The International Association for Physicians in Aesthetic Medicine (IAPAM), the leading international organization of physicians practicing aesthetic medicine, sees the following trends in anti-aging for 2009. These trends were compiled through consultation with leading aesthetic medicine physicians from around the world and in consultation with the medical advisory board of the IAPAM.

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In a recent blog entry, I included getting facials as one of the mistakes you may be making when it comes to skin care — and that generated some strong responses. I welcome your thoughts and wanted to continue this discussion!

Let me first clarify an important point: I have worked with many talented and well-trained aestheticians. When I noted that aestheticians may not always choose the right products for every skin type, I was absolutely not suggesting that this is always the case. Many dermatologists, myself included, employ aestheticians to help them make the best skin care recommendations, and I believe that well-trained aestheticians play a crucial role in effective skin care. After rereading my words, I realize that I did not make that clear enough, for which I sincerely apologize.

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Women who remain physically active after the menopause can reduce their risk of developing breast cancer by as much as one third, new research has shown.

Professor Dr. Jenny Chang-Claude and colleagues studied data obtained from 3,464 breast cancer patients and 6,657 healthy women between the ages of 50 and 74 years. Participants were questioned about their physical activity levels at two periods in their life – during 30 to 49 years of age and 50 and over.

Results showed that women in the control group were generally more active than participants with breast cancer. After adjusting results for other breast cancer risk factors, it was found that women who were the most physically active were approximately one third less likely to develop breast cancer compared to women who were the least physically active. Physical activity in the postmenopausal period was found to be particularly beneficial for reducing breast cancer risk The results also showed that regular gym sessions are not needed to reduce breast cancer risk. Women who were the most physically active walked for a couple of hours each day and cycled for one hour, whilst those who were the least physically active walked for just 30 minutes or so each day.

“It doesn’t always have to be sports,” said study author Dr. Karen Steindorf. “In our calculations we have also taken account of activities such as gardening, cycling, or walking to the shops. Our advice to all women is therefore to stay or become physically active also in the second half of your life. You will not only reduce your risk of breast cancer, but it has been proven that your bones, heart and brain also benefit from it.”

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There is a myriad of supplements on the market today.  With all the choices available and all the promises being make by the manufacturers, its hard to tell which products work, why to purchase then, and when to do so.  Its particularly hard for a novice to single out the most important supplement, which is of great importance to those on a budget.

Well, the answer is simple: Protein.  Why protein?  Well, to keep things as simple as possible, when we workout we cause micro-trauma to the muscle tissue.  The tears in the muscle result from the workload that we put it though as we lift the weight.  The body then says to itself that it needs to get larger to responder to the ever growing workloads that we are subjecting it to.  The body then uses protein to rebuild the muscle and recuperate from the micro-tears.

So, we need to give our bodies the tools it needs to get bigger.  Regular North American diets simply don’t have enough protein in them to meet the demands of even the most novice gym enthusiast, thus the need for a protein supplement.  There are various types of protein available, some which is isolate protein for faster absorption into the bloodstream, other like whey protein is mid-range and the most commonly available, and there are other types like casein protein which is slow digesting and is best suited for right before bed as to feed your body during your eight hours of sleep.

I’ll give you a big tip right now: If you’re not consuming enough protein in your diet, don’t bother going to the gym because you’re just wasting your time.  Simple as that.

Protein intake requirements will vary greatly between people.  However, you should consume a bare minimum of half of your body weight in pounds in grams of protein per day.  So if you weigh 150 lbs. you should consume at least 75 grams of protein a day.  Ideally you should consume 1 gram per pound.  Advanced athletes can consume as much as 1.5 to 2 grams per pound a day.  You will want to keep you water intake high as high protein consumption puts extra stress on the kidneys.

Your protein purchase should be based on your budget and taste-buds.  Go for something you can afford and something that taste good to you.  There’s nothing worse than buying a protein that you don’t want to drink because it taste really bad.  Been there, done that, and it’s not fun.

Of course, don’t forget that protein is readily available in meats, such as chicken breast, ground beef, and tuna.  All of which add to your daily protein intake measurements.

F. Martinez

Studies show that a range of strategies to reduce the level of reactive oxygen species produced by mitochondria extend life in lesser mammals - pointing to the operation of mitochondria as an important determinant of aging. One of these strategies is to increase uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) expression, which causes mitochondria to generate more heat rather than packaged chemical energy for use in the cell. “The long-term effects of uncoupled mitochondrial respiration by uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) in mammalian physiology remains controversial. Here we show that increased mitochondrial uncoupling activity of different tissues predicts longer lifespan of rats compared to mice. UCP2 reduces reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and oxidative stress throughout the aging process in different tissues in mice. The absence of UCP2 shortens life span in wild type mice … Thus, UCP2 has a beneficial influence on cell and tissue function leading to increased lifespan.”

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