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Natural Awakenings Naples and Fort Myers

The Silver Bullets that Defy Aging: Southwest Florida Offers Myriad Natural Approaches toward Lasting Health and Beauty

Oct 30, 2015 08:50AM ● By Linda Sechrist

“There’s a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age,” touts actress Sophia Loren. The Italian beauty that took Hollywood by storm in the 1960s is now 81 years young and still defying the aging process beautifully.

While mastering Loren’s definition of the fountain of youth can sometimes take nearly a lifetime, the realization that there is no one silver bullet for defying the aging process dawns much earlier. Today, thanks to organizations such as the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, the Institute of Functional Medicine and the Metabolic Medicine Institute, much more is known about the possibilities for slowing the body’s aging process naturally.

Choosing to appear as young as we feel can be accomplished through myriad options offered by health professionals. From massage and good nutritional advice on an anti-inflammatory diet to mindfulness and meditation, as well as chelation, acupuncture, yoga and age-defying face and body treatments, Natural Awakenings readers have access to a comprehensive systems approach to ageless beauty and anti-aging right here in Southwest Florida.

Meditation

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, taught by Madeline Ebelini at Integrative Mindfulness, in Bonita Springs, and meditation taught by Fred Eppsteiner at The Florida Community of Mindfulness, in Naples, provide anti-aging benefits. According to a 2005 breakthrough study published in Neuroreport, meditation, which Eppsteiner describes as being “present to what is,” improves brain function and decreases the risk of age-related cognitive decline that has been cited as an inevitable aspect of growing older.

Bamboo massage therapy
Bamboo massage therapy
Acupuncture

From an anti-aging and ageless beauty perspective, acupuncture is a valuable ally. According to Teri Evans, acupuncturist, doctor of Oriental medicine and owner of TAE Healthy Aging, in Naples, facial rejuvenation acupuncture (FRA) provides benefits beyond skin-deep. “General acupuncture for health, energetic balancing and stress reduction helps to slow the hands of time. FRA, a specific system for the face, turns back the clock and takes years off your appearance. By treating the whole body systemically via the energetic channels of the face, its muscular structure also benefits. FRA can reshape patterns of aging, reduce lines and wrinkles, improve complexion and provide a natural acupuncture facelift,” says Evans.

Developing healthy habits such as a regular exercise and good nutrition is critical to beauty and aging well. Bonita Springs health practitioners such as Dr. Gary Gendron, owner of Nutrition Specialists, Dee Harris, founder of D-Signed Nutrition and Deborah Post, a board-certified advanced nurse practitioner and owner of Wellbridges, Inc., agree that regular exercise and an anti-inflammatory diet protects the aging brain. “A diet that reduces chronic inflammation and optimizes health is the lifelong eating plan that we should follow,” says Gendron.

An Anti-inflammatory Diet

Harris and Post describe an anti-inflammatory eating plan as one that includes unrefined and unprocessed whole foods, omega 3s, healthy fats and anti-inflammatory spices, such as turmeric, along with a significant reduction in the intake of rapidly digestible carbohydrates. It also includes avoiding fast food and products containing partially hydrogenated oils or vegetable shortening, and minimizing the use of polyunsaturated oils such as sunflower, safflower, soy and corn.

Exercise

Aging results in chronic, low-grade inflammation. “While regular exercise is recommended for a variety of reasons, including increasing muscle mass and reducing risk for chronic diseases of the heart and metabolic systems, only recently has it been examined in the context of inflammation,” says Marcy Hess, owner of Perfect 10 Strength Training, in Naples.

Prevention Magazine recently published results on exercise and low-grade inflammation from a 10-year study by a team of researchers led by Mark Hamer, Ph.D. The epidemiologist at University College London believes that it’s likely that the resulting low-grade inflammation of aging has to do with the loss of muscle mass and other physical changes that occur. His new research offers an easy way to overcome the blood-flow-gumming effects of inflammation: 2.5 hours of moderate exercise each week—about 20 minutes a day—lowers markers of inflammation by at least 12 percent.

Four hands hassage therapy
Four hands hassage therapy
Chelation

Another way to slow aging is chelation. Beyond its effects on heavy metals, chelation administered intravenously with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration) helps to remove accumulations of calcium from tissue. Calcium gravitates to atherosclerotic plaque in blood vessels, leading to arterial narrowing and blockage. “Chelation gently and gradually mobilizes calcium from plaque, restoring elasticity and flow to blood vessels,” advises Gary Galoo, a medical doctor with the Chelation Center of Naples.

Yoga

Yoga increases the body’s ability to successfully respond to stress by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, which slows the heart and lowers blood pressure. This corresponds to a suppression of sympathetic activity, reducing the amount of stress hormones in the body. While yoga helps to reduce stress, the root cause of 70 to 90 percent of all disorders, a regular practice is helpful in maintaining flexibility and the good posture of youth, as well as good circulation and glowing skin.

Massage

According to John Preston, chief operating officer for two locally owned Massage Envy franchises—Naples and Estero—massage brings relief from chronic stress. He sites a study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine which reports that massage may add as many as six years to our life by reducing the sustained fight-or-flight response brought on by chronic stress. The study also reveals that a single deep-tissue massage can lower systolic and diastolic blood pressures, as well as decrease resting heart rate. “The benefits of massage actually last for days, and the more you experience them,” says the study’s author, Alan Kaye, M.D., Ph.D.

