Archive for August, 2008
It is always nice to look at a baby’s flawless skin. There are no lines, no signs that a pimple has even been there and actually, it’s perfect. You had gone that route but as you age, you can’t help but accommodate a wrinkle in time until you no longer know where your baby skin has gone to.
To know about the causes of wrinkles, you must first know about the normal skin layers. Here are the layers that constitute a human skin.
1. Epidermis
This is the outer layer of your skin. This protects the inner layers to whatever the environment may cause them. This seemingly tough outer skin is caused by the movement of keratinocytes, the cells of the epidermis, from its bottom part to the top. As a result, a large dose of keratin is produced. But when these cells reach the top, they actually flake off. So if you see scaly types of skins, it means that something went wrong in this process.
2. Dermis
This is the skin’s second layer. This contains its structural elements, which is the connective tissue. There are actually many types of connective tissue. Each type acts for different functions. Some samples are the collagen. This gives the skin strength. The glycosaminoglycans are the proteins that give turgor to skin. The elastin fibers create the elasticity of your skin.
Between dermis and epidermis is the dermal-epidermal junction. This is an important feature as it interlocks and form fingerlike projections which are called rete ridges. These will increase the area of the epidermis which is exposed to the blood vessels and need nutrients. The blood vessels in the dermis give out such nutrients to the epidermis through the rete ridges.
3. Subcutaneous tissue
This is the skin’s bottom layer. And the subcutaneous tissue contains the fat cells. You know what those cells are for? They supply insulation to your body and they also make your skin full and plump.
Presenting the Wrinkles
How do wrinkles form and develop as people age? Through time, the epidermal cells will become thinner. As a result, you will also look thinner. The epidermal cells will also be less sticky. This means that that there are more chances for the moisture on your skin to be released than maintained, which causes dryness. The decrease in the epidermal cells is actually 10 percent per decade. And as people age, they divide slower. For this reason, the skin cannot cope up quickly as it used to repair itself.
In the dermal layer, less collagen is being produced. The elastin fibers also wear out. Such factors will cause the skin to sag and wrinkle. The rete ridges, meanwhile, will flatten out. This will cause the skin to be fragile. And so the nutrients that the epidermis needs will not be met accordingly.
As for the subcutaneous layer, the fat cells get thinner as people age. This will result to more wrinkles and sagging.
It is a complex process that everybody will go through as people age. You can use moisturizer while you are young and take good care of your skin to slow down the process. But you have to admit that there will come a point wherein you will not only face a wrinkle in time, but other kinds of changes in your features as well.
That is okay. The important thing is that you age gracefully so that people will perceive you as beautiful inside and out.
Healthy foods to stay young? Of course, you’ve heard it before, probably when mom insisted to eat more apples and less burger even when you thought you were too young to age.
Indeed, mom was right. You’ll never know when you’ll start to age until you notice some crumpling and folding on your skin. Premature aging might just be a sleep away. And you never want to see that happen.
But it’s never too late. You can delay aging now by changing some items on your plates, and it’s just another meal away.
You Are What You Eat
The food and all other things that you take or don’t are laying the groundwork for your health and your appearance as well. For example, a person who has a pretty huge room for french fries and beef patties in his stomach may suffer more diseases and may not look age-appropriate. A person deficient in unsaturated fats, on the other hand, may have dry, flaky skin, and eventually look older than he actually is.
According to Samantha Heller, MS, RD, a clinical nutritionist at NYU Medical Center in New York City, what you eat becomes the outer fabric of your body. And the healthier that you put in your mouth, the better you will look.
Sure, you don’t wanna look like french fries, or do you? Then, what should your next meal include?
High- fiber foods
Whole grains, cereals, black beans, apples, and pears are just some of the foods that are rich in fiber. Fiber found in these foods moves quickly and relatively easily through your digestive tract keeping bowel movements regular. Thereby preventing constipation,-one of the problems that aging people commonly encounter.
Fish, walnut, and flax seed oil
These foods are among the best sources of Essential Fatty Acids (EFA). EFA especially the omega-3 fatty acids regulate the fluidity or softness of the cell membranes, thus making your cell membranes healthy and hold more moisture. So that means younger looking skin.
Deficiency is visible in a hardening of the skin, as with dry skin and acne. And to those who are living in colder climates, you need more EFA for membrane fluidity.
Fruits and vegetables
Antioxidants from fruits and vegetables fight off free radicals, the byproducts of the body’s everyday processes that damage DNA, cells, and tissues. The antioxidants and other phytochemicals lessens the chances of damage to he body’s cells. And because you are guarding your cells from premature damage, you are also protecting yourself from premature aging.
Whole-grain cereals, organ meats, chicken, egg yolk, and garlic.
Selenium, found in these foods, plays a key role in making the skin healthy. It is a sulfur-like mineral that lessens the oxidative damage of skin cells. It also helps in regulating the thyroid hormone and helps prevent hypertension, cancer, and stroke. Selenium is often added to antioxidant vitamins.
Easy Move
If you think looking younger is difficult, there’s not much to worry. The easiest move you can make is to include more fruits, vegetables, fish, and whole grains to your daily menu. Control yourself from eating foods stuffed with much cholesterol, sodium, and calories. What you get is a healthier body and a younger-looking you.
Well, if you think it’s too early to look old, better think twice. It just doesn’t feel good to be called older than you really are.
And if you think you’re too old to look young, you’re never right. You can stop aging right at your plate, and even prove that “looks can be deceiving.”
Tips To Look Young Recommends ==> skin wrinkle treatment
The first thing you should do to look younger is to acknowledge that there are good things in store for you, and you deserve to have those. So it’s all about setting your mind to get to your end. You must value the thought that almost all good things in life are brought into fruition with the right attitude and positive thinking.
