Foods that Fight Aging

June 26, 2009 by admin · Leave a Comment 

Nothing makes us look older than wrinkles and fine lines around the eyes and mouth. Expression lines and wrinkles can make us look and feel older than we are. Studies have shown that foods containing antioxidants help significantly in the fight against aging. Oxidation is a chemical reaction in cells that releases free radicals into the body. These free radicals go on to damage and kill other normal, healthy cells. In skin cells this oxidation process leads to a breakdown in collagen and the depletion of elastin. The loss of collagen is what causes wrinkles and fine lines to appear prematurely. So many people, women especially, are looking for ways to look younger and feel better. They want to remove wrinkles from their skin and stop new wrinkles from forming.

Antioxidants fight oxidation and stop the spread of free radicals throughout the body. Foods rich in antioxidants have been found to be the key to good health and longevity. Antioxidants such as vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E are especially helpful to the skin and other major organs. You want to eat foods that are high in antioxidants such as brightly colored fruits and vegetables.

Vitamin A can be found in sweet potatoes, broccoli, carrots, cantaloupe, peaches, kale, collards, carrots, squash, onions, and other brightly colored fruits and vegetables. Strawberries, oranges, tomatoes, green peppers, broccoli, and green leafy vegetables are great sources of vitamin C. It is best to get your vitamin C through a wide variety of foods, rather than from supplements. This builds your body’s immune system as you gain antioxidants and other helpful nutrients.

You can get vitamin E from fresh fish such as salmon and tuna, vegetable oil, olive oil, liver oil, green leafy vegetables, whole grains, and from nuts and seeds. These foods get antioxidants into the body, so that you are fighting wrinkles from the inside out. But it is vital that you find a good wrinkle cream with the best antioxidants to fight wrinkles from the outside in. Use wrinkle creams that contain antioxidants like vitamin A, and vitamin E. Daily moisturizing is an important step to fighting wrinkles. Studies have shown that other antioxidants like gold, are a very effective ingredient in wrinkle creams. Gold is a very powerful antioxidant. It does not rust, tarnish and is impervious to oxidation. You can find highly effective wrinkle creams that contain gold on the internet, without paying a fortune.

So be sure to eat a variety of foods that contain antioxidants. You’ll look and feel better, and stay looking younger for years to come!

How Your Lifestyle Affects Your Skin

April 21, 2009 by admin · 1 Comment 

Researchers have found that diet and lifestyle alone will suffice to prevent about two-thirds of all skin cancers. While anyone can develop skin cancer, the risk is greatest for people with light-colored skin that freckle easily, researchers said. But what about other factors of your skin’s care?

How often have you skipped your meals just because you were too busy to eat or may be too tired to eat? Our highly materialistic life and hectic schedules have made us too busy to even think about what we are eating. Professionals who do not have time to waste on cooking would simply go and grab a burger or a hot dog along with cola and call it lunch.

For the time being, a burger and a cola would be just enough to satiate your hunger but have you ever given a thought to the long-term implications of such a diet and lifestyle?

The human body’s nutritional needs are highly specific. It needs a certain amount of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Foods like burgers, pizzas or ice creams do not meet our nutritional needs. You don’t have to plainly eat to satiate hunger instead you should eat to meet your body’s nutritional needs. A diet deficient in all the essentials would eventually catalyze the effect of various potential diseases.

Skin reflects the kind of diet you take. You may have often wondered why there is a healthy glow on some people’s skin. Well, one of the possible factors apart from genetic would be a healthy diet and lifestyle. You might have noticed people who are chronologically younger but look way older than their age and vice versa. With good care of your skin you can control the effects of time on your skin and aging process.

Wrinkles appear on your skin when your skin’s ability of produce collagen reduces. Low collagen levels ultimately lead to the deterioration of the elastin tissues. The skin eventually looses its elasticity and firmness and starts to sag giving creases and folds i.e. wrinkles.

In order to slow down aging, you need a major diet and lifestyle change. You should eat right and healthy. Avoid fatty, oily foods and also foods with high glycemic index. Eat right amount of proteins in right quantities, loads of natural foods like fruits and vegetables and drink plenty of water. Make healthier choices and avoid fast food.

You also need to quit smoking if you are a heavy smoker. Quit alcohol and drugs too. You should incorporate a mild to moderate exercise like jogging, walking or running. Or you could detoxify with yoga. These changes will work wonders on your skin, giving it that healthy glow you always wanted.

These changes when incorporated at an early age, definitely slow down aging and the onset of diseases those come with age.