Fragility – Losing Functionality As We Age
Fragility – Losing Functionality As We Age
Jeff Harrison: Welcome back to Living to 120 and Beyond. I’m Jeff Harrison, your host, along with —
Dr Chein: Dr. Edmund Chein
Jeff Harrison: Dr. Chein, in the last episode we talked about this whole thing about people wanting to live longer and shockingly enough, people not wanting to live longer, and we talked about the word “function.”
I know in your industry it’s called anti-aging medicine, but I know you don’t really care for that medicine.
What would you like your specialty to be called?
Dr Chein: I’d like my specialty to be called “longevity medicine.” Longevity is the goal, and medicine is the science that tells us how to get there with the functionality of brain and body.
So I like that term a lot better than “anti-aging.” Because I like to be old, in fact. I like aging. Because I think of what the world has to offer me now — I have an iPhone; I didn’t have that when I was 20. From the iPhone it can tell me where to go, how to go there. It can tell me the best restaurant nearby. The best nightclub nearby. It can tell me all those things.
In fact, I as a doctor, read a peer article and took my iPhone for, oh, a drug that a Chinese patient or that Indian patient was on that I don’t know; they tell me the name, English name, I don’t know what it is, because it’s a foreign brand.
Jeff Harrison: Right.
Dr Chein: I go on Google. In one minute I know exactly what that drug is. In the old days, I don’t know what I would have to go to. I use that all the time to find out things in one minute. I love this time — 2016 — I don’t want to live the year I was 20.
Jeff Harrison: So because of the fact you’re saying it’s OK —
Dr Chein: Absolutely.
Jeff Harrison: — to age, but not necessarily to get older because we talked about that in the last session. If you didn’t catch it and you want to go back and look at that, we talked about “old” was the fear of losing your functions.
You’re saying — I don’t care if I’m 80 or 90, if I haven’t lost my functions I have gotten… I’m aged but I’m not old. Does that make sense?
Dr Chein: Or if I’m old, good. Good to be old if have haven’t lost my functions. I like to be old.
Jeff Harrison: Not a bad thing.
Dr Chein: Not a bad thing at all.
Jeff Harrison: As people get older, though, there is this new kind of word — we become kind of “fragile.”
I remember one time, I was playing golf for a living at the time and I flew back home and I saw my mom; I hadn’t seen her in probably six or eight months. I gave her a hug and she said, “Oh! Be very careful. I broke a rib.”
I’m like, “how did you break a rib? Did you fall?”
She says, “from coughing.”
She had osteoporosis, so she became fragile. Can you talk to us about this whole fragility thing and what that really means.
Dr Chein: When we talk about aging, we must talk about fragility. Because it’s just the opposite of functionality.
I want to give three examples. First example is using me. If you put me — I’m totally healthy — put me in a hospital bed for three weeks, just stayed there for three weeks and would have a nurse come to serve you food and all that.
Jeff Harrison: But you’re bedridden.
Dr Chein: Bedridden. Can’t come and eat. The main thing is you can go to the bathroom.
Jeff Harrison: OK.
Dr Chein: In three weeks, I would have lost muscles. In three weeks I would have some osteoporosis. In three weeks, probably when I stand up to go to my bathroom, I will be wobbling. I would lose my balance, a lot of my balance, and gait.
Just in three weeks.
Jeff Harrison: Wow.
Dr Chein: If I have an identical twin —
Jeff Harrison: I’m sorry to interrupt you. But you’re saying — and we took you as that example and we put you in that bed as a healthy individual.
Dr Chein: As a healthy —
Jeff Harrison: You weren’t even going there because you were sick.
Dr Chein: No.
Jeff Harrison: Wow.
Dr Chein: Totally healthy.
Jeff Harrison: OK. All right. I’m sorry, I just had to clarify that. OK.
Dr Chein: Yes.
