Antiaging Medicine – An Interview with Dr. Joesph Kaye of BodyLogic Boston
Dr. Joseph Kaye of BodyLogic Boston answers questions on antiaging medicine, how to stay young, and just what antiaging doctors do!
Dr. Joseph Kaye M.D.
First I would like thank Dr. Kaye for taking the time and effort to share his knowledge and perspectives about antiaging medicine with us.
How long have you been in practice and how many patients do you have?
I opened my practice, BodyLogicMD of Boston in January of 2010. Currently I have about 350 active clients with a goal of no more than 500 per physician. I am seeking a additional physician to join my group to handle the demand for my services.
What was it that made you specifically interested in the field of antiaging medicine?
Antiaging medicine is the application of the techniques of Functional Medicine to the condition of premature aging. Functional Medicine is the new specialty, in which I am trained, which seeks to find and correct the root underlying causes of illness-rather than just treating symptoms.
So, antiaging medicine is the specialty in which antiaging doctors seek to learn the deeper root causes of the symptoms of premature aging and then intervenes to correct them, restoring health and vitality. To me, the is the exciting part of antiaging medicine—to really help people in the greatest of medical challenges: the aging process itself. For the first time in history, we are now learning exactly what is happening on a cellular and biochemical level to cause the ailments associated with old age.
At Bodylogic Boston I enjoy the application of the information to improve the health of my patients. I get such positive feedback from my patients that it is a joy to come to work. So, I get an intellectual stimulation from constantly learning about new breakthroughs in the science of aging and I get the personal satisfaction from helping my patients in a dramatic way.
What are the differences between a traditional family doctor and antiaging doctors?
I am trained as both an emergency medicine physician and as an internist. I know the traditional model of medicine as well as the current functional and antiaging model of medicine. Both have their strong points.
Our current traditional medical system is designed to diagnose and treat the symptoms of disease when it is in its final or acute stage. It is not designed to create wellness or to effectively prevent disease. It is much easier to prevent disease than to cure it. We strive not only to diagnose disease in its early stages when it can be more easily reversed, but to prevent it.
At BodyLogic Boston we use the techniques of functional medicine to optimize the functions of the body systems. While we may use traditional drugs and hormones, we also employ the targeted use of nutritional supplements and scientifically tested natural medicines to achieve health objectives that are not possible with standard pharmaceuticals. Finally, we focus on diet, the main component of health.
What are the benefits of seeing antiaging doctors?
We focus on wellness, prevention of disease, and have as our goal the restoration of optimum health-not just the palliation of symptoms. We have specialized knowledge in the use of bioidentical hormones, nutrients, and natural as well as conventional pharmaceuticals. We focus on fitness and diet to a much greater extent than typical physicians.
Will antiaging doctors network with each other and with my family doctor?
Of course. I am a member of a nationwide group of anti-aging and functional medicine physicians, BodyLogicMD, that includes about 50 doctors at present. We constantly discuss cases by email or iphone and trade medical literature. In addition, I attend 3 or 4 major conferences per year where I network with hundreds of similar physicians, learn about the new technologies, and bring that back to my patients.
I frequently call family doctors to explain my plan of therapy, write case summaries for their records, and exchange laboratory test results in order not to needlessly repeat labs and tests. I give my patients copies of their tests and my notes to share with their physicians if they wish to do so.
What kinds of patients come to you and what are they looking for in the way of help?
I see a wide variety of patients in my antiaging medicine practice, both men and women. A typical patient may be in his or her 40s or 50s with the beginning of chronic disease such as high cholesterol, menopause, andropause, hypertension, irritable bowel, fatigue, depression, and so on. They have often spoken to their primary doctor but have not been helped.
Often they are told “get used to it, your getting old” or they are started on antidepressants, cholesterol drugs, etc. These patients want a better option. They are often successful in their careers but that may have lead them to ignore their health somewhat. Now they realize that, unless they take action, they will end up ill and debilitated in their retirement years. They seek me out to help them change course and regain their health and vitality.
What is the particular focus you take with your patients and why?
I use a holistic approach. I obtain as much information by use of a 50-page questionnaire as I am able before the visit. I review this with the patient. It covers everything: from medical history to symptoms to specific questions about hormone deficiency to diet to toxicity, and so on.
I spend plenty of time with the patient-90 minutes to 2 hours on a first visit to confirm my findings, explain some parts of the history and perform an exam and some initial diagnostic testing. I may order follow-up testing. I discuss diet.
I then create a holistic treatment plan that addresses all their conditions, not just one or two; I focus on finding and correcting the root causes of their symptoms or diseases. As a result I often can greatly improve the patients health.
How do you decide which treatment plan is best for each patient?
I always base my treatment on my evaluation of their physical and biochemical condition, their motivation, how much effort and time they can devote to the process, and their ability to afford various treatment plans.
It is no use to create an “cadillac” plan if the patient can’t afford it. I always plan without any reservations, then I discuss the options with the patient. I tailor what I do to the patient’s means and ability. Many powerful health enhancements are not expensive and can be done by anyone-eating a correct diet for instance.
Which nutrients and drugs, in your experience have been the most helpful for your patients?
I use hundreds of drugs or nutrients or herbals in my antiaging medicine practice and each can be effective for the right condition. It is important that one be tested for a condition that can benefit from a product-no guessing. Some of the more powerful nutrients and drugs I use are bioidentical hormones, TA-65, Protandim, benegene, Nerf-2 activators.
What sort of relationship do you see between one’s mental state and their physical health?
If one believes they ought to sit down and rest simply because they are “old” then they will experience an acceleration of the symptoms of aging. In a sense, one must use it or lose it. This applies to the brain as well as the body.
