Need answers? On this page, we answer some of the most commonly asked questions about life extension and anti-aging health. If you have any other questions or want to schedule an appointment, use our Consultation Form or call us at 1-888-Yung-Now or 1-888-986-4669.
How does anti-aging differ from conventional medicine?
What is the average age and physical condition of your ideal patient?
What is the greatest issue that men and women face as they age? How can you make a difference?
What are Bioidentical Hormones and why are they important?
What is anti-aging Hormone Balancing?
There is a new word popping up on the Internet: Nutraceuticals. Please explain.
Do you approve of Strontium? Fosamax and Actonel didn’t work for me.
How should I take calcium citrate for better bone health?
Do you take patients on Medicare?
How much does an initial appointment cost?
I like the concept of anti-aging Treatment. Can you become my primary care provider?
Who is Dr. Charles H. Baughman?
What is Complementary and Alternative Cancer Therapy?
What is anti-aging treatment?
Anti-aging treatment is a reincarnation of traditional medicine, but in this era, it incorporates the science of anti-aging. No longer do we accept aging as inevitable or, when disease occurs, treat only its symptoms and consequences.
Anti-aging treatment is based on the concept that the signs, symptoms, and consequences of aging can be delayed and in many cases reversed. This improves the quality of life. A large body of medical literature supports this concept and confirms its safety without side effects and complications.
Anti-aging treatment recognizes that successful therapy necessitates a healthy lifestyle including the following:
- A low glycemic index diet
- Appropriate nutrient supplementation
- Appropriate hormone balance
- The absolute need for physical exercise
The focus, then, is not on longevity but prevention of premature death or disability while enjoying a better quality of life.
Who needs anti-aging therapy?
The short answer is everyone can benefit from anti-aging treatment. Proper diet and exercise must be incorporated early in life and continue for the duration.
Here is the process: Mother Nature, with few exceptions, does a good job of hormone balance until age 20.
At age 30, close monitoring of hormone decline and balance should begin. Observation for any sign of aging is important. Genetic change, especially SNP’s (very localized change) may also begin to become detectable in the thirties.
Anti-aging physicians are taught to observe these early signs and symptoms of aging. Proper tests may be needed;
only then can the anti-aging approach to prevention of disease and disability make a difference. Waiting for the disease to become manifest before treatment has been the approach by traditional medicine in the past, however it is not the approach of your anti-aging physician.
Again: who needs anti-aging treatment? Everyone.
How does anti-aging differ from conventional medicine?
The major difference is that conventional medicine treats disease as it develops and treats symptoms as they occur. Anti-aging ‘s focus is on prevention of disease. If a symptom occurs, the focus is to find the cause, not just issue a prescription to stop the symptom. Every effort is made by anti-aging physicians to restore health and maintain it.
Family history is frequently a factor of what the patient may be capable of developing in terms of disease. If you have a family history of diseases like the following, be aware that early efforts can make a significant effort in preventing the following:
- Early heart disease
- Breast cancer
- Colon cancer
- Prostate cancer
Physical signs, even a simple waist measurement, may foretell problems. Waist sizes of greater than 35 inches in a woman or 40 inches in a man over 50 can forecast a 22% risk of a vascular event (stroke, heart attack, etc.) in five years, giving us time to correct this trend.
Laboratory testing is important and can forecast events. We look not for just normal range in a test but the ideal range where the patient feels best and health is facilitated. Diet and nutrition are important areas for the management of age, and considerable emphasis is placed on this…
you are what you eat!
Most of all…we listen to your concerns, giving you adequate time to express what you think is important in your health. Then there are the spiritual and the human elements. Nothing is more fundamental. Nothing is more elemental.
What is the average age and physical condition of your ideal patient?
The ideal patient is a man or woman who in their late 20′s or at age 30 decided to get a checkup and begin this program of preservation of youth and vigor.
Because the above doesn’t happen often enough, an ideal woman patient might be in her early 40′s. Perimenopause is this period of fluctuating estrogen and declining progesterone and testosterone. Periods are irregular. Breast cancer risk is high.
Symptoms of menopause are growing. Resist the birth control pills that increase breast cancer risk. Hormone testing and balance at this period is critical. Steps to prevent breast cancer can be taken. Cardiovascular health can be preserved.
The male counterpart is 7-10 years older. His muscle mass is decreasing as his waist is increasing. Testosterone levels are falling. Lack of physical performance and erectile dysfunction are troublesome. This is an ideal time to intervene in order to restore youthful vigor.
What is the greatest issue that men and women face as they age? How can you make a difference?
The greatest issue is that aging is insidious and it starts at the time we feel our best, around age 30. Most people accept aging as inevitable. We must recognize that aging does start early and we can delay or prevent the signs and symptoms of aging with these simple steps: low glycemic diet, hormone balance, exercise and the proper nutraceuticals for good nutrition. Youthful vigor and good quality of life can be ours for many years.
I can help by leading you in an anti-aging program.