Now take that discharged Edmund Chein that had been discharged yesterday after three weeks on a hospital bed. Compared to this Edmund Chein, that’s an “old” Edmund Chein.
Even though, genetically identical, and he had no problem, I had no problem. He had no problem; I have no problem today. But that difference is fragility, that we can avoid by not going to — I could have avoided it by not going to stay bedridden for three weeks.
That is what I want to impart to my audience. You have a choice. You can do it. You don’t have to accept what nature — which is the other image I went through — had to do to you.
Another example would be pneumonia. We, at the age of say, 50s, if we get a pneumonia, our friends, relatives will say, oh, he’ll be OK. They won’t call you, even.
Jeff Harrison: Right.
Dr Chein: “I heard you have a pneumonia.” They won’t even call you. “He’ll be fine.”
But if we were 80; we had a pneumonia. We will get some calls from our relatives and friends — “hey, are you OK?” — because they expect you may not make it.
Jeff Harrison: From the same thing as a 50 year old?
Dr Chein: Same as a 50 year old. That is fragility.
Jeff Harrison: Ah, OK.
Dr Chein: Then there are 80-year-olds who get a pneumonia and come out of it. Why do you die from pneumonia and the other guy didn’t die? Fragility.
Jeff Harrison: Interesting.
Dr Chein: Functionality in the body. Body’s function, organ function…
Another example would be a fall, a slip and fall. We hear that all the time. You and I… I fell last week on a curbside. You know, everyone was worrying around me and I got up and just — oh, I tore my pants — but I went on; nothing happened. I just scratched and bled inside. Nothing happened to me.
Now if you hear somebody, 80, slip and fall. Oh, probably a fracture. Probably a fracture from osteoporosis. Probably it’s the hip. Probably is going to go to the hospital, stay in the hospital and from then on, he will never regain his normal daily activity again, ever. He will never live the same. Whether they operated on him, not operated on him, gave him a cane, gave him a walker, doesn’t matter. He will never live the same lifestyle again, ever.
Jeff Harrison: Because he now has some —
Dr Chein: Fragility.
Jeff Harrison: — fragility and lost functionality.
Dr Chein: Yes. Exactly.
Given that same, another 60 year old who hasn’t lost function perhaps — Jack LaLanne. Slip and fall and through that, he would be fine. He got up; he would move on. Except he will die of flu the next week, but he got up from the fall OK.
Jeff Harrison: Right.
Dr Chein: You understand me?
Jeff Harrison: Right. That makes total sense.
Dr Chein: Yes. And that is the fragility that we can avoid.
Jeff Harrison: Let’s talk about that. How can fragility in aging, how can we prevent that?
Dr Chein: Very easily. We can prevent that by three simple things. Nutrition; hormones, replace your hormones; and exercise.
That concept has recently been supported by a very respected scientist, Dr. Cynthia Kenyon. She is the discoverer of the longevity gene, the daf-2 gene. She discovered this gene in all kinds of animals; originally it was in the seagull, not all seagulls live to 100. Those who have daf-2 gene live to be 100.
Jeff Harrison: So just because I was a seagull, I didn’t necessarily get that gene.
Dr Chein: No.
Jeff Harrison: Oh, OK.
Dr Chein: Only if you’re a lucky seagull. You got a daf-2 gene; you live to 100. Not all sea turtles live to 100. Only the lucky sea turtle gets to live to 100 that have the daf-2 gene and she found the daf-2 genes in mammals and men too.
Jewish — there’s a group of Jews in, it says that sometimes you go to bible — Jews are the blessed race of God —
Jeff Harrison: Wow.
Dr Chein: — the chosen people. Man, like it or not, this is the proof. That’s the way I look at it.
Jeff Harrison: So they have that gene?
Dr Chein: They have that gene. Actually Jews have the daf-2 gene. They live to 90, 100 easily. We don’t have that gene.
Jeff Harrison: Interesting.
