Till 20, you are in a hurry to grow up. The pangs set in as you reach 25. And by the time you touch 30, you just wish you could press the stop button, reverse the biological clock and stay forever in Peter Pan mode. Gerascophobia or in plainspeak, the phobia of ageing, is not a modern phenomenon. History is replete with tales of man’s fascination with youth. Who can forget Puranic King Yayati swapping his age with son Puru or Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León’s attempt to discover the fabled ‘Fountain of Youth’?

In his obsession with youthful looks, man has turned to nature for inspiration. Cleopatra’s beauty rituals comprising milk and honey are legendary. So are the sandalwood, turmeric, honey, gram flour routine of Indian beauties from time immemorial. Beauty is indeed not skin deep. We are what we eat. And this is the basis of Orthomolecular (in lay term it means straightening out molecules) Medicine, which has been in vogue in the Western world for more than half-a-century. Orthomolecular or megavitamin therapy focuses on the right nutritional molecules in the body, in the right amounts, for the maximum benefit.

Dr Amitabh Pandit, one of the pioneers of this science in India, says that the therapy can be used to correct or normalize the chemistry of the body at the cell level. He says, “The premise of this science is that every disease is the result of a disturbance in the balance of the elements that the human body is composed of. And by infusing the body with the right doses of minerals and vitamins, one can heal the body and retain youthful looks for a longer period.” Our bodies are regenerating all the time, the external manifestation of which can be seen in the growth of nails and hair. Having food in certain compositions can, hence, have an anti-ageing effect.

By adopting a healthy lifestyle, one can postpone the onset of age-related problems like wrinkles, crow’s feet, laugh lines, sagging facial tissues, under-eye bags, puffiness, et al. A healthy diet increases the longevity of cells to a maximum of five years, as compared to their average onetwo years of shelf life. So when your cells live longer and need to regenerate a lot lesser, thanks to your healthy lifestyle, you can successfully slow down the process of ageing.

For those of us, who have wondered at the agelessness of screen divas like Rekha and Hema Malini, the answer to a great extent would lie in the food they consume.

Dr Pandit, who along with his mother Minnie, has authored Anti-Ageing Exotic Blends, a compilation of juices with anti-ageing effects, says the key is synthesizing the ingredients in the right proportion, thereby multiplying their effects.

In contemporary times, ageing is accelerated by secondary factors like smoking and drinking. Lifestyle too contributes in a major fashion through processed, canned food and the fast spreading fast food culture. The food that we consume is stripped off all nutrition. In addition to this, the so-called healthy fruit juices, which come with the comforting label ‘no added sugar and preservatives’ are anything but healthy. The very fact that they last longer than freshly prepared juices calls the bluff on the ‘no preservatives’ claim. Packaged soups too, with dehydrated vegetables, are squashed off all nutrition.

This is where natural blends come in. To be consumed within 4-5 hrs (kept in a flask or a container with a tight lid) of making, they flood the cells and tissues with a stream of micro-nutrients, energizing the body, providing it with the stamina and suppleness of youth. And as a bonus, smooth, wrinklefree, glowing skin.

So chuck those half-yearly painful jabs of botox, cosmetic wrinkle fillers, expensive tummy tucks, face lift procedures and tubes and tubes of anti-wrinkle cream. Get all set to make the mirror your best friend. All you need is a glassful of green to get the glow back on your face forever!

Courtesy: Pics and recipes from
‘Anti-Ageing Exotic Blends’