environmental toxins.

How do we burn up? Inflammation in your body drives the disease process. Even low amounts of inflammation that might be causing a mild amount of pain. This mild inflammation could be causing your cardiovascular system to deteriorate. Over time, mild inflammation can really have a lot of negative health effects. Mild inflammation can transition into overt inflammation, which can cause autoimmune disease. There are inflammatory cytokines on blood tests that can be measured to evaluate just how bad the inflammation is in the body.

Ways to reduce the inflammation would be to avoid or reduce exposure to the things that cause this inflammation. For example, feedlot beef is very different from grass fed beef and you would want to avoid eating the feedlot beef. There are no Omega 3 fatty acids in the feedlot beef and it contains Arachidonic acid, which actually propels the inflammatory molecules. Grass fed beef is rich in Omega 3 fatty acids.

Omega 3 fatty acids are actually one of the top nutrient deficiencies in America. A recommended supplement is to take a high quality supplement of Omega 3 fish oil, 3000-6000 mg/day, even 9000 mg a day for those with people with cardiovascular disease in order to quell that inflammation.

There are other anti-inflammatories as well, such as the herbs Boswellia and Cat's claw. Vit D also reduces inflammation and maybe that is why low vitamin D is associated with diseases of inflammation.

Why do we turn to stone? Environmental chemicals and our body's inability to put Calcium where it really belongs both cause atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries. We are unable to put the Calcium into the bone because of several factors. Hormones and cofactors are important players in activating and allowing osteoblasts to bring that Calcium into the bone. When these are off balance or depleted the Calcium ends up where it shouldn't-in our arteries.

How do we rust? Our body oxidizes and this is why antioxidants are so important.

Our body oxidizes and this is why antioxidants are so important. We need to start off with a very nutrient dense diet first. We then can add antioxidants such as Vit A, Vit E, Vit C, and Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA). Robert likes to add CoQ10 to these for complete coverage.

Metametrix Ion panel can help you identify your deficiencies, your toxic burden and allows you to measure your total body status of antioxidant nutrients (www.metametrix.com). A Physician must order this test.

So, if we're not drying up, burning up, turning to stone and rusting then our body will maintain better functionality overall including cognition, cardiovascular health, joint and bones and your overall health will improve.

by Robert Seik, PharmD