Desperate Measures for Holding Back the Years

You would have to be hard pressed to go as far as eating dog food in the quest for longevity, which is why researchers who have recently discovered the anti-ageing substance TA-65 are searching for more appealing ways to offer it to the general public!

TA-65 has been extracted from the Chinese herb Astragalus, said to reverse the shortening of telomeres, the protective sheaths for our chromosomes and thus able to slow down the ageing process. As our bodies age, the telomeres shorten and it is this that causes sagging skin, wrinkles and greying hair. The length of our telomeres is so crucial to determining age that already UK insurance companies are planning to sell measuring kits for £400.

There are a number of other extreme ideas presently at the forefront of scientific anti-ageing research. These include swallowing an extract of graveyard bacteria, having a silicon implant inserted in one's brain, and swapping bone marrows!

Another anti ageing product is fucoxanthin, derived from brown algae, a great preventative against wrinkling especially in sunburnt skin according to a recent report by Japanese scientists published in the journal Bioscience, Biotechnology and Biochemistry. Containing lycopene, which is derived from tomatoes and isoflavones found in soya beans, it does not come cheap at £25 for a ten day supply on the internet.

People will go to any extreme to maintain their looks and one measure is to inject with Human Growth Hormone (TGH) even though the benefits are medically unproven to date and may be even dangerous to long term health. Nevertheless increasing numbers of people in the UK are ordering it from the internet hoping it will bring them the fountain of eternal youth.

One such person is Nick Nolte star of the Prince of Tides and 48 Hours. Nick Nolte now 70 says: "The point is to stay healthy as you can up to death." He began to inject himself with TGH as he approached 60 and is clearly just as enthusiastic now about its life enhancing and prolonging qualities as well as a whole range of vitamins and hormones which he takes in daily megadoses.

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