A Sea of Wanting, A Sea of Needing

I wanted to take a short break from my telomere guide and relate a story about someone I recently met who was looking for the “magic pill” to fix aging. I believe strongly in lifestyle change. While that might involve a few pills, it is certainly not surrounded by them. As I continue examining telomeres with you, I want to drive this message home. I can help you get there through supplementation, but if you want real results you need to look closely at your life and habits and adjust accordingly.

A middle-aged woman asked me the other day what it is like to speak to a large audience about staying young and healthy.

My reply startled her. I said, “It is like looking out over a sea of wanting and needing.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“There are so many motivated people who want to know the truth but have been deceived so many times they no longer have faith that something real can be done to improve their futures. Worse, there are always a group of people who believe conspiracy theories and are angry at the world for ruining their lives and those of their loved ones. Rather than focusing on what they can do to help themselves and the ones they love, they live a betrayed, angry, dependent life lashing out at all the mistakes that have been made. Problem is, they are right about 50 percent of the time, but it does not solve the problem.”

“And finally there is the worst case: the people who are so sure they are healthy and doing the right thing that they don’t bother to test.”

“Oh, come on, Doc. You lecture to other doctors. There must be some healthy ones.”

“Yes, there are. But you would be shocked to learn this crowd is one of the unhealthiest bunch of people out there. I cannot tell you how embarrassed I was for us as a profession at the last anti-aging conference I attended. So many tired-looking, out-of-shape doctors wandering around, looking for the magic pill just like everyone else.”

Hence my comment about wanting and needing. Everyone wants the magic pill, but for now the closest things are fish oil and TA-65.

“OK Dr. Dave, what is missing and what do we really need to do first?”

“You won’t like the answer. It’s not sexy or even all that interesting. The magic pill is lifestyle modification: the right diet, the right kinds and amounts of exercise, and proper long-term sleep habits, with some fish oil and a few other things thrown in.”

“Oh please,” she cried, “not that same old same old. Besides, I take fish oil every day.”

“How much?” I asked.

“Two capsules a day, most days.”

I am sure she wished she had never started the conversation, because I went on to lecture her about everything you should already know. Six grams minimum to get into primary cardiac prevention range. Plant-based supplements are lacking and don’t convert efficiently to enough EPA. Red meat is stigmatized because no one has looked at free-range product in studies. And of course the inevitable mention of how well fish oil supports telomeres.

“So you are saying that fish oil in the correct dose is more important than say, Vitamin D or TA-65?” she wondered.

“Yes. Start there. Get your levels up so all your membranes function properly, cell, mitochondria and nucleus, all need Omega 3s. Then your Vitamin D receptors can do their job. And get it measured. Don’t settle for less than great in this most important level.”

TA-65 is in a class by itself, but it is kind of like owning a Ferrari with no gas to put in it if you do not have a good fish oil level in your body.

This is a long way of saying: end the wanting and needing of better health, lower body fat, better moods, less joint pain, and clearer thinking, by starting with the basics done at the right dose.

The world’s best fish oil lives here.

Doc