A friend forwarded this article to me. Unfortunately, nothing in it surprises me.

It chronicles a litany of methods being used to obtain “youthfulness” and “vigor” in the aging US population.

Three quotes that stand out for me are:

1. “My friends say, ‘Oh, Ed’s on steroids,’”…”I’m not. I’m on hormone therapy,” he says of a regimen that costs him more than $1,000 a month. [among the drugs he takes are human growth hormone, testosterone, and an adrenal hormone known as DHEA].

2. For a group known as the Calorie Restriction Society, youthfulness isn’t found in hormones. It’s reducing food intake to, in some cases, near-starvation levels.

3. This search for eternal youthfulness certainly isn’t new. “In 1,500 B.C. people were ingesting tiger gonads to rejuvenate them,” says Dr. Gene Cohen, a George Washington University expert on aging.

Before I go further, let’s talk about a few specifics…

What’s the difference, you might ask, between a steroid and a hormone? As far as I know, a steroid is a specific class of compound, with a specific chemical structure. Hormones are chemical messengers in the body, that typically serve as signals to communicate between cells. All of the human sex hormones (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone (and cortisol)) happen to be steroidal in structure. So our friend above is only partly correct. He is taking steroids.

Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is not steroidal in structure, and has similar effects to steroids, but with low to no (currently known) negative effects if taken in proper doses.

I don’t want to be misleading. Taking the course of “hormone therapy” that’s reviewed here, while you’re under the close monitoring of a physician, may not be harmful at all. If the dosages are closely correlated to your age, body weight, and other physical signifiers, and a doctor is checking you out every few months, you’ll probably experience drastic changes in your body (to the tune of $1000/mo., at least).

Not only that, but hormone therapy has saved the lives of many people. Steroids and HGH can be similarly life-saving in people with HIV/AIDS to help prevent the muscle-wasting associated with that disease.

This post isn’t about the legality issues surrounding steroids (for a great film about that issue, go rent Bigger Faster Stronger). Nor is it about the moral or ethical issues surrounding steroid use in sports.

This post is about a question, which brings me to my final quotes from the article. The interviewees cite the same things as their reasons for taking these drugs. Namely: to “feel better, more energetic, clear-minded” from one, and to have ‘”lots of energy” and feel[sic] “sharp,” from another.

But what else is involved with these therapies? It’s funny, but you can take as much HGH, testosterone, or whatever, but if you don’t exercise, nothing very good will happen to you.

Movement rules above all else. And, in fact, movement can provide all of the benefits sought by the youth-seekers, though maybe not with the extreme muscle-growth.

There’s something you can do that’s a lot cheaper than $1000/mo., that will keep you feeling better, energetic, clear-minded, and sharp. In fact, it can be totally free.

It’s called exercise.

If you want to know where to start and you don’t know how, drop me a line. I’ll be happy to help. If you want something with some structure, and feel compelled to spend some money, go take some Tai Chi (or Taiji) classes.

Is it scientific proof you need? Master Lu Zijian is 93 in this video. He is practicing an art called Baguazhang, similar to Tai Chi.

Jack Lalanne pulled a string of 70 boats behind him with 70 people in them as he swam 1.5 miles. Roland Fortin wanted to fight Jack when he was 91, and Jack was 92!

The law is called inertia – a body at rest tends to stay at rest. Rest more, keep resting…

The fountain of youth is within you, dear hearts. It’s movement. Start moving. Move as much as you can and in as many ways as you can, till you get a little tired (but not a lot), every day, and a funny thing will happen – you’ll be full of energy – able to move more and more, for longer and longer, your mind will become clear and sharp, and life will be better.