As someone who came of age in the late 1960s, I believe to this day that some of the best popular music was created during these turbulent years. In fact, much of this music is still tremendously popular today, with many groups of the 60s still touring to sell-out crowds. I will still admit to feeling a bit of a thrill when one of the most famous rock icons of my generation contacted me.
"Dr. Perricone, I need help." Rick (not his real name!) said without preamble. "I have a sold-out tour looming on the horizon and my energy levels are pretty low. Sure, once on stage the adrenaline kicks in (and no doubt other helpful stimulate substances, I thought to myself) but I have to get myself ready for all the rest that touring entails," he explained.
Rick spent a lot of his time in the Caribbean, where he had a palatial estate worthy of his world class rock star status. When he wasn't sitting by the pool, he was out on his sailboat. Consequently, his skin had suffered a significant amount of sun damage. In fact, he had a lot of wrinkles. Although he had dropped many bad habits of his youth, including chain smoking, Rick was no saint, and the years of life in the fast lane were taking their toll.
Rick was also somewhat of a legend when it came to women and was currently dating a very young model - additional motivation for him to get going on a rejuvenation program.
"So, Doc, what's first?" Rick asked. "When do I go under the knife?"
"Rick, that is not the answer for you," I said. "We're going to do this the 'natural,' way." Since he was also a child of the 60s, I was hoping that this holistic approach would appeal to him. "First, you have to start with an anti-inflammatory diet and an anti-inflammatory nutritional supplement program, which will be a great help for overall energy and stamina. Then we introduce the fun parts of the rejuvenation process, which includes working with some very cool substances known as neuropeptides," I explained. I also planned to have a case of Wild Alaskan salmon shipped to Rick, as this is a cornerstone of the anti-inflammatory program. I instructed Rick to eat the salmon 4 - 5 times as it is incomparable for rejuvenation of both the skin and the brain.
I knew that Rick would be one of the all-time challenges of my career. I needed to make sure that the nutrients in the food and supplements that I recommended would actually be "bio-available," that is, be able to be properly digested and absorbed. My plan was to start him on the recently developed PEP functional food, which takes the form of a powdered drink mix.
It was my goal in creating the PEP cell-power drink to have a highly concentrated nutrient substance that would work synergistically with the entire Perricone Promise program to maximize its anti-aging benefits. With the introduction of polysaccharide-based nutrition - such as in the PEP drink formula - we can deliver highly efficient fuel to the cells' mitochondria in a way that is safe, effective, and affordable. Rick was the ideal candidate to prove its efficacy. And he was eager to get started.
In addition to the PEP food, I started Rick on thymic peptide supplements, a total skin and body nutritional supplement program and the topical neuropeptide products. I recommended my three-step neuropeptide program, and suggested that he start with the Neuropeptide Facial Prep to totally saturate his skin with a neuropeptide/DMAE combination. This would enable his skin to receive the maximum benefits of the Neuropeptide Facial Conformer. Because Rick is in the public eye, I recommended that he do this morning and evening - for most people, once a day application is all that is needed. As a final step, I wanted Rick to liberally massage the Neuropeptide Contour Cream on face and throat to help counteract the appearance of loss of tone or firmness.
Four weeks later I received two tickets to Rick's kick-off concert at Madison Square Garden - as well as a couple of backstage passes. After a quick mental lament on what these tickets would have meant to my popularity a couple of decades ago, I made a note on my calendar to attend.
The day of the concert dawned clear and bright and as I drove into the city I realized how much I was looking forward to the show. However, nothing quite prepared me for the spectacle that unfolded over the next three hours. Rick and his group performed with the drive and energy of sixteen-year olds - and the screaming fans kept up an equally impressive performance.
I made my way backstage hoping it was the combination of the anti-inflammatory diet and supplements along with the neuropeptides that were responsible for such a transformation in Rick. Although he was a bit tired after the show, I could see immediately that Rick's new-found energy was the result of his past four weeks on the program. His skin glowed, thanks to the increase in healthy circulation delivered by the neuropeptides. His lines and wrinkles appeared to have much less depth and overall, his skin appeared more firm, smooth, and supple.
"I really want to thank you, Doc," Rick said, smiling broadly. "This peptide stuff is something else. I feel like a new man."
And truth be told, he looked like one, too.
Reprinted from The Perricone Promise
