From NMN to EDM: An Interview with Dr. Dean Bloch
Dr. Dean Bloch is not only the foremost provider for Botox and fillers in the Kingston area, he’s also a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (FACOG) and had a thriving OB/GYN practice for over 20 years. An advocate for women’s health, Dr. Bloch brings his extensive knowledge and training to cosmetic procedures and longevity medicine. Today, let’s get to know the medical side of Medical Aesthetics of the Hudson Valley.
What led you to open Medical Aesthetics of the Hudson Valley?
Just short of 20 years ago, my wife Gale asked me to do a little bit of investigation on aesthetics and together we‘ve explored the artistry of the field. I enjoy helping people feel better so they can make better decisions for themselves. The second part of our practice is wellness, or longevity medicine.
What is longevity medicine?
It's incredibly exciting for me to roll out our new set of longevity services. It's a dream come true. If one goes for medical care in our society, it's usually to treat an illness. We now know that aging is a disease and that there are therapies we can utilize so we age less, or actually age backwards. This used to be called anti-aging medicine, but that seemed too negative, so now it's called longevity medicine.
Just under a year ago, we rolled out a whole set of services that are longevity associated, including Hyperbaric Oxygen and Full Body Red Light Therapy. I also do Nutritional Therapy, research-proven to improve the quality of life. These therapies can age you backwards – you can actually get younger! Have you heard of escape velocity? In longevity medicine, escape velocity means that in one calendar year you age less, so at the end of the year you're younger than the prior year.
Where do you recommend people begin?
In terms of longevity medicine and how to get started, we begin with the advice our elders would have given us years ago: eat your vegetables, get enough sleep and get some outdoor activities. Longevity medicine is really taking the best care of yourself that you can. The single most important thing we all can do is exercise; it’s even more important than nutrition and sleep. The research is quite conclusive.
In terms of the offerings at our practice, I think the first thing I would start with is a Consultation to talk about your longevity goals, what's available and, most importantly, what’s best for you and how to fit it into your life.
Tell us about the newer treatments available at MAHV.
I'm really proud of the services we offer at Medical Aesthetics. These treatments are powerful: Hyperbaric Oxygen, near infrared and Red Light Treatments, Sauna and IV Nutritional Therapy. Hyperbaric oxygen and red light therapy really need to be a series of treatments, so they’re a time commitment. However, once you read the research, you'll be a fan like I am.
Tell us about your personal wellness regime.
There are so many different roads to travel in terms of health – each of us has to pick the ones that fit within our lifestyle. For example, these days I'm working really hard on my sleep hygiene. The more you understand sleep research the more you want to get the proper amount of sleep and try to get up at the same time to help contribute to your circadian rhythm.
I've always been a good eater. It's very important to eat well since that's what your body is made out of. If you look at the research from the Blue Zones (Blue Zones are the five areas in the world where people have lived the longest: Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece, and Loma Linda, California) they have five things in common diet-wise. The five pillars of the Blue Zone diet are whole grains, vegetables in season, tubers (like sweet potatoes), nuts and beans.
I'm also a big fan of supplements. If you read the research, it's profound. So I take Resveratrol, the stuff found in red wine, as well as a molecule called NMN, and Metformin, which is a diabetic medication. I take it for its longevity effects.
Exercise is divinely important for our long-term health. It stimulates metabolism, helps your bowels function better, makes you think more clearly, sleep better, and reduced pain. I do resistance training (lifting weights) and I’ve also started to jump rope. Jumping rope is amazing.
What's something your clients might not know about you?
What you probably don't know about me is that I love EDM, electronic dance music. It’s great!
Dean, tell us what you have on your desk right now.
I’ve got a six speed shift knob from a 2004 STI Subaru. Hot sesame oil, Amla powder, a smart mushroom organic mix that supports mental performance, a timer, a light bulb and other things that hoarders hoard.
What's the hardest part of your work? What’s the best part?
The most challenging part of the job is every single patient – they come in with an idea and I have to make their idea a reality. What may seem to be a very small thing to an injector may be vitally important to the person that you're working with, so it's really important to give them the best service. When I am able to provide that to my patient, even the smallest thing feels so wonderful. Does that make sense? The most rewarding part of my job is just making someone feel better after I'm done.
Speed Round:
Fave Food: Rice with peanut butter, hard boiled eggs and hot sesame oil
Fave Song: “The Secret of Life” by James Taylor
Fave Color: Red
Fave Book: Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse