By Camille Sperrazza
Statistics show that many baby boomers anticipate that they will continue to work, even after retirement, says Dr. Sergey Kalitenko, an internist. To continue to be successful, they need to stay healthy; they need to have energy; and they need to have good memories, he says. “You are responsible for your good health,” says Dr. Kalitenko, and one of the ways to assure aging well is to take steps now that promote a healthy lifestyle. This includes maintaining a healthy weight, as well as many other factors you probably already know, as a number of medical doctors have probably been telling you such things for quite some time now. What Dr. Kalitenko has also discovered is the important role hormones play in maintaining good health. The doctor believes that, “We are programmed to die after our reproductive age is over. This makes space for the young and the healthy.” But as modern science has extended life well beyond our reproductive years, we need to find ways to improve lifestyles. Dr. Kalitenko points out the filled nursing homes as examples. There are lots of people living longer lives, but anyone who has ever visited a nursing home, will be struck by the lack of quality of life. “People are usually strapped in wheelchairs, and can barely understand what is going on,” he says. So how do we maintain good health and vitality when the natural process of aging often wipes them away? “The trick is to fool the brain,” he says. “When the brain gets the signal, it’s time to die, it develops cancer or causes heart problems. If it believes we still have hormones, it signals that we are still young. Therefore, we can be close to the optimum level of health.” He explains that hormones are chemical substances that convey signals from one part of the body to another. They are secreted into the blood, and regulate body functions, helping organs to work at optimum levels. “They’re considered as a master regulator of human body functions,” the doctor says. “Hormones such as adrenaline and Cortisol maintain blood pressure. Hormones are responsible for stress management. Hormones regulate repair.” When your body no longer produces as many hormones as it needs to work at those top-tiered levels, you can use bioidentical hormone replacements to assist it, he says. “They bring metabolic activity” to our bodies so they “can function more efficiently,” says the doctor. “They can improve your energy and memory; improve skin texture; improve your sex life; and decrease fat and cholesterol.” There is no cure-all for everyone. First, it is necessary to obtain a medical history and complete a physical examination. Laboratory tests will also be performed to find out which hormones need to be replaced. Sometimes, tests may have to be repeated to check levels, says the doctor. For some, the hormones can be taken in the form of a cream that is applied to the body, he says. “Statistics show that people who have sex three or more times a week live longer,” says the doctor. “It’s because the hormones are sound. They are at good levels.” People don’t only want to feel younger, they want to look younger too, which is why Dr. Kalitenko is involved with what he describes as a cosmetic procedure, “safer that a face lift.” It’s called Threadlift. “It’s a minimally invasive procedure which lifts the sagging skin.” He explains that rather than cutting the skin, as plastic surgery involves, this procedure uses threads “which hold skin, and lift it up.” Needles are used to push threads through the skin, then these needles are removed. “The threads have small parts which hold everything,” in place, he says. “It’s all done under local anesthesia, and may take about 1-3 hours, depending upon the number of threads. It’s less expensive than plastic surgery.” The time factor is another plus. “Some women come into the office on a Friday after work,” he says. “They stay late, relax over the weekend, and go back to work on Monday. No one knows they have had a procedure. People just say, ‘You look terrific.’” It’s also cost-effective. The doctor says, “Look at the Hollywood stars. They spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to look the way they do. What about the rest of us who are not rich, but are hard-working people who want to look good?” He points out that this procedure “is the safest and the best.” Looking good is part of maintaining good health, he says. “Beauty is not for fun. It’s for survival. There are books written about this.” While there is no Fountain of Youth, there is an American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, to which many medical doctors belong. Dr. Kalintenko is one of its members. To learn more about the role of hormones, thread lifts, and anti-aging, visit Dr. Kalitenko’s website www.doctorkalitenko.com.
