Style MD
healing themselves while we sleep,” she remarks. “Our bodies secrete the most hormones while we sleep. That’s what fixes the things in our body that might be out of sorts. People who secrete normal amounts of hormones live 5-10 years longer, according to many medical studies.” Thus, Dr. Harding says, if a person has a hard time sleeping, it follows that their body would have a harder time repairing itself because less hormones would be released, leading to the kinds of ailments related to aging. “No one else is doing this in the area at the moment. Our practice is really setting the bar for anti-aging medicine in Central Florida,” says Dr. Harding. Advances in technology in the past ten years have helped Dr. Harding in her practice by providing her with new and innovative techniques to treat her patients based on factors critical to their health and the aging process. “This is not just about living longer, either. It’s about living longer well,” she says. Her real passion goes much deeper—far underneath the skin. “I want to make a real and lasting difference in my patients’ lives, and we practice medicine that will do just that from the inside out,” says Dr. Harding. She explains that in the DNA sequence, there are certain areas that determine a person’s true age. Simply, the theories behind her treatments are that if she can pinpoint the reasons why someone’s body reacts in a certain way as they age (diabetes, heart disease, dementia and other age-related ailments), she can fix those particular problems and, in essence, reverse the aging process.
When a new patient comes to Dr. Harding’s practice, he or she spends a half-day or full day undergoing a series of evaluations—a total body evaluation. Some of the things she measures: bone density, body mass composition, antioxidant levels, metabolism and comprehensive blood work that measures things like insulin and high levels of homocysteine—the amino acid related to higher instance of heart disease and stroke—among others. “We also measure a resting metabolic rate. This helps determine how many calories someone can eat and still lose weight. Most of our patients need to lose a few pounds,” says Dr. Harding. “According to many studies,” she adds, “the number one thing that slows the aging process is caloric restriction. Not just eating less, though, eating fewer calories and more nutrients.”
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One of the reasons she left traditional medicine was because she was tired of telling people bad news. The wonderful thing about Dr. Deborah Harding’s practice is that now she gets to tell people the good news. She comments, “I love telling people that these ailments are preventable, that we can help them live a healthier, better life.” Dr. Harding is a great role model: an athlete, an intellectual and a beautiful woman. Her life is the model of what she preaches—better living through better health.<
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According to many studies, the number one thing that slows the aging process is caloric
restriction. Not just eating less, though, eating fewer calories and more nutrients.
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Dr. Harding not only measures her patients for ‘normal’ levels of important vitamins, organic compounds and body composition, she works to have her patients reach ‘optimal’ levels of health. “If a patient is deficient in vitamin D, which helps the body absorb calcium and lowers the risk of cancer, we’ll suggest that they receive shots or other treatments to reach optimal levels of vitamin D.” “These tests and evaluations help us to help our patients protect their DNA. We help them protect the thing that makes their bodies function correctly,” says Dr. Harding. “We measure things in the practice every day where we look at a person from every aspect we can to try and figure out what we can do to protect their body from the negative effects of aging.”
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