Dr Chein: Dr. Kenyon says — what does that gene do? A dumb thing. Let the hormones in. These animals, these people, their hormones get into their cells easier than your hormones and my hormones. It’s like nature puts on this gate by birth. The hormones aren’t going to get in there because we want them to die. God, or Buddha, or Allah, want us to die; we have to go by generation in generations. This has to be turned off in humans, human race.
So that mechanism is built in there. But those lucky ones, be it animal or human beings, have that gene. The hormones get into the cells and the nucleus a lot easier.
Jeff Harrison: Wow.
Dr Chein: I don’t have to be a smart scientist to suddenly click — hey, there’s an easier way. Just supplement my hormones, bio-identical; they’ll go into my cells and nucleus just like if I have that daf-2 gene.
Jeff Harrison: Just like that gate was open.
Dr Chein: Yes. I don’t have to say — oh, I want to wish I’m a Jew now. I don’t want to do that.
Jeff Harrison: — or a seagull.
Dr Chein: — or a seagull, or turtle.
All I have to do is supplement my hormones to the 20-year-old level, bio-identical, and I’m just as lucky.
Jeff Harrison: — and that was proven by this doctor in her research.
Dr Chein: Dr. Cynthia Kenyon. Yes.
Jeff Harrison: Which quite frankly, you’ve proven that since what — 1999?
Dr Chein: Absolutely. Yes.
But it’s a little different to see it from a different angle. I did it through studies mirroring functions and then all this stuff and take years to be statistically significant. 200 was not enough for me. 20 years ago 200 people laughed at me — since 200 people reversed their biological age and reversed their functions.
So what? It’s only 200.
Jeff Harrison: So you —
Dr Chein: Yes. I did that. I did get my study published. When I co-operated with the Medical College of Wisconsin, they wanted “1000 Dr. Chein. If you can’t come up with that number, don’t talk to us.”
Jeff Harrison: So you did that?
Dr Chein: I did that. 1000 people. I had to go through that, when I go through the traditional way, I have to go through 1000 people to prove that I was supplementing hormones . . . is reverses age, extends health span. In fact, the US Government gave me a patent for that because I showed them enough data that the patent office said — OK, we got to give you that; nobody ever thought of that. Nobody ever dreamed it before. Nobody can claim it again. You, Edmund Chein, got it; you discovered it.
Just like Dr. Cynthia Kanyon…
Nobody can ever say — I discovered the daf-2 gene — no. BS. You’re a liar. Here’s the patent. She discovered it.
So I was the discoverer of hormones able to maintain health span, extend health span and reverse biological age. That was the hard way.
Now she comes from the other way, the flip side. She discovered the gene first. What does the gene do? Ah, she also worked on it. And it turns out the gene was a hormonal mechanism.
That confirms. When the truth is there, it matches. You understand? No matter which side you start from — you can start from the gene side; you can start from the experimental side. They meet; they concur.
Jeff Harrison: Science is saying — hey, what you did, she proves it; what she did; you proved it.
Dr Chein: Exactly. We supported each other.
Jeff Harrison: So when you bring this back, you say there are those three things that must happen — nutrition, exercise but if you miss this third one, which is this supplemental, right?
Dr Chein: Right.
Jeff Harrison: — and then you miss that.
Dr Chein: You miss the whole thing. The whole thing will not work. In fact, I should bring this up. When I found out the DNA age to be 34 at age 61 —
Jeff Harrison: Wow.
Dr Chein: — when I found that out, I said “wow, let’s go to my patients.” I wrote every patient I had who followed me for over ten years. I said “OK, guys, go tell them your test; we’re going to get on CNN.” We, as a group, will get on CNN.
Jeff Harrison: Right.
Dr Chein: Because we will all be 34 years DNA test and 61 or 65 or 70, whatever age that you are, there will be a big gap, a 30 year gap. We’re going to make news.
No. Some happy, like me. Some disappointing. “Hey, Dr. Chein, I’ve been following you for 20 years. How come I don’t have the same result?”
