Don’t Buy the Fountain of Youth

The claims are tempting. Look younger! Feel younger! Reverse the effects
of aging! And get all that in a pill or a cream. These are claims
with no basis in reality, however. You cannot buy youth. In fact, not
only will you waste your money, but you might do yourself harm in the
process. Instead, focus your energy on habits and behaviors that reduce
the effects of aging.
THE SIMPLE FACT is that “no currently marketed intervention has yet
been proved to slow, stop, or reverse human aging,” says Dr. Jay
Olshansky of the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Dr. Olshansky regularly makes announcements highlighting antiaging
products that he says make outrageous claims. One such product
touts its use by Princess Caroline, John Wayne, Yul Brynner, Anthony
Quinn, Natalie Wood, and many other worldwide dignitaries, including
members of the KGB before Communism fell. As Dr. Olshansky notes,
“Ironically, not only is the inventor of the product dead, so are many of
the people he brags about having used his product.
“This is just one of many products being sold throughout the world
with the claim that they will slow or reverse human aging,” Dr. Olshansky
continues. “These products have never been proven to do anything
but line the pockets of those selling them.
“Although there is reason to be optimistic that scientists will eventually
be able to intervene in one or more processes associated with human
aging,” Dr. Olshansky warns, “it is not currently possible to buy a
product that will stop or reverse aging.”
Americans spend more than $15 billion on antiaging products every year.
None have been subject to government testing, and a majority are considered
potentially harmful by government doctors. (University of Illinois at
Chicago 2003)