Fountain of Youth
No Fountain of Youth
For centuries now, the human race has been obsessed with age. Or rather, the human race has been obsessed with staying young, and not ageing. This will never change. People in their twenties are still enjoying the flush of youth, but by the time we get to our early thirties, the reality of mortality sets in, and we begin to realise that there is a limited time for us. This can be handled by people in many different ways.
Some of us age gracefully. We try to fill our lives with pursuits that bring us happiness. We may have children, and this goes some way to making our lives enjoyable and fulfilling.
Some of us take the anti-ageing route. Whether this is through the use of creams and lotions, or the employment of surgeons who are expert in using the scalpel to lift and tuck sections of our skin, there are many of us who are trying our best to slow the clock down, just a little.
This has its drawbacks. We are all ageing, day by day, and there is absolutely nothing we can do to prevent this from happening. In fact, try as we might, there comes a time when we have to look in the mirror and admit defeat. This can either cause us happiness, or distress. Whatever effect it has, it is unavoidable.
Or is it? In the last few years, there has been a movement towards hormone therapy that actually helps people to stay younger for longer. This is what is known as the anti-ageing hormone industry. And it is big business, with a huge number of products that sell incredibly well to the market that wants to find the fountain of youth. In America alone, it is worth billions of dollars every year.
There is a huge number of websites and organisations that offer these hormone treatments in vast quantities. However, recent studies suggest that, while these hormones are not exactly placebos, they should still be taken with a pinch of salt.
The American Medical Association (AMA) recently published findings that showed that there is less scientific evidence than one would think that shows the hormones help with the ageing process. While this may not come as a great surprise, the other findings that the AMA have let loose are a little more interesting.
Many physicians who were consulted in the study stated that they made it clear that they never sell the hormones as anti-ageing products. Whether this is true or not, they also stated that instead of pushing the anti-ageing angle, instead they tell patients that the hormones can give optimal health.
The AMA could not comment on how many anti-ageing products there were on the market (it is worth more than $50 billion), but it is pleasing to see that hormones are being sold as ‘good for your health’.
Good news for those who use hormones then, but less than pleasing news for those people who want to live forever.