There you go. Nutrition.
I didn’t believe in nutrition. I only believe in hormones. You are a hormone guy. I thought if I followed you with your hormones, that’s good enough.
No. Not. It’s like a car; it’s like maintenance. If you want to drive your car long and drive it 400,000 miles, you better have more frequent oil changes.
Jeff Harrison: Yes.
Dr Chein: Same thing.
Jeff Harrison: Rotate the tires.
Dr Chein: Rotate the tires more often. Pay more attention to your car. So if you’re going to run your organs, you know, all the way to 80, to function like a 50 or 40, you better pay a lot of nutrients — oil changes — to help your organs do that. More so than everybody else who don’t want to do that.
My patients came out with different kind of numbers, some very disappointing, only five years, seven years younger DNA-wise than their birth certificate. That’s when — oh, my god; I didn’t know nutrients were so important.
Nutrients are very important.
Jeff Harrison: So let’s bring this back full circle. We’re talking about today, fragility, and what that really means. That’s loss of functionality. Like you said, it’s the opposite of functionality. That’s that one thing in that — I’m going to say — that larger group… I’m not going to discount the group that says that 20-30% said “I want to live to 120.” Do you think… I know you’re speculating, but maybe not, that they’re saying when they raise their hand… Like I did. I said I wanted to live to 120. I never even thought that I wouldn’t live to 120 and not function at the very best I could, so I already kind of played that out in my head, right? But the vast majority said, “no, I want to die.” — on the levels that CDC said. It says maturity — men, X; women, X — because of loss of functionality. Does that make sense?
Dr Chein: That makes sense.
Jeff Harrison: So now, it’s very, very clear. You have to have those three legs in that. You can’t just do one. The guys and gals I’ve seen that just go to the gym and then they eat improperly, they say, “well, I go to the gym, so I can go and have those…” — whatever that is that’s not good for you.
Dr Chein: In fact, those people who go to the gym — I better clarify that. It better be resistance exercise, not aerobic. When you go to a gym, you see a lot of people doing treadmill; what is that? Aerobic — it makes you age faster. In fact, in my research for athletes —
Jeff Harrison: Wait a second. What was that? I just heard the treadmill industry just sell fewer treadmills.
Dr Chein: My research — the whole world’s research, all scientists agree, resistance exercise helps all the things we talk about. But aerobic exercises does not. That’s kind of that I think damages us, contrary to what we do. Because I found, my research, of all the runners in the world… You would imagine the African runners and the marathon runners, and all these runners, they are thin, fit, they’ve been doing it 20-30 years — they would be living to 80, 90, perhaps 100 —
Jeff Harrison: Yeah…
Dr Chein: None. Zero, lives past 60. If you, the audience, can find a runner who lives beyond 60, give me the name, I want to check on her biography. None, zero. Because of the oxygenation, because when they run, they increase the oxidation a lot more than average people. So they “oxidize” themselves to death.
Jeff Harrison: Interesting.
Dr Chein: — earlier death than you and me. So I wouldn’t do treadmill. I would not run at all. When I go to the gym and I see these people running…
Jeff Harrison: I don’t even get on the treadmill. Thank goodness I don’t.
Dr Chein: Resistance. I hear people say, “I don’t have money to go to the gym.” Easy, your body is body weight, use your body weight — pushups, squats… Get a five pound dumbbell; just move around a little bit. That’s all. That’s all you need to do. Very minimum; five minutes, three times a week. That’s all you need to do.
Jeff Harrison: So it doesn’t need to be heavy duty stuff. It’s just mixing those three together; that’s the “magic elixir” if you will.
First of all, it’s a great journey you’re taking us on today, because it’s all about that — again, overcoming that fear of living longer, because that fear as you said in our last program was, the fear of dementia or not being able to take care of ourselves.
You’re saying, if we’re aware of these things, of the exercise and the hormone supplements, we can live longer and aging is not a bad thing to retain your functionality.
