STAYING
YOUNG WITH SUPPLEMENTS
Topics: Aging; Death; Human Condition; Human Nature; Immortality; Limitations; Mortality; New Life; Old Age; Regeneration; Youth
References: Psalm 71:9; 90:12; Ecclesiastes 8:8; John 11:25–26; Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:54; 2 Corinthians 5:1
Retirement is close for about 77 million baby boomers. Meantime, the antiaging industry is trying to keep them young enough to enjoy it.
Doctors are prescribing large doses of supplements that they believe prevent the decay of the body’s organs. Human growth hormones are reported to increase muscle mass and improve memory and heart function. Natural estrogen and progesterone are believed to guard against Alzheimer’s and osteoporosis, as well as to relieve symptoms of menopause. Testosterone is believed to aid memory and bone mass, relieve menopause, and help sexual function.
The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine reports that the antiaging industry annually makes $56 billion. At least $79 billion of income is expected by 2009. More than 1,500 doctors have been certified as antiaging practitioners.
Most of these alternative treatments may be scientifically unproven but are supported by vast anecdotal evidence. One person who has become convinced of their effectiveness is retired dentist Dr. Howard Benedict, sixty-one. He spends $10,000 a year on testosterone gel, injections of human growth hormones, and thirty vitamins and supplements. He claims to feel like a twenty-year-old.
—Arlene Weintraub, “Selling the Promise of Youth,” Business Week (March 20, 2006)