Dr Ameer Khan, founder of the Harley Street Skin Clinic, author of Turn Back Time and, as the title suggests, a specialist in anti- aging and preventive medicine, has teamed up with Angela Beecroft, a clinical nutritionist, to revolutionise the way we approach personalised health care, age and longevity.
Health Care Designed for the Individual
If you consider the obvious fact that each of us is unique in terms of genetic make-up, environmental and occupational impact, habits, diet and hormonal balance that change throughout our lifespan, it would make perfect sense that we should use equally and highly individualised path to calibrating the way our bodies function.
As a species, we have both the capacity to increase our lifespan and live relatively disease-free. One key to this is, as it has ever been, prevention. The other component is treating the individual, as opposed to taking the well-trodden and existing road of “one size fits all” health care.
Lastly, a holistic approach is vital because treating any medical condition in isolation could threaten the integrity of the entire living organism.
The Gut: You Are What You Eat
The grand conductor of our organism is the gut which regulates the functioning of the immune system, enzymes, hormones and constantly communicates with the brain.
There is a staggering 2kg of bacteria, good and bad, that lives in our gut, this ecosystem quite literally runs the show. In so far as we are born with a specific genetic make-up, we are subject to a certain luck of the draw. However, we can, by altering the composition of our gut, switch off “SNP’s”, the faulty genes that trigger every manner of disease, and improve vastly our chances of living longer, but also better.
We took the test which involved sending a stool sample and mouth swab to the US-based facility. The results were staggeringly accurate in the sense that some of the predispositions, i.e. to anxiety, caffeine tolerance, etc. were already known to the author.
They were exhaustive in indicating what needs to be addressed generally and what needs fairly urgent attention (i.e. excessive bad bacteria and increased anti-inflammatory activity by way of response).
Maximising Nutritional Uptake
The nutritionist went through them in the course of an hour-long session, explaining the co-relation between the different types of bacteria, enzymes, hormones and how the liver performs the very complex function of cleansing toxins from the body.
As the full picture begins to emerge, one experiences a compelling urge to head for the first cleansing retreat and stock up on free- radical neutralising foods, vitamins and supplements.
It is worth noting here and now that the majority of over the counter supplements result in nothing more than expensive urine. To get maximum benefit, you really need to work with your nutritionist who would advise on what is required and where to buy it from.