Dr Chein: It’s a good thing. Exactly.
Jeff Harrison: This is amazing.
I know we’re going to talk on our next program about this even deeper. Any last thoughts about the functionality — specifically about fragility — because we talked a little bit about can that fragility and aging be prevented and you said, yes, it can be.
I think you mentioned the three things. I’ll say it one more time. The nutrients —
Dr Chein: Yes.
Jeff Harrison: The exercise; anaerobic, not aerobic. Anaerobic is resistance.
Dr Chein: Resistance, yes.
Jeff Harrison: — and then hormones.
Dr Chein: Hormones. Very, very important.
Jeff Harrison: So check it out. Are you doing those three things? And if you’re only missing one, it’s almost like having a car with three wheels on it. It’s going to be tough. It’s going to be a rough ride. Probably not going to last as long.
Dr Chein: Yes. When a patient comes to me, whatever age — I have diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol; I’m on all these drugs — I say, “sir, I tell you why; over the last 30 years, you have been neglecting your nutrition; you have had a poor lifestyle and you did not check your hormones, and they’ve been bad to the point where all your organs now fail.” That’s what I tell them.
I tell them, “you can reverse. There’s a chance for you to go back. You can reverse that; you can reverse that by doing these three things.” Check your hormones, supplement your hormones to your 20 year old level, supplement your nutrition…
Jeff Harrison: Even thought they’ve kind of abused that nutrition, or that exercise for the last 30 years.
Dr Chein: Yes. You can catch up.
Jeff Harrison: That’s encouraging. It’s not the end of the road.
Dr Chein: Yesterday I talked to a patient of mine. He is said he is willing to go to ICCM conference, a conference of pastors, 900 pastors, August 2nd. He’s a pastor; he came to see me last year and he’s 70. 70, he was totally out of shape — cholesterol sky high and everything. He was having dementia, a little bit senility, his wife said, and he knows that too. He thought he was hopeless. 70, was on drugs for cholesterol and blood pressure and everything. I said no, it’s not too late. He said, not too late at 70? I said, no, not too late at 70. He said, OK, I trust you. I’ll do what you tell me.
Did I give him drugs? No. I said, slowly, we’ll wean you off all your drugs. I didn’t know until yesterday, when I called him to confirm. I said, I’m going to talk about you this coming August. Will you be willing to let me talk about it? And will you be willing to — two things…
- I’ll talk about it without mentioning your name. And 2. If you’re willing, better, to stand up and say, I am that person, Dr. Chein.
Jeff Harrison: Yes.
Dr Chein: I said, it would be wonderful… I’m asking you… He said, “stop, I’ll stand any time. And I’ll tell them,” he said, “I’ll tell them that my cholesterol is totally in the middle, and my doctor doesn’t even understand what I did.”
Jeff Harrison: Wow. So it doesn’t have to be complicated.
Dr Chein: It’s not complicated. You can do it to a 70 year old. And I said what are you doing every day, now? I go to exercise in the gym.
Jeff Harrison: So he’s regained his function?
Dr Chein: All of it. He’s tickled to death. At 70.
Jeff Harrison: Speaking of function — as we wrap up here today — I don’t want to forget this. If I want to come and have my functionality tested… Because it would expose how fragile I am, right?
Dr Chein: Exactly.
Jeff Harrison: OK. So if I wanted to come in and have my functionality test done, you offer that here don’t you?
Dr Chein: Free.
Jeff Harrison: Tell us about that.
Dr Chein: The test takes about 40 minutes. It tests your visual reaction time, which changes with age, auditory reaction time… Every test… Every function that it tests, declines with age. That’s why it’s a functionality test for aging. Memory. It gives you numbers going forward and it wants you to reverse. Average to people, 12 numbers minimum. If you can’t reverse 12 numbers, your brain is aging. Then they’ll test your vision acuity and your pulmonary function. We all know that pulmonary function is a biological measure of aging. You’re mom’s emphysema, even though she is not “old” her lungs are gone, she’s old. So, pulmonary function and cardiac function. All of these data compiled compared to a database of 1000 Americans of the similar age as yours, and gives you your reading as compared to other Americans. So where do you stand? What’s your biological age by function?
