Quick Tip: Top 10 Anti-Aging Foods
February 24, 2008 by RLuve
Filed under Quick Tips
According to USDA researchers, the best fruits and vegetables that act as antioxidants are:
| Beets | Oranges |
| Blueberries | Plums |
| Broccoli | Red Grapes |
| Brussel Sprouts | Spinach |
| Kale | Strawberries |
Popularity: 3% [?]
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Never Underestimate the Value of Water
The skin on the face needs water to flourish. Dehydrated skin manifests itself in the form of wrinkles, bags and bulges. Sadly, dehydration is (yet another) part of the natural aging process. With age, the skin thins, with the effect that more moisture can evaporate through it. Already bearing the thinnest skin on the body, the face loses proportionately more moisture than its depth because it is also the most exposed part of the body. The thinning process goes on imperceptibly from one’s 30s but accelerates at menopause. One reason that men’s skin tends to age more slowly is that it is thicker to start with so retains more moisture and does not suffer from hormonal imbalance caused by menopause.
Most women respond to dehydration, somewhere in their 30s or 40s, by stocking up on moisturizers. Millions of dollars are spent every year on moisturizers in an effort to refresh thirsty skin. Yet, despite their name, they do not primarily put moisture into the skin. The epidermis can absorb relatively little and its capacity for absorption declines with age. Rather, moisturizers are designed to stop water from escaping.
As with food, so with water: the greatest benefits come from consuming rather than attempting to apply, by whatever means, to your face.
Popularity: 4% [?]
Smoking: The Second Leading Cause of Wrinkling
After the sun, smoking accelerates the normal aging process of your skin, contributing to wrinkles. It thins the skin by around 40%, so that water escapes more easily. Further damage is caused by the chemicals in cigarettes which break down the fibers in collagen and elasticity, mimicking and accelerating the normal aging process. Cigarette smoke also contains a substance called benzopyrene which destroys the vitamin C needed for collagen manufacturing and is replete with free radicals that degrade the skin. Smoking also constricts the tiny capillaries that feed the skin so that it is deprived of nutrients and oxygen.
And if that wasn’t enough, the facial expressions that smoking encourages - squinting of the eyes and puckering of the lips - stretch the most delicate skin on the face. All of these effects together can add 15 years to the age of your skin and you are five times more likely to have prominent wrinkles than non-smokers of the same age.
To combat the impact of smoking, “just say no.” If you have tried and failed, at least decrease your intake of cigarettes while increasing your intake of antioxidant nutrients and water to help counter some of the effects.
Popularity: 14% [?]
How To Treat Fine Lines Around The Eyes
February 17, 2008 by RLuve
Filed under Eye Wrinkles
To target solutions for fine lines around the eyes, it is important to distinguish when you see the lines. Do you see lines around the eyes when you are not smiling or only when you are?
If you have lines around your eyes when you are not smiling, then you need to step up your skin collagen building effort. When looking to build collagen around the eyes, be aware that traditional collagen builders such as glycolic acid and retinol, are much too irritating for the eye area in any meaningful concentrations. Oligopeptides, however, are highly effective, and less irritating. The encapsulated versions in a light serum are preferable for better presentation, delivery and penetration. Some good products to try are:
Equally important, you must protect the eye area from sun exposure, by wearing sunscreen daily with an SPF of at least 15 and sunglasses, when appropriate.
Popularity: 75% [?]
Stress Free to Wrinkle Free
While we know what causes stress, we often overlook what actually happens in our bodies when we are under stress. Cortisol is a hormone produced in the adrenal glands that is a key player in how well we handle stress.
Cortisol serves a helpful purpose by providing us with that extra push to keep going, but when we force our bodies to overproduce it, things begin to go awry. Long-term exposure to cortisol can produce extensive damage to the body including weight gain, and is considered a leading cause of premature aging. Plus, all that scowling can lead to permanent wrinkling!
Popularity: 3% [?]