What are Bio-Identical Hormones and why are they important?
Bio-identical is a simple term meaning identical in chemical structure and function as that produced naturally in our bodies.
A basic tenet of anti-aging is that our creator was very precise in the choices of hormones in our body. They work perfectly in concert with one another like an orchestra to conduct our body metabolism. This is important because if we develop a hormone deficiency, we want to use only bio-identical hormones for replacement.
Deficiencies of hormones, even cortisone, can be replaced up to normal young body levels with safety and relative lack of complications, because that is the norm for one’s body.
Try replacing a deficiency with something other than bio-identical, i.e. Estrogen with conjugated equine (horse) estrogen, and it’s as if one whole section of the orchestra is out of tune. The music is not pleasing to the ear and may cause confusion within the other sections of the orchestra.
Serious problems can arise when people attempt to replace a deficiency without proper research and guidance. Exceeding the physiologic levels of our bodies with massive doses such as with testosterone or growth hormone can also reap disaster.
What is Hormone Balance?
Hormone balance occurs when all major hormone levels are checked and deficiencies are treated. Using bioidentical hormone replacement, levels of hormone are brought to a healthy level and never to excess. That is when a person really feels great every day.
There is a balance needed in women between estrogen and progesterone. Progesterone levels need to be about 300 times more than estrogen levels. When this is achieved, there is balance and all is well.
What are Hormone Pellets?
Hormone pellets are hormones that are fused or pressed into very small cylinders. These pellets are larger than a grain of rice and smaller than a “
tic tac”
. These pellets can be placed under the skin, and consistently release small, healthy doses of hormone providing optimal therapy. Pellets are made up of estrogen or testosterone and are bioidentical. Estrogen pellets are used only in special circumstances.
Hormone pellets can relieve all symptoms of hormone imbalance for up to 3,4 or 5 months. They can be used in the treatment of menopausal or andropausal symptoms and generally relieve the symptoms promptly. So, they are implanted in a simple office procedure which is repeated only 3-4 times a year.
Pellets have minimal side effects and can reduce the risk of breast cancer and also protect the heart. Pellets have been used in the United States since 1938 and their usefulness and safety are well documented in the recent medical literature.
There is a new word popping up on the Internet: Nutraceuticals. Please explain.
It is difficult to give a brief and clear definition of this word. All substances that influence our health can be divided into two groups:
- Foods
- Drugs
Foods we further divide into two groups:
- Conventional foods
- Dietary supplements
Dietary supplements are traditional nutrients that include the vitamins and minerals considered essential to a good diet and can prevent and or correct a classical nutritional deficiency.
Sailors learned early that vitamin C-rich limes and lemons prevented scurvy. Vitamin D prevents rickets and Iodine prevents goiter. These have been added to foods (fortified foods) to prevent disease.
Soy is attributed with reduced cardiovascular risk and is considered a functional food. Functional foods provide specific health benefits beyond basic nutrition when consumed as part of a healthy diet.
Nutraceuticals are functional foods with potentially disease-preventing and health-promoting qualities. Some nutraceuticals are now approved by the FDA to be marketed as medical foods for treatment of certain diseases such as diabetes, chronic pain syndromes, and fibromyalgia.
Unfortunately, many nutraceuticals are botanicals such as St. John’s wort, ginko biloba and ashwaganda. Manufacturers of these botanicals are not required to prove safety or efficiency. Most patients need guidance in this area.
Do you approve of Strontium? Fosamax and Actonel didn’t work for me.
Strontium was first studied for osteoporosis in the 1950′s with favorable results. Because strontium received a “
bad name” in the nuclear fallout studies (strontium 90 radioactivity) further studies did not return until 1985, again with very favorable results.
Yes, I approve of the use of strontium for osteoporosis because it is effective and has no known side effects such as jawbone necrosis or adverse gastrointestinal problems. The citrate found is very absorbable and probably as little as 270 mg per day will give high blood levels. Strontium ranelate or carbonate at 340 mg twice daily will be sufficient.
To reverse osteoporosis, one must pay attention to other factors known to influence bone health. This includes:
- A good diet
- No smoking
- No sodas
- Exercise
- A body mass greater than 20
- Adequate calcium citrate is important (dairy and Tums are not good sources).
- High levels of D3 intake (5000 IU per day) are important.
- Blood levels of strontium plus D and calcium can be monitored.
- The newest addition to the regimen is vitamin K2 at 15 mg three times a day. It activates bone formation.
This program also improves dental health by stopping periodontal bone loss.
Hormone balance is extremely important in both men and women and adequate levels of estrogen are required in both. Estriol (one of the three estrogens made in our body) has been used in Japan for years as a primary treatment for osteoporosis.
How should I take calcium citrate for better bone health?
Osteoporosis: Calcium citrate is the most easily absorbed form, but the system can only deal with 400-500 mg’s in 4-6 hours time. Taking a mega dose of more than 500 mg’s at one time does not help.
