“Remember that there is only one important time and it is Now. The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion.” Leo Tolstoy
In just under a century, our life expectancy has almost doubled.
The INSEE report (French National Institute of Statistical and Economic Studies) published in 2024 was clear: after the black years of Covid, our average life expectancy is on the rise and now exceeds the symbolic milestone of age 80 for the very first time.
So, we are now living longer, but in what condition?
Two extra years of life expectancy, but eighteen months more of ill health!
How can we make sure that we stay active, healthy and in possession of our full physical and intellectual capacities for these additional years of our life?
At the request of the Food and Drug Administration, in 2012 the Americans invented the concept of P4 medicine®, medicine for longevity.
P4 medicine® can be separated into four main axes:
• Personalised
Every individual is unique, with their own health history, their own risk factors and their own needs. It is a tailored medicine that adapts the treatments to the patient and not the patient to the treatments.
• Predictive
By using this genetic, biological and environmental data, functional medicine can predict any future health risks before the clinical symptoms appear and can put preventative strategies in place.
• Preventive
Functional medicine aims to prevent illnesses before they develop. This requires in-depth understanding of the patient’s health history, their lifestyle, their environment and their genetic factors.
• Participative
The patient plays an active role, as both the consumer and actor of their own health.
Functional medicine encourages autonomy by helping patients to understand their body and take informed decisions about their own health. This global approach to health is deeply ecological as it matches the Hippocratic tradition that sees health as a balance between environmental influences, lifestyle and the various components of human nature. Being healthy means being in synchronisation with yourself – both physical and mentally – and also with the world around you. A person feels a sense of malaise when there is an imbalance in their homeostasis, which can manifest in any part of the body and can lead to physical and/or psychological symptoms.
In this approach, which is a veritable change in paradigm that shakes up many of our old beliefs, the role of the P4 doctor is to inform their patient about the reality of their state of health, while also acting as a “coach” to teach them about epigenetics so that they can then modify any harmful habits in their lifestyle and get onto the road to health and longevity.
“The genome proposes, epigenetics MANAGES!”
We now know that we can modify the genetic programme that we have inherited from our parents and that our genetic fate is no longer inevitable. So, how can we positively influence the expression of our genes?
We need to incorporate the following:
1. A high-quality, organic, anti-inflammatory diet rich in antioxidants and essential fatty acids
2. Regular intermittent fasting
3. Tailored micronutrition prescribed after a biological assessment
4. Regular physical exercise adapted to age
5. Stress management with cardiac coherence, mindful meditation, etc.
6. Cultivating happiness and a real zest for life
7. Feeling useful and connected with others
This is the secret of the people who live to be over a hundred by applying epigenetic medicine* to their daily life. Like Voltaire said so well: “We must cultivate our own garden!”
(*) To find out more about epigenetics: Epigen
by Isabelle Meurgey, Alain Butnaru, Amazon editions
Dr Isabelle Meurgey: Doctor of anti-aging and aesthetic medicine. Graduate of the Rouen medical faculty. Specialised
in preventive and anti-aging medicine since 1997. Permanant member of the French Society
of Aesthetic Medicine.
Dr Jean-François Bézot: Medical biologist. Pharmaceutical doctor, Paris Pharmaceutical Faculty. Former house pharmacist in the Paris Hospitals. Specialist in anti-aging biology and functional proteomics since 1988. Permanent member of the French Society of Aesthetic Medicine. International conference speaker. In charge of the university course in Anti-Aging Medicine (Paris Créteil university).
Dr Alain Butnaru: Graduate of the Paris Medical Faculty. Aesthetic and Anti-Aging Medicine since 1985. Permanent member of the French Society of Aesthetic Medicine. Degrees in Morphological and Anti-Aging Medicine.
