Essential Fats

Essential Fats get their name from the fact that they are essential for optimum health however most people don’t understand the importance and health benefits of the different types of fats.

The body doesn’t create the essential fats but they are very important for our longevity, therefore we must get them from the foods in our diet. Unfortunately the majority of people get their fats from the wrong sources of foods and in doing so have a detrimental affect on health and well-being.

The correct fats will help your skin to remain more supple and hydrated and as expected that will help you to get fewer wrinkles.

Let’s have a look at what the best supplies of essential fats are…

Oily fish such as tuna, sardines, salmon and herring are high in Omega-3 fats, but also soya and kidney beans. These Omega-3 fats help to transport oxygen throughout the body and assist in the healthy functioning of all aspects of the body. Be sure to check where these products are sourced from however as some of the Soya beans for instance have been genetically modified. And the fish too as many waters are poluted with chemicals these days and are numerous in most fish you buy.

Almonds, pecans and walnuts all have high percentages of omega-6 and are an excellent source of essential fat as are sunflower and pumpkin seeds. These seeds are to have with you for a fast snack as they will help to keep your blood sugar levels right and ward off hunger that might make you choose foods that have low nutrition value to boost energy levels.

Many people accept symptoms of ill health as something that is just a part of aging such as dry skin and eyes, poor memory, cardiovascular disease, arthritis and many more health related problems that are all associated with partly a lack of essential fatty acids. While we can still expect to get some of these problems with aging, getting a sufficient supply of these good fats will help to either avoid or minimize and or delay them until later in life.

Hydration

Hydration is one of the most important factors in maintaining good healthy skin. On the one side it significantly helps to make you look younger and secondly it reduces the problems that many people face with their skin as they get older.

It is not sufficient to expect applications of moisturizers to keep the skin hydrated – it must come from within first and foremost and then the moisturizers will add additional support to maintaining good skin condition.

For good and healthy hydration you need to drink sufficient water throughout the day. Tea, coffee and other beverages are not a substitute for water and many of these drinks can actually cause dehydration. Also avoid water from bottles as they have chemicals absorbed from the plastic (especially when bottle are left in higher temperatures – could have been during transportation, in the shops etc.) which cause breast cancer and other forms of cancer, but that is a different subject altogether.

If you are feeling thirsty then you are already becoming dehydrated. So basically you need to drink water on a regular basis so you don’t become thirsty and just because you might have heard that you need to drink 8 glasses of water per day you should be aware that drinking all the water at one time is in no way the correct method of remaining hydrated. Also drinking too much water is not good either, the best way to figure that out is to look at the colour of your urine, too dark you are de-hydrated and too light you drink too much water.

Also – drinking excessive amounts of water can be detrimental to your health as it can flush out too many nutrients from your body that are necessary to maintain a healthy youthful appearance.

Water is also a very good source of energy just as a lack of it will cause fatigue. When you have boundless energy you can’t help but look younger and you will certainly feel younger which, at the end of the day, is the more important of the two.

Your skin will become lifeless and tired looking when dehydrated and you will be more susceptible to skin damage and wrinkles.
All other aspects of your health will be struggling when there is a lack of water and accordingly there will be other areas of aging that will be affected.

What could be easier for someone looking to stay young than drinking water? It is easy to pick up a glass of water now and then and don’t drink out of bottle, “have one with you so you can drink at all times to make sure you get enough”, wrong as I explained before in this article. Make drinking water a habit and your body will thank you for it by helping you to stay young. Probably the cheapest way to reduce aging of the skin.

Enjoying Life!

A lot of us get too concerned about aging and some to the extent that it becomes and obsession.

What is the end result of this? Although you might look a little younger, you still need to enjoy life along the way. Generally the best ways to make yourself look younger are stopping smoking, or limiting your exposure to the sun, or fitness training and maintaining good health and nutrition will not only make you look better but they will also make you feel better and get more out of life.

And the increase in energy levels is amazing and you will have more time to do more of the things that you like. You should enjoy your life all the more while looking better as an added bonus. If you do anything other than in moderation then you will negate the positive effects that are available to you.

Even over training can make you look older and leave you susceptible to injury. Finding a balance in all that you do will keep you young in mind and body and that is why yoga is so effective at helping you to stay young.

I remember reading a book that was about a husband and wife team who focused their life on longevity. This book basically described all that they did with their extreme exercise and nutritional regime.
While their steps might (or might not) add to their life expectancy they certainly didn’t look very young for their age.
In fact their ‘extreme’ lifestyle made them look considerably older than the average person of the same age so it just goes to show you that more is not always better when it comes to anti aging programs.

When you enjoy your life and are happy it will show on your face and the more you smile the more beautiful you will become, and besides, smiling does wonders for your face muscles.

Antioxidants

The most popular antioxidants that are used for skin care products are the vitamins A, C and E.

Scientific research has shown that they help to improve the condition of the skin and reduce additional damage occurring that causes the aging effect that we are seeking to eliminate.

The damage to the skin is caused by free radicals and antioxidants help to fight off these free radicals and thereby improve the condition of the skin. Antioxidants are in no way harmful to the skin and not only can they protect the skin from damage but they have been to shown to actually reverse some of the damage that has already occurred to the skin of many people.

This has an anti aging effect and the publicity that has surrounded the discovery of this information has resulted in antioxidants being included in almost all skin care products to meet the demands of the consumer.
Sun damaged skin in particular has been shown to improve in condition when antioxidants have been applied directly to the affected area.

There are various different sources of antioxidants and some of the more popular ones are grape seed extract and green tea extract. Grape seed extract has shown to reduce inflammation of the skin and in addition it helps to strengthen the capillary walls. Because of these benefits it’s a common product used in skin care creams.

Green tea on the other hand has shown to reduce the size of pre-cancerous skin lesions in various tests due to the active ingredient catechins.

With the use of these naturally occurring antioxidants the damage that is caused to the skin by the free radicals that degrade the collagen and elastin is reduced and the positive effect that they have in assisting the skin to renew damaged cells has the desired anti aging effect that people are looking for.

Anti Aging Oxidants

The cells of the human body have been shown to divide for a specific number of times in the lifetime of each individual. By the time a person leaves their teenage years behind almost half of their cell division quota has been used up.

This causes the physical changes in the body that are represented by aging and anything that we can do to slow down this process of cell division will increase life expectancy. As we continue to age and move towards our early forties almost another half of the remaining cells are used up leaving only 25 – 30 percent available for the rest of our lives.

Obviously when the final set of cells are used up the outcome is death.

So what can we do to slow this down and extend our years?
The main cause of the speed by which the cells will degenerate is from free radicals and fortunately scientific research has determined that this rate can be slowed with the introduction of more antioxidants which reduces the free radicals. The more free radicals we have the faster the rate the body ages.

What are free radicals?
They are the harmful substances that are the result of oxidation and occur naturally in the body. It is only when they attack the healthy cells in the body that they cause a problem however they are unable to distinguish between which cells are good and which ones are bad.

It is the destruction of healthy cells that causes the aging process and if more pronounced they can cause other more serious disorders and diseases. By reducing these free radicals with the help of antioxidants the body clock is slowed down and we are able to look and feel younger for longer.

While the body is unable to produce its own antioxidants without help we must get a sufficient supply in the foods that we eat as it is the distinct function of antioxidants to act on these free radicals and maintain the necessary balance to maintain optimum health.

The best sources of antioxidants are found in foods such as berries, broccoli, carrots, garlic, red grapes, soy, spinach, tea, tomatoes and whole grains. By adding these to your diet on a regular basis you should be getting sufficient in your body to maintain a healthy balance and reduce the aging process.