So one must remain physically and mentally active to avoid premature deterioration. If one’s belief is that they must stay vigorous and active regardless of their age, they will appear and function at a younger level.
In general, what sort of relationship do you see between stress and health, and how can a certain degree of physical or mental stress as through caloric restriction benefit our health?
A person with no stress is dead. Some stress is beneficial; excessive stress is deadly. Mental stress we cannot control is harmful. Stress we can handle helps us grow and achieve new skills-that is productive stress.
Caloric restriction is only beneficial when all the nutritional needs are being met. Improper caloric restriction that deprives one of enough of certain nutrients or protein will shorten life, not extend it and is a harmful source of stress.
What do you think are the primary causes of aging?
The causes of the physical and mental deterioration associated with aging is multifactorial. Many of the symptoms we associate with aging are not inevitable and don’t occur to the degree that we see in the USA in cultures that have healthy aging, such as in Okinawa for instance.
For example, dementia, cardiovascular disease, cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, obesity, and many other conditions are mostly preventable if one has a healthy lifestyle and nutrition and avoids toxins and stress.
But when we speak of the deep biochemical processes that cause aging, I think that the shortening of the telomeres on the ends of the chromosome, the accumulated damage to DNA and vital proteins from toxins, free radicals, and glycation, and the loss of youthful levels of hormones are the main causes of the symptoms of aging as we understand it today.
What do you think are currently the best ways to slow down, or reverse the aging process and extend the human life span?
I can’t pick just 3. How about 6?
- Proper nutrition including diet makeup, portion size, and nutritional supplements.
- Caloric restriction
- Telomerase activators
- Potent antioxidants, not simply free-radical scavenger, but compounds that induce the production of innate antioxidant compounds such as glutathione and catalase and SOD.(Several of these products are on the market now.)
- Stress relief and enjoyment of life.
- Hormone replacement in proper doses by an experienced physician.
How do you differentiate between the biological symptoms of aging and those bodily changes that are actually caused by ones belief about aging?
If one believes they ought to sit down and rest simply because they are “old” then they will experience an acceleration of the symptoms of aging. In a sense, one must use it or lose it. This applies to the brain as well as the body.
So one must remain physically and mentally active to avoid premature deterioration. If one’s belief is that they must stay vigorous and active regardless of their age, they will appear and function at a younger level.
What advice would you give to someone who is looking to improve their mental performance?
The brain is part of the body. It does not function in isolation. In antiaging medicine, we approach health holistically.
Make sure all nutritional parameters are optimal, remove toxins such as heavy metals that are known to harm brain cells. If necessary use various medications or herbals that can improve intellectual function and memory. Exercise moderately. Use your brain to keep it agile. Always keep learning new things.
What sort of advice would you give to someone who is interested in exploring some of the alternative or complementary therapies such as acupuncture, aromatherapy, biofeedback, homeopathy, and herbalism?
Ask where they trained, how many patients they have treated, ask to speak to some of those patients, read about the subject on your own. I have learned that there are many ways to improve health; I don’t claim to understand them all.
I don’t use homeopathy or acupuncture and I wouldn’t consider these to be antiaging medicine. However, people do get some benefit from them. I think herbs and biofeedback can be powerful aids in returning a patient to health and I use these techniques in my practice.
What are some of the new treatments that you foresee coming along in antiaging medicine in the near future?
Basic research is progressing but unfortunately, there is a lag in creating products for humans due to our FDA’s refusal to approve drugs for the treatment of aging. They have decided that aging is not a disease. For this reason many promising drugs are never manufactured in this country.
Some can be imported. I think we will see more powerful telomerase activators and SIRT activators such as derivatives of the chemical resveritrol in the near future. Others may be approved for various diseases but be able to be prescribed for antiaging medicine, such as Metformin is today.
What are you currently working on?
I am currently adding an extremely effective weight loss program to my practice, Ideal Protein www.idealprotein.com We have been seeing 5-7 pounds of fat loss per week. This is extremely important in antiaging medicine as obesity is a huge accelerator of aging.
Perhaps more so than any other area, there are many people looking for the magic bullet for youth, are there any new developments on the immediate horizon that hold promise?
We have several powerful products available today: TA-65, nerf-2 activators such as Protandim, and PGC1alpha activators to regenerate mitochondria. I think these products will become more available and will have a big impact.
Is there anything that we haven’t discussed that you would like to add?
I think it is important to seek out the help of an experienced physician who has completed a fellowship in antiaging medicine through the American Academy of Antiaging Medicine. Antiaging is a hot topic these days and many individuals have hopped onto the bandwagon without obtaining the proper training.
Make sure you are dealing with a physician who can prescribe drugs as well as nutritional products, who takes time with you and doesn’t just focus on hormones or one thing. You want a holistic physician.
Make sure they have completed a residency in traditional medicine and practiced in a field that has given them the skills to diagnose and treat disease-ie, such as family
medicine or internal medicine. They then have the foundation to add antiaging medicine to it competently. Avoid dabblers. You want someone who devotes their practice to this and nothing else, who attends conferences and obtains continuing education.
This is a rapidly changing field and you want a physician who keeps abreast of it. Find a doctor you can talk to and relate to; one who shares your passion for antiaging medicine. Hopefully one who applies it to themselves? If they look their age, run away!
Click Here To Visit The Website of Dr. Kaye at Optimal Wellness MD!
Dr. Kaye thank you very much for taking the time to share your expertise and your perspectives on antiaging medicine with us. Anyone in the Boston area that wants to see a true antiaging doctor, should give Dr. Joseph Kaye a call and visit Bodylogic Boston.
It may well be the best thing you ever do for your health and longevity!
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