As reported on 9/8/17 The Today Show by NBC correspondent Maria Shriver, a new study being performed by Dr. Ni Barzilai MD at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York will involving 3000 healthy seniors. They claim it will “Delay and prevent age-related diseases like cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s and dramatically cut healthcare costs.”
Metformin May Promote Ant-Aging as reported by www.WorldHealth.net in February of 2017 earlier this year.
https://www.worldhealth.net/news/metformin-may-promote-anti-aging/
Up till now, Metformin is an inexpensive and highly successful medication used for Glucose control, however, Dr. Barzilai’s theory based on other research is that it may very well extend life by 2 to 3 years. Studies show that when blood sugar in seniors is under control through the later years of life, there is a marked reduction in cardio-vascular problems. One of the greatest contributors to heart disease is Diabetes. Lowered calorie intake equates to lower weight and fat deposits and therefore increased longevity.
Millions of type 2 diabetes take Metformin day and dozens of studies of metformin already demonstrate lower rates of these diseases and longer life. It’s FDA approved and it’s cheap; about 5 cents each. Metformin mimics calorie restriction by absorbing excess glucose from the blood and body; thus reducing weight and fat accumulation both abdominally and within arterial walls. According to the doctor, “It’s calculated the longevity dividends are $7 Trillion-dollars by 2050.”
Metformin is not without side-effects:
- Nausea
- Dizziness
- Muscle pain and cramping
However, most often the benefits for the many will outweigh the problems for the few.
One the opposite of the coin, Dr. Gary Small, Director of the UCLA Longevity Center feels it’s too early to prescribe a medication to otherwise healthy people. Everyone should just “hold Off” until the study is finished before jumping to conclusions; after all that’s what studies are all about. He feels we just don’t know yet, and that we have to compare the cost to risk ratio before moving forward.
“I want to target aging to prevent diseases,” Dr. Barxilai states. Dr. Barzilai feels that aging should be reclassified as a disease rather than just a disorder. “Aging is a major risk factor for age related diseases,” he says. Re-classification to a disease would be revolutionary and open the floodgates for drug companies to develop new medications to stall aging, that would be paid for by insurance companies.
“One of the secrets to Anti-Aging Medicine, is that it’s not such a secret anymore. Over 25 years ago I brought up that many of the diseases associated with Aging are diseases brought about by the effects of growing older. This is why Preventative Medicine is really Anti-Aging Medicine. We are all going to grow older, but why can’t we Age Healthier, and live more comfortably? There is no reason, that like Dr. Barxilai suggested, we shouldn’t classify aging as a disease. Aging happens faster in some people than others, affects some races, and ethnicities faster than others. There is a whole catalog of Age Related Diseases that can be slowed down or outright cured. It’s time to take Anti-Aging Medicine more serious than ever as we the members of the American Academy of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine get ready for our 25th-anniversary show at the Venetian in Las Vegas, NV this December 2017,” added Dr. Ronald Klatz, President of the A4M.