Ostopenia: I recommend that those with osteopenia take three 400 mg tablets a day as follows:
- One at noon meal
- One with dinner
- One near bedtime
Prevention: Two a day is sufficient for prevention.
Vitamin D intake is important and I check a blood level of Vitamin D after 2-3 months of 5000 IU of Vitamin D3 a day. Why? High levels are important in cancer prevention (colon, breast, ovary, and prostate), cardiovascular disease, and osteoporosis treatment. Vitamin K2 is important in bone health and for osteopenia, and I suggest 15 mg’s three times a day.
Many drugs can interfere with calcium absorption, anticoagulants, antacids. For example:
- Medications for heartburn
- Methotrexate
- Cortisone
Also, do not take calcium within 2 hours of taking thyroid medication.
Ask your doctor about all of your medications to ensure they will interact properly.
My father died in his early 50′s of a stroke or aneurysm. What will happen to me when I get to be his age?
The first thing to investigate is the exact cause of death (death certificate, hospital, doctor, public records, relatives etc). The difference is essential.
Aneurysms are primarily caused by genetics (congenital) or a combination of hypertension and arteriosclerosis. The genetics is not fully understood and involves probably three genetic sites. In any case, aneurysms are more common in women.
Certainly early detection of risk factors, signs and symptoms of hypertension and arteriosclerosis are essential here to either condition. Prevention and treatment of these are essential. Prevention is best accomplished by recognition of genetic factors and the three basics of anti-aging : nutrition, hormone balance, and exercise.
Do you take patients on Medicare?
We do take medicare patients for cash pay since we do not accept medicare or any type of insurance. A form 1500 (receipt with codes) will be given to you along with the address to send it to Medicare for reimbursement. The care is a private contract between patient and doctor. Both regular insurance and Medicare generally pay for labs. Payment plans are available. Please call our office for details.
How much does an initial appointment cost?
The initial consult is $350 and usually about 1 hour is spent in this initial visit. Using a credit card authorization, you can pay 50% at the time of the consult and have up to 30 days to pay the remaining 50 %. This give you an opportunity to present your receipt for reimbursement. No insurance is accepted for consults or office visits, and a form 1500 is given to you to mail to your insurance company for reimbursement. Most insurance companies pay for the labs. Call our office with any questions.
I like the concept of anti-aging Treatment. Can you become my primary care provider?
Many anti-aging physicians are already involved in primary care. Some primary care physicians such as Family physicians, Internists and Ob-Gyn physicians also practice anti-aging . Such professionals would be happy to be your primary care provider and offer some anti-aging advice as needed.
I am primarily involved in anti-aging and prefer to assist you and your primary care provider in this area. However, Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, which is a specialty area with me, is an integral part of anti-aging , and this is an additional service I provide.
What is Complementary and Alternative Cancer Therapy?
Complementary cancer therapy is working with your Oncologist to prevent complications of traditional treatment (chemotherapy, radiation & surgery).Many times nausea and heart complications can be minimized. Neuritis can be prevented. A sense of well being remains as the immune system and nutrition are supported. Supplements and medical foods that are used do not interfere with traditional treatment. Chemotherapy and radiation are enhanced. Some supplements can actually help to prevent the spread of the tumor (metastasis) during surgery.
Cancer Therapy
Do not be afraid to explore complementary and alternative therapy. For a general oberview of these areas, I recommend Suzanne Somers’ book, “Knockout” Supplements that I use are very kind to the body, yet effective against cancer—- Avemar , Vitamin C and Poly mva.
Alternative cancer therapy uses natural substances and supplements that are effective in altering the metabolism of the cancer cell to control its growth and cause death of the cancer cell. Alternative therapy can control cancer in many cases improving quality of life and in some cases long term remission or cure. Chemotherapy, radiation and surgery are avoided. Alternative cancer therapy is for those who have failed traditional treatment (Stage IV) and also for those who for religious or other beliefs do not want traditional treatment.
Traditional treatment is preferred in childhood leukemias, some lymphomas, and testicular cancer.
Who is Dr. Charles H. Baughman?
I am a physician who became an MD more than 50 years ago. My initial passion in medicine was surgery and I pursued this to board certification and became a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
With time, colon and rectal surgery captured my interest, especially endoscopy. I pursued this to board certification and became a Fellow of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons.
Through the years, I have seen many changes in medicine and have, as a result, changed as well. Anti-aging treatment entered my world. I truly doubted its validity for several years, because I could not fully accept the precept that replacement of growth hormone and complete hormone balance was good medicine. After thorough and intense study, I no longer have these doubts. Anti-aging is our future and my future.
While I received my certification in anti-aging Treatment, I wanted more training, and a master’s degree became my goal. It is the only way to fully satisfy my interest and offer my patients the opportunity to share in this new approach to health and a higher quality of life. I am nearing completion of my Master’s degree. To learn more about me, please go to this page.
The guidelines provided on this website are for general information only. Baughman anti-aging Treatment strongly recommends that you consult your physician before pursuing any regimen listed in this website.
