Steve Cooper, MD, MBA, ABAARM, FAAMM

In September 2022, I became board-certified in Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine to address the needs of patients who wanted something more than traditional medicine could deliver.

Most of what A4M espouses integrates seamlessly with traditional primary care but with a more holistic approach called “functional medicine.” The focus is more on prevention than treating the sequelae of diseases.

The A4M approach divides the body into 5 systems: Triad 1 (energy: adrenal/thyroid/pancreas), Triad 2 (gut-immune-brain), Triad 3 (vascular), Triad 4 (detoxification: liver, lymph, kidneys) and Triad 5 (hormone balance: testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone). A patient’s signs and symptoms are assessed, and ailments are grouped under the corresponding triad where there might be a problem. A large emphasis is placed on lifestyle changes (diet, exercise, and stress management) along with supplements and hormone replacement therapy as adjuncts to traditional meds.

One intriguing area of functional medicine, in which science is outpacing traditional medicine, is the idea of longevity medicine. If you have not listened to Peter Attia MD, I encourage you to check him out - he is a Johns Hopkins-trained surgeon who now devotes his practice to helping people live longer, healthier lives. Here is a link to his podcast called “The Drive”:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peter-attia-drive/id1400828889

Obviously, the idea that you can actually slow aging and improve not only life span but also health span is controversial, but the science is there.

If you want to read an interesting treatise on whether we can truly inhibit or reverse aging, Dr. David Sinclair of Harvard Medical School wrote a best-selling book on the subject in 2020 called Lifespan -here’s the link-  

https://www.amazon.com/Lifespan-Why-Age-Dont-Have/dp/0008380325/ref=nodl_ - It’s a great read. 

When I turned 50, I wanted to do everything in my power to slow down the clock. Now, I am convinced that we can.