Anti Aging Drugs - Nootropics

While many people have tried to make their skin look younger, what most people tend to forget is that making the brain think and work younger is also critical. For more than 30-40 years, we have seen an explosion of patients with various dementias. Alzheimer’s is a common disorder of the brain and characterized by gradual difficulty in thinking, remembering, speaking, reasoning and concentrating. The disorder always gets worse with time. Why Alzheimer’s happens is not known.


The chances of developing Alzheimer’s increases with age. At least 10% of the population has some features of the disease at 65 year and more than 50% of those who are in their 80s.


There has been research which suggests that some genetic alterations may account for the disorder but there is a lot of speculation. If no cure is going to be found for this disease, it is estimated that close 14 million people in North American will have Alzheimer’s disease in the next 30 years.


As the disease progresses, many individuals remain confused and disoriented. Some develop mood alterations, erratic speech, wander off, lose bladder and bowel control and in the final stages become totally incapable of caring for themselves.


Since Alzheimer’s is a disease of aging, a lot of research has been done on anti aging therapies. Presently 2 classes of drugs are used to treat Alzheimer’s- cholinesterase inhibitors and partial glutamate antagonists. Neither class of drugs has been shown to significantly affect the progression of disease and many studies indicate that the drugs are no better than placebo.


In the last decade, a newer class of drugs have been developed, these drugs known as nootropics or smart drugs (brain enhancers) are widely touted to have anti aging or anti Alzheimer effects. Nootropic essentially means –bending or changing of the mind. These new drugs are thought to work by altering or changing the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain and improve the brains ability to stimulate nerve growth. While the manufacturers of these drugs have hyped up claims about these drugs for Alzheimer patients, there are in fact no clinical trials which demonstrate their benefits.


The Nootropic drugs are widely sold all over the internet and in many health food stores. Some of the drugs include piracetam, aniracetam, and oxirecetam. The manufacturers claim that animal work does reveal that these drugs improve memory. Perhaps it is the lack of clinical research which has contributed to our ignorance about these drugs or may be they only work in rats. Whether these pills can reverse aging or any signs of dementia is anyone’s guess. The price of these tablets ranges from $40-$80 for 60 tablets.

Best Anti Aging Face Creams

There are hundreds of anti aging face creams. Almost every website claims that they have the magic bullet. Other websites claim that they have the best formula to help reverse the signs of aging. Some websites list no ingredients and others list 100s of ingredients. Some websites are lavish, elegant and have photos of Hollywood stars. Some firms who sell anti aging face creams list their prices, others do not. For the average consumer this can get pretty confusing. Everyone wants the best anti aging face cream but is there such a cream on the market?



Because there are so many antiaging creams on the market, the consumer has to make an effort to learn about the ingredients and know what to look for.


Before buying any anti aging face cream, read the label and find out what the ingredients are. If there is a product with great claims but no ingredients listed, simply walk away. There is plenty of news nowadays about unscrupulous people adding toxins and fake chemicals in the food industry and unfortunately, the cosmetic industry is not that much better. In fact it is even less regulated than the food industry.


The next step should be to check for testimonials; surf the website and determine what other consumers are saying about the product. Go to the particular website and find out if the customer service is great, write an e mail to the company, ask questions and always read the refund policy. Many manufacturers sell expensive cosmetic products and have strict refund and exchange policies.


Many of the decent beauty skin care sites also have pre and post photos of individuals who have used their anti aging face creams. There are even some cosmetic firms which offer free samples of anti aging face creams. If a company is willing to give you samples, it just shows that they have a lot of confidence in their product.


When it comes to ingredients which have been shown to erase wrinkles and fine lines, look for things like presence of copper peptides, Matrixyl, collagen, hyaluronic acid or Argireline. Do not go for the best smelling product. Products which smell nice usually have lots of synthetic chemicals and you are more likely to develop skin rash rather then get rid of your wrinkles.


For a decent best anti aging cream, be prepared to fork out some money. While there are many beauty firms who sell anti aging creams for less than $ 30, these products simply are not worth it. For a decent anti aging face cream with natural ingredients which can reverse wrinkles, the cost should be somewhere $40-$80. And please do not buy anti aging face creams from abroad. While they may cheap, the cost of shipping from the Philippines may not be worth it. And giving out a credit card to a foreign company online is more than likely to add years to your face.

Red Wine- Is this the Fountain of Youth?

While everyone has been searching for an anti aging pill or developing a formulation of a cosmetic cream, Lo and Behold, one of the most potent anti aging chemicals has been found in one of men’s favorite beverage. Researchers believe that they may have found the fountain of youth in red wine. For decades it was not understood why individuals who drank red wine regularly showed very beautiful and youthful looking skin. At first, everyone thought that this was simply genes, or perhaps the food or the French Riviera or perhaps the French were simply lucky. Little did anyone suspect that it was the red wine.



A few years ago the ingredients in red wine were analyzed and found to contain a substance called Resveratrol. This agent has been extensively studied in the laboratory and found to be a natural anti oxidant. Other studies have shown that many life forms studied in the laboratory were prolonged when minute amounts of Resveratrol was added as a nutrient.


Resveratrol is commonly found in the skin of red grapes and functions as an anti fungal agent in the vineyards. During the fermentation process, the Resveratrol is preserved and remains functional.


How Resveratrol functions as an antiaging agent is not fully understood but there is strong belief that it limits the calorie intake. It is known that individuals who eat less, usually live long. With Resveratrol life extension has been seen in rodents, monkeys and other primates. When the calorie intake is lessened, the blood sugar and cholesterol levels decline, the blood pressure drops and there is excess mobilization of the fat deposits. And this scenario is evident in the French.


When it comes to humans, the French who drink red wine predominantly live a lot longer than most people around the world. These individuals also have much lesser cardiac disease than their American counterparts. And when the skin of these French individuals is examined, there is very little evidence of aging and wrinkles are non existent.


So should we all drink red wine?

Yes, but even among red wines the concentration of Resveratrol varies. Wines from Canada generally contain more of this ingredient than those bought from California. The reason is thought to be the increased moisture and humidity in the north. The increased humidity allows the fungus to thrive and thus grapes produce more Resveratrol to kill the fungus.


How much red wine to drink to produce healthy aging is not really known. Currently some experts recommend drinking one glass of wine on a daily basis.


So the next time you lift your Pinot Noir to a toast, remember, besides friendship and a good dinner, you are also gaining your youth with a glass of red wine.