Anti ageing business has developed at break neck speed in a world anxious to fi nd ways in which to maintain youth by fi ghting an ever increasing battle to stop the negative affects of ageing. Recently at the 3rd Annual Anti- Ageing Conference in London I was fortunate to meet with Dr. Ronald Klatz, Founding President of the American Academy of Anti Ageing Medicine. Though our conversation was brief, two things had managed to burrow into my brain, one being, this is the man who coined the phrase "Anti Ageing", by his own admission and two, this is an industry that is currently generating over 60 billion dollars in the United States alone. It's no surprise that the baby boomer generation is responsible for launching this mega billion dollar industry, as many are now reaching the age where material possessions no longer have the same value and the saying, "Well at least you have your health!" is no longer a term of last resort, but that brass ring to reach for and hold onto with all your might!

Unlike many of my peers at this event, I seemed to be completely out of the loop when it came to understanding exactly what the terminology meant. Being in the Beauty Industry due to our industry marketing gurus, we have come to believe that most things related to anti ageing was in reference to the latest cosmeceutical breakthrough to help maintain our youthful appearance or better still our new and improved youthful appearance. However, Dr. Klatz was eager to set me straight and put me fi rmly on the righteous path, "You'd be surprised to learn that cosmetics only account for about 20 percent of the overall expenditure in anti ageing", he states. What? No, that couldn't possibly be right, are you sure? Where I had been mistaken is that this new terminology "Anti Ageing" has in fact adopted all aspects of preventative measures of age related diseases, everything from treating Alzheimer's to treating yourself at the Spa! Industries that once were singled out, like health and fi tness, mind and spirituality, cosmetics and skin care are now being grouped together under one umbrella, because ultimately -- they all take steps to prevent ageing. However, there is a fi ne line to distinguish exactly what falls under the anti ageing category so much so that it is hard to know where the act of just maintaining health, becomes preventative health, or is it the same thing? After all, if we maintain our health is that not a form of preventative health measure?

According to Dr. Klatz, if we embraced the new anti ageing innovations and technologies, it would change our lives dramatically and not only from a health stand point, but subsequently longevity. What are these new breakthroughs? First you have to categorize which fi eld of anti ageing you are most interested in. The more likely choice for most baby boomers would be Anti Ageing Medicine. What is Anti Ageing Medicine? In Dr. Katz´s terms it is the "Advanced preventative medicine and biomedical technologies to promote the extension of the healthy human life span". These types of medical advancements would include, phytochemicals in cancer prevention, bio identical hormones for menopausal women, phytonutrient therapy for prostate cancer or one of the most recognized anti ageing medical therapies to be highly publicised recently, HGH (Human Growth Hormone). All of which have been medically proven to substantially improve the health of patients.

Some of us are still sceptical about the latest medical breakthroughs however, this is possibly due to the fact that many scientifi c communities do not endorse these breakthroughs as scientifi c fact until thorough medical research has been completed, which we all know can take years. So too many of us disregard the idea and consider these therapies as fads or pharmaceutical marketing ploys which I might add is not entirely impossible, but surely it has to deserve further investigation?

     

Being the leading authority in new clinical science of anti ageing medicine, Dr. Klatz is well versed and manages to simplify the importance of biomedical technologies. He has authored several books including, Ten Weeks to a Younger You, Seven Anti Ageing Secrets and the best seller, Grow Young with HGH, not to mention the various television appearances on CNN, ABC, NBC and the list goes on and on. It would seem that this man knows exactly what he is talking about, so why do I immediately question his authority when he says, "Within the next 50 years it is possible to live to the age of 150 or possibly 200 by the year 2095." Is this such an unbelievable statement? Or perhaps in my terminology, "Are you serious?" Loyal Klatz followers would agree so, as they turn away eager to listen and learn about all the ways to achieve this super extended life span.

Dr. Katz details the main elements to achieving your maximum potential life span in fi ve easy steps. In theory if we followed these directions and were open to experiencing all these exciting new therapies and procedures from this moment on, we could live an extra 50 years easy! So now perhaps the question should be, do we really want to live that long?