Is The Fountain Of Youth Evidence-Based?

Transcript generated by AI.

Announcer 0:00

Welcome to the MedEvidence Monday Morning Radio Show, hosted by Kevin Geddings of WSOS and Augustine Radio, and powered by ENCORE Research Group. Each Monday morning, Dr. Michael Koren calls in to bring you the latest medical updates with a insightful discussions. MedEvidence is where we help you navigate the real truth behind medical research, both a clinical and research perspective. So sit back, relax, and get ready to learn about the truth behind the data in medicine and healthcare. This is MedEvidence!

Kevin Geddings 0:31

Dr. Koren is with us, and of course, also the editor and publisher, if you will, of MedEvidence! We'll get to that in just a moment, too, but Medevidence.com, a great website for you to check out. What was your uh topic? What did you want to talk about today, Dr. Koren?

Dr. Michael Koren 0:44

So I had an interesting experience recently, Kevin. I went to a party at the Fountain of Youth. Have you been there?

Kevin Geddings 0:50

Oh yeah, that's a great spot here in St. Augustine.

Dr. Michael Koren 0:53

Yeah, it was a nice, it was a nice party. And it was actually the first time that I was there, and I was intrigued by the fact that I got the opportunity to drink from the Fountain of Youth.

Kevin Geddings 1:04

Wow. Pretty impactful stuff, right?

Dr. Michael Koren 1:08

Have you done that?

Kevin Geddings 1:09

I have done that, yes. It didn't uh didn't seem to have a whole lot of impact,

Dr. Michael Koren 1:14

but well, a couple of things occurred to me first for those listening. The Fountain of Youth by legend is the place where Ponce de Leon discovered this well that would reduce the aging process.

Kevin Geddings 1:27

Right.

Dr. Michael Koren 1:28

And I guess that's a legend. I don't know what data we have behind that, but I was curious to see that in small print next to this little fountain, there was a disclaimer that said the FDA has determined that this fountain does not diagnose, treat, or cure any illness.

Kevin Geddings 1:44

Seems like you have to put a label on that. It's kind of like the hot coffee label on a McDonald's coffee, right?

Dr. Michael Koren 1:49

Yeah, yeah. So I thought that was funny. But fundamentally, Kevin, it gets to what we really do in evidence-based medicine and the power of evidence-based medicine. And literally for thousands and thousands of years, you would get a conquistador or some some quack to say that, yes, this is what cures illness, this is what keeps you young, or this is what takes your pain away. And more times than not, there was absolutely no proof beyond these these allegations, if you want to call them that, or claims. And in the modern era, and it's really only about fifty years old, we now have this careful process to actually test our hypotheses. If you think that the Fountain of Youth does something, then you actually test it. You you have to state beforehand, we believe the Fountain of Youth will do this. And then we actually collect patients to either try the Fountain of Youth or just try St. Augustine's own tap water and see if there's a difference. So this concept of structured observation is really key to what we do. And it's really a nice opportunity for patients to take advantage of this because in the modern era, companies can't get approval to market their products unless they go through this process. And patients can benefit from the fact that we have study grants that cover all the expenses, so there's no cost savings to anybody. In fact, in many cases you get a little bit of money for participation for time and travel. And at the end of the day, you get credible results. We know if this well that Ponce Leon discovered five hundred years ago really has any effects. And personally, I haven't noticed any change in my hair color. It's still as gray as it's always been. So so far, no good for the Fountain of Youth.

Kevin Geddings 3:32

Uh no spring in your step afterwards either.

Dr. Michael Koren 3:36

No. Well, the truth is I may not be the best candidate because I was actually more worried about getting an infectious disease from the fountain than actually having any improvement to my health.

Kevin Geddings 3:45

Yeah, which I think is wise. It is a beautiful spot though, if you've uh never been there. They have a great facility there for you to have events and it's great that it's been preserved, right? It's just beautiful.

Dr. Michael Koren 3:55

No doubt. We we enjoyed it. We went to a wedding there and it was wonderful.

Kevin Geddings 3:58

Yeah. Well, indeed, I would think too that that's kind of the basis for why we participate in these trials. For example, you know, even the one that I've been involved with, other other ones associated with vaccines and the like. The idea is that you get enough people and it becomes evidence-based and you can then trust the end result. And Dr. Koren, we appreciate you very much. This is our last call. We've been doing this for a couple of years, and I'm going to be sad that we don't do this every Monday morning. This is something I always look forward to.

Dr. Michael Koren 4:23

Well, I I enjoy it as well. And uh we'll definitely regroup and maybe come up with another concept. But uh, this has been a lot of fun. Thank you for your passion around clinical research, and good health to you and the listeners, and look out for what we're doing next because it'll be something hopefully innovative, intriguing, and to the benefit of the health of our community.

Announcer 4:44

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