Jeff Harrison: So if I do this test… Let’s say I come in and do this test and let’s say, I’m 50, but it shows I’m 60.
Dr Chein: You have to do something.
Jeff Harrison: You can help me, like you did with the pastor that you met with?
Dr Chein: Absolutely.
Jeff Harrison: OK.
Dr Chein: You could say, “I don’t want to do anything; I just want to exercise.” Good. Do the resistance. “I don’t want to do anything; I just want to do resistance exercise and nutrition; I don’t believe in hormones.” Fine. I tell you when nutrition . . . only. I’ll do it your way, if you believe me at all. “OK, I want to do the whole kaboodle.” Good. OK, then hormones and nutrition and exercise.
I even have patients who… Yesterday. Husband and wife from Thailand, refereed to me from my US patient, and they’re on business. And the US patient was raving about me as a doctor. He was saying, “you’ve got to see him; you’ve got to see him.” So the husband and wife came in. The wife said, when it came to . . . no way. I’m not going to shoot anything into my body twice a day. I’m not going to do that. I won’t do it. Just husband and wife. Both from Thailand. Different, totally different. One willing to do . . . one not willing. I said, fine, you don’t… But you do the other hormones. The other . . .
You see. So I’ll do it your way. You just have to know what is necessary to maintain health span and maintain functionality, brain-wise and physically.
Jeff Harrison: Yes. So all they have to do now and all they have to do is, there’s a number on the screen… I believe it’s 877 230 2144 I believe is the number. It’s on the screen. All they have to do is call that number and set an appointment. They can’t just walk in. Because you’re doing this all day.
Dr Chein: Exactly.
Jeff Harrison: Then you’ll give them the readout and if they want to know more information, there’s someone there, you’re there, or someone’s there to answer their questions.
Dr Chein: Yes.
Jeff Harrison: I’ve done this before, and this is an extensive program, and it is very eye-opening, because it is an extensive program, but it is well worth the effort.
Dr Chein: At any expense level you want to deal with it. If you only want to do only exercise, it’s free. Do it on your own at home, in your office. You want nutrients, minimum. How much can nutrients cost a month? See what I’m saying? Or do you want to do hormones, all the hormones except . . . That’s not very expensive. You know, a couple hundred bucks a month. Even . . . I’ll do that too for you. It’s scale. Whatever they are willing to put forth for their functionality in brain and body.
Jeff Harrison: So if you’re feeling some of those, that fragility, if you will, whether it’s loss of balance, concerned about falling down, maybe you’re forgetting your phone number, phone numbers easily; those kind of things that are tell-tale signs — I would recommend starting out with that.
Call the number on there; make an appointment; come in and start with that functionality test, and in that you might discover through conversations with Dr. Chein or his staff, that you’re missing two or three of those components. That you know what, no matter what you do, you’re behind the eight-ball. But it can be turned around.
Dr Chein: Yes. Exactly.
Jeff Harrison: Well, Dr. Chein, as always, thank you so much. You are just a wealth of knowledge. Just this information about talking about why wouldn’t everybody want to live to 120 and realizing, because of that, they uncover, there’s kind of that “elephant on the couch” nobody wants to talk about this because, I don’t want somebody else having to take care of me as I get older.
Dr Chein: Exactly.
Jeff Harrison: So thank you so much.
Dr Chein: You’re welcome.
Jeff Harrison: Thank you for joining us. I’m Jeff Harrison, on Living to 120 and Beyond. We look forward to seeing you again. I’m here with —
Dr Chein: Doctor Edmund Chein.
Jeff Harrison: We’ll see you next time.