Gene James - The Fountain of Truth: Outsmart Hype, False Hope, and Heredity to Recalibrate How You Age

Health Communications, Inc.

Deerfield Beach, Florida

www.hcibooks.com

This book contains general advice and is not intended to be, nor should it be, used as a substitute for specific medical advice from a physician.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

James, Genie.

The fountain of truth : outsmart hype, false hope, and heredity to recalibrate how you age / Genie James, MMSc, with C.W. Randolph Jr., MD.

pages cm

ISBN 978-0-7573-1715-6 (pbk.)

ISBN 0-7573-1715-4 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7573-1716-3 (ePub)

ISBN 0-7573-1716-2 (ePub)

1. LongevityPopular works. 2. AgingPreventionPopular works.

3. Medical misconceptionsMiscellanea. 4. Medicine, PopularMiscellanea.

I. Randolph, C. W. II. Title.

RA776.75.J35 2013

613.2dc23

2013004587

2013 Genie James.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

HCI, its logos, and its marks are trademarks of Health Communications, Inc.

Publisher:

Health Communications, Inc.

3201 S.W. 15th Street

Deerfield Beach, FL 33442-8190

Cover images Fotolia.com, 2013

Interior design and formatting by
Lawna Patterson Oldfield

E-PUB formatted by Dawn Von Strolley Grove

Because I want them to know now what

I wish I had known then,

this ones for the girls, especially:

Shelley

Sarah

Danika

Lulu

Ashley

Rilyn

Meghan Grace

Madelyn Hope

Bella

Olivia

Julie

Tovah

and

Girls Inc. of Jacksonville, FL, Nashville, TN and Northwest Oregon

Contents

Acknowledgments

Prologue

Introduction

PART ONE: Your Age
of Opportunity

CHAPTER FIVE: Step 4: Find a Doctor
Who Can Help

PART TWO: More Natural Tips
to Dial Back Your Age

CHAPTER SIX: Four More Belly-Blasting Secrets

CHAPTER SEVEN: Super Supplements

CHAPTER EIGHT: Whats Good for Your Waist
Is Great for Your Face

PART THREE: A Fresh Look
at Anti-aging Truths
As Old As Dirt

CHAPTER TEN: FaithA Proven Path to Wellness

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Play More Sports

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Matter, No Matter Your Age

Epilogue

Appendix A: Favorite Belly Flat Recipes

Breakfast

Appendix B: Resources

References

With Gratitude

M y mother, Betty Frank Sandusky Williams, always believedand told me emphaticallythat I could be and do anything I wanted. I wanted to please her, to make her proud, but for decades I waffled through more ambitions than boyfriends, never quite finding myself or purpose until my mid-thirties. Today at fifty-three, I have found my passion: writing for and speaking to women about health and aging. I am also increasingly jazzed about running a healthcare company while championing the growth of women-owned businesses. My life, my work and this book are embellished with my mothers fingerprints. I like to believe all are legacies she would relish.

Writing this book has been an especial privilege. Conversations with hundreds of women created the framework for a fresh dialogue on aging. From that platform, many busy physicians and medical researchers took time to painstakingly walk me through how emerging optimal aging science can translate into day-to-day lifestyle choices. Foremost among these game-changing healers is my husband and business partner C.W. (Randy) Randolph, Jr., MD. Heart and hats off to you, babe!

Yet this book would still be only wishful thinking had it not been for the belief and tenacity of Jill Marsal, founding partner of the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. Then, Health Communications, Inc. (HCI)our publisher for From Hormone Hell to Hormone Well and From Belly Fat to Belly Flat stepped up to move my idea from concept to print. Much gratitude goes to Peter Vegso, president of HCI, for believing this book could make a difference in womens lives. Deep felt thanks also to Allison Janse, gifted editor and wise counsel, for guiding me away from the banal towards new information women need to hear now.

Kudos too to Kim Weiss, HCIs director of Communications, and Nannette Noffsinger, our media and public relations consultant. For close to a decade, Nannette has proven to be a rare blend of media coach, cheerleader and friend... one I would have thought out-of-my-league as she produced NBCs Today Show for over ten years and continues to work extensively around the world for NBC News. Thank heavens she is so down-to-earth lovely and, also, believes in this message.

Finally, my deepest gratitude goes to our medical professionals and staff of both Dr. Randolphs Ageless and Wellness Medical Center and our Natural Medicine Pharmacy. Each day your skills and commitment translate theory and academic medical science into a life-changing healing ministry for the patients we serve. You all are incredible.

A t the supposed midpoint of my life, two events forced me to internalize a duo of heart-nuking truths. The first: Laura Randolphs death. The second: my first gray pubic hair. Both snuck up on me. Both sucked.

I should have seen Lauras death coming. We were uncommon best friends, she being my husbands first wife. Nevertheless, from the very first encounter, I was enchanted by her bubbly laugh, off-cuff Nora Ephron wit, and wicked cool style. Laura struggled with a rare hybrid of ovarian cancer off and on for twenty-five years, yet her seemingly boundless tenacity buoyed hopefulness, even optimism in those who loved her. Those last months I refused to see my friend leaving us millimeter by millimeter.

The pubic hair, the gray pubic hair, is shallow by comparison. But thats meboth deep and shallow. I sat on the toilet completely flummoxed. I rarely wear glasses when going to the bathroom. When I do, I seldom scrutinize down there.

How long has it been there? Do I pluck? Has Randy seen it?

There was no way around these two magnitudinous facts. I was aging; someday I would die.

At some juncture in time, all of us are brought to our knees by the undeniable truths that we are no longer young and we will someday die. However, my personal come-to-Jesus moment was ironic: as chief executive officer of Dr. Randolphs Ageless and Wellness Medical Center, I had skin in the game of our cultures American-Idolish search for the latest and greatest fountain of youth. Actually, I had more than financial security and a career path invested: Dr. Randolph is my husband, Randy.

Randys Ageless and Wellness Medical Center is internationally recognized as a center of clinical excellence in anti-aging medicine. Our medical professionals treat more than ten thousand patients each year. As CEO, information on the latest and greatest anti-aging procedures and products swamped my desk; I sorted it into one of three buckets:

• Mind-bending research written by highly credentialed physician pioneers typically housed in respected academic medical centers;
• Questionable studies written by medical researchers with financial ties to the fountain-of-youth potions they plug;
• Borderline-trashy marketing hype.

A fact: In this millennium, medical miracles have the potential to reduce our risk of chronic disease while positively impacting our long-term health, sexuality, and longevity. These radical advances are retooling the healthcare industry. What this means to you, me, our children, and generations to come is that we can increasingly get a heads-up before trouble hits.