Facial massage therapy
Facial massage therapy
Functional Medicine

When inflammation, blood sugar imbalance, insulin resistance, oxidative stress, hormonal problems and other systemic upset occur, the body spirals out of balance. Functional medicine practiced by Bonita Springs physicians Robert Gilliland DC, founder of Southwest Florida Natural Health Center, and Gigi Torres, owner of Upstream MD, as well as Carol Roberts, M.D. and Pamela Hughes, M.D., founder of the Hughes Center of Naples can help to restore balance. This personalized form of medicine is an important piece of the 21st-century healing puzzle that is based on cutting-edge science and a core concept that accelerated aging and chronic illness are the outcome of imbalances in the body’s underlying physiological systems. A poor diet, lack of essential nutrients, emotional stress, environmental toxins, lack of exercise and other lifestyle issues set the stage for accelerated aging and chronic disease to develop.

Non-Invasive Spa Services

Numerous non-invasive spa services can reduce the visible signs of aging. Naples spas such Trim & Tone Spa, Spa de Larissa, Purely You, Organic Skincare & Bodyworx, as well as Stillwater Spa, Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa, in Bonita Springs, or Skin Renewal Systems of Marco Island and Assuage Spa, in Fort Myers, offer customized facials and unique technologies that address the effects of aging, wrinkles, damaged skin and cellulite. From microdermabrasion or the popular lunchtime micro-current and ultrasound nonsurgical facelift to EXILIS Elite, recognized as the “best skin tightening device by New Beauty Magazine, today’s technologies for the face and body address the effects of aging, wrinkles, damaged skin and cellulite.

Hair Color and Teeth Whitening

“Organic color and an attractive haircut gives the face a quick lift,” says Andrea Sorrenti, owner of Andrea’s Organic Hair Studio & Day Spa, in Naples.

Teeth are one of the first things we notice about a person. “Stained, yellow teeth, which age everyone, can be easily whitened, providing a bright, white smile,” says William Lovett, DDS, a Naples-based holistic dentist.

As we consider all that it requires of us to stay healthy and slow the aging process, it’s easy to see that we need to not only have an awareness of what is available, but also a village of health practitioners skilled in their disciplines.

Local Resources

Andrea’s Organic Hair Studio & Day Spa, 6714 Lone Oak Blvd. 239-514-4707. NaplesOrganicHairStudio.com.

Assuage Centers, 9407 Cypress Lake Dr. Ste. C, Fort Myers. 239-333-1450. AssuageCenters.com.

Chelation Center of Naples, 975 Imperial Golf Course Blvd., Ste. 107, Naples. 239-594-9355.

D-Signed Nutrition, LLC, 27499 Riverview Center Blvd., Ste. 214, Bonita Springs. 239-444-4204. D-SignedNutrition.com.

Florida Community of Mindfulness. FloridaMindfulness.org.

Hughes Center for Functional Medicine, 800 Goodlette Rd. N., Ste. 270. 239-649-7400. HughesCenterNaples.com.

Integrative Mindfulness, 3372 Woods Edge Cir. Ste. 102. 239-590-9485. IntegrativeMindfulness.net.

Massage Envy, 6345 Naples Blvd., The Boulevard Shoppes of Naples. 239-325-3689. 8001 Plaza Del Lago, Coconut Point Shopping Center, Estero. 239-947-3689. MassageEnvy.com.

Nutrition Specialists of Florida, 28315 S. Tamiami Tr. Ste. 101, Bonita Springs. 239-947-1177. DoctorGendron.com.

Organic Skincare & Bodyworkx, 13240 Tamiami Tr., N., Ste. 207, Naples. 239-514-4494. OrganicSkinCareAndBodyWorx.com.

Purely You Spa, 3066 Tamiami Tr., N., Ste. 301, Naples. 239-331-8266. PurelyYouSpa.com.

Skin Renewal Systems, 1000 N. Collier Blvd., Ste. 11 and 13, Marco Island. 239-394-1083. SkinRenewalMarco.com.

Spa de Larissa, Airport Professional Center, 3811 Airport Rd., N., Ste. 201-B, Naples. 239-571-9900. FacialSpaDeLarissa.com.

Stillwater Spa, Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa, 5001 Coconut Rd., Bonita Springs. 239-444-1234. CoconutPoint.Hyatt.com.

TAE Healthy Aging Center, 11983 Tamiami Tr. N, 100A, Naples. 239-430-6800. TaeHealthyAging.com.

The Perfect 10 Strength Training, 501 Goodlette Rd. N., Ste. C 208, in Naples. 239-231-6028. ThePerfect10StrengthTraining.com.

Trim and Tone Spa, 1201 Piper Blvd., Ste. 20, Naples. 596-5522. TrimAndToneSpa.com.

Southwest Florida Natural Health Center, LLC, 27499 Riverview Center Blvd., Ste. 255, Bonita Springs. 239-444-3106. BonitaSpringsPEMF.com.

Upstream MD, 27499 Riverview Ctr. Blvd., Ste. 255, Bonita Springs. 239-444-5636. UpstreamMD.com.

Wellbridges, Inc., 9200 Bonita Beach Rd., Ste. 113, Bonita Springs. 239-481-5600. DebPost.com.

William E. Lovett, DDS, 860 111th Ave., N., Ste. 5, Naples. 239-593-4911. DentalCareNaplesFL.net.