Anti-Aging is something of a buzzword in today’s marketplace: the
medical community, the marketing community and nearly every community
in between seems to have been captured by this craze. What exactly is
anti-aging? The concept is to reduce the visual signs of a person’s age
to make one appear younger, more vibrant and more beautiful. While
there are a range of methods and procedures available to the public to
accomplish anti-aging, the patient themselves must be willing to make
changes to his or her lifestyle in order to sustain the changes
provided by his or her physician.
Botox,
or Botulinum toxin, is a neurotoxic protein that is in fact one of the
most poisonous substances known to man! Despite the dramatic
definition, the use of very small amounts of this toxin to treat muscle
spasms in anti-aging medicine is widespread. Botox relaxes muscle
spasms in a way that can reduce wrinkles, by training specific muscle
groups to relax and lower tension. Botox effects wear off between
three and six months, and will need to be re-administered to maintain
results.
From the dental aspect, Botox can be used
to control a gummy smile. Botox relaxes the muscles in a person’s upper
lip – known as hyperactive upper lip – which contributes to a gummy
smile. When Botox is injected into the muscle group in a person’s lip,
the toxin actually relaxes the muscles and restricts the muscle’s
ability to overly contract upward thus showing excessive gum tissue .
Botox can also be used to control facial muscle spasms that contribute
not only to wrinkles and frown lines, but to headaches as well. By
undergoing Botox therapy, the muscles in the lips and face can be
trained to eventually relax on their own.
Although Botox may sound like a miracle
drug for reducing the appearance of gummy smiles, fine lines and even
headaches, one must remember that any anti-aging treatment plan is
dual-fold: the patient must be committed to their health in order to
achieve long-lasting results. Patient compliance is key in any medical
treatment plan, but when it comes to anti-aging, a healthy lifestyle
can make all the difference in the world. Diet is one of the most
important factors in patient compliance. Everyone has heard the age-old
saying “you are what you eat,” – it is absolutely true.
A patient who is concerned with his or her
physical health and appearance – and is willing to go through Botox
therapy to achieve anti-aging results – must realize that his or her
diet is vital to achieving long-lasting results. Vegetables, lean
proteins and minerals are all vital in achieving healthy skin, bones
and organ function. A poor diet high in refined sugars, fat and
carbohydrates with poor habits (like alcohol consumption and smoking,
staying up late and no exercise) all will contribute to a faster aging
process. We all wishto be young and healthy forever – it all starts
with healthy choices.
