Did you know that chamomile tea is recommended by doctors to reduce hypertension? Or that Indian Ayurvedic herbs like Ashvagandha are being recommended by clinical specialists in London as stress-lowering agents? Or that walking half an hour a day can improve the quality of your sleep? Dr Zulya Maizetova, an anti-ageing expert who’s based in the UK, shares these useful tid-bits on a visit to India and relates her experience of ageing problems in urban scenarios the world over.
What’s causing worry
While ageing is a concern for most global societies, Dr Zulya’s primary contention is that most of us live in a world radically altered to what it was even 50 years ago. With issues like global warming, climate change and pollution on a macro level and hypertension, mental stress and lack of sufficient exercise on a micro level, citizens often need to tackle premature ageing issues. “The most common complaints that clients come to me with are fatigue, a difficulty in losing weight and also the lack of proper sleep.”
Lifestyle change
Dr Zulya adopts a two-pronged approach to dealing with such ageing issues. “The most important thing requiring to be managed is the lifestyle factor which consists primarily of diet and exercise issues. If necessary, we back it up with medical intervention in the form of prescribing medications. The essential thing is to use a custom-made approach that involves the client’s genetic profiling, a history of disease factors in the family and the person’s dispositional sensitivities.”
The right foods
Having been in India, Dr Zulya unabashedly recommends fruits (“pineapple, kiwi fruit and fruits with Vitamin C”) and vegetables (“dark green leafy vegetables are excellent”) in large proportions. She cautions against the overuse of milk in the diet of the elderly — “since it contains an enzyme that becomes progressively difficult to digest after one crosses the age of 25”. She isn’t thrilled about Indian desserts because she finds them too rich in refined sugars. “I’d say less or no white bread, no white rice and less refined sugars helps to stay younger.”
Dr Zulya’s clinic also undertakes botox therapy treatments for clients seeking a youthful look though she personally has mixed feelings on it. “Though I am against toxins and using botox therapy involves toxins to some extent — one has to weigh the issues concerned. For a lot of women who want to look younger, it is a psychological aid and confidence tool. Its long-term effect is certainly toxic but the amount of toxins are small, so it depends on the client.”