So now, are you set to defy aging and look younger then these age-defying tips will surely help you looking youger…
Look Youger Tip 1
No matter what you do, whether you have a demanding schedule or just being lazy in your cozy home, make sure you are getting enough sleep- and a good one at that. Your eyes will first tell if you have had enough sleep. A pair of eye-bug-free and sparkling eyes definitely makes you look younger. But how many is the suggested sleeping duration?
Perhaps you were brought up thinking that you should sleep at least 8 hours a day. Well, you should not. A new study says that those who sleep 6-7 hours live longer and healthier. Too much slumber is not good for you. In fact, sleeping for five hours is better than sleeping three hours more than that.
To have a good sleep, take some natural soporifics. These are substances that can induce sleeping. Milk is a very good example. Sex and a little aerobic may also help you sleep well.
Look Youger Tip 2
Keep you hair short. A long hair puts in more years to your appearance, actually making you look like a tired and worn-down witch. Trying a shorter do can improve your youthfulness. Tell your hairdresser to give you side swept bangs to expose your beautiful face. Adding layers can also make our hair look lively and shinier. A little highlight may also do. Putting on a darker hair (dark brown or black) does not only make you younger, but also coats up those grey hair.
Look Youger Tip 3
Live in a clean environment. People who live older like the centenarians have some surrounding things in common: little stress, unpolluted air, good water, and unspoiled nature. Planting more trees in your area and planting more plants in your garden can help you provide cleaner air. More plants in the area mean more oxygen to breathe. Remember that what we breathe is the exact thing they exhale, and vice versa.
Look Youger Tip 4
Do not use a lot of makeup. Yes, makeup can make you look pretty. But its amount, composition, and its style can make or break you. Keeping makeup light won’t make you look like a villain. Use more pastel colors and those with lighter tones instead of the dark antagonistic-like colors. Also try lipsticks with brown shade. These would make you look more natural and a lot of ears younger
Look Youger Tip 5
Take care of your teeth. Ever notice there are a lot of old people who only have false teeth? This is because as we age, our body absorbs and stores less calcium (which also explains why old women are prone to osteoporosis).
So avoid losing your teeth permanently. Brushing every after meal is the most basic yet the most helpful habit for a good-looking set of teeth. Use teeth whitening products that can make you teeth white and shiny. Coffee and tea can stain your teeth instantly so a brush after is really helpful.
Going to the dentist at least twice a year is very important. And never forget to drink at least two glasses of milk a day, like what we teach to the real young ones.
Blueberry season is almost coming. But this sweet, flare-crowned, indigo superfruit is more than just a mouth-watering delight to your craving senses. Would you believe that this favourite has a wide range of micronutrients that do not only protect the body from diseases, but also aging?
High Antioxidant Value
Blueberries, along with blackberries, strawberries, and plums, have the highest total antioxidant capacity of any food. It is being regarded as one of the “superfuits” having the promising combination of nutrient value, emerging research evidence for health benefits, versatility for manufacturing popular consumer products, and antioxidant strength.
Antioxidants are thought to aid in guarding the body against the detrimental effects of free radicals to cells and the chronic diseases associated with the course of aging. The antioxidants present in this fruit can protect the cell, so there is less chance for aging. Blueberries contain 14 mg of Vitamin C and 0.8 mg Vitamin E per 1 cup of blueberries. Blueberries also contain anthocyanins and phenolics that can also act as antioxidants. With this, the effects of blueberries to the skin are copious.
Neuron Protection
The compound anthocyanin, found in blueberries, is thought to slow down age-related loss in the mental capacity of humans. Those who eat more blueberries are thought to have better functioning in motor behavioral learning and memory. Anthocyanin also gives blueberries their colour and might be the key factor of the blueberry’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. While it is thought that aging can decrease cognitive and motor functions, blueberries can be of huge help to improve mental functioning.
Better balance and coordination
Blueberries also have positive effects to balance and coordination. In a study by Dr. James Joseph of Tufts University, it was found that a diet loaded with blueberries counteracted poor balance and coordination associated with aging. In this study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, Joseph fed four groups of rats a normal diet. But among these groups were given blueberries, spinach, or strawberries.
For 18 weeks, the rats were tested for mental functioning, muscle strength, coordination, and balance. The two groups which were fed with strawberry and blueberry extracts performed well on these tests, but the group fed with blueberries executed the most improvement.
Not only that, findings also showed that blueberries improved the neuronal functioning of the rats. Dr. Joseph suspects the findings are a result of blueberries’ rich store of flavonoids — phytochemicals that have an effect on cell membranes. These findings suggest that nutritional intervention can offer hope to those suffering poor balance and coordination related to aging.
Prevention of diseases
A serving of blueberries provides a relatively low glycemic load while providing a diverse range of nutrients, which also means there are fewer calories (good news for calorie-watchers) in a serving full of phytochemicals and nutrients such as iron, vitamins C and E. Because of the phytochemicals present, the risk of acquiring some deadly diseases may also be prevented.
Anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins, flavonols, and tannins found in this wonderful fruit may help prevent cancer by inhibiting some cancer mechanisms. These components protect the DNA from damage and disintegration caused by free radicals.
At a symposium on berry health benefits, there have been reports that eating blueberries and other similar fruits like cranberries may improve the cognitive deterioration occurring in Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions of aging. Blueberries may help lower the damages of stroke.
Researches have also shown that blueberries may help prevent urinary tract infections (UTI), hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia that can also lead to potentially fatal heart disease.
With blueberries, your tongue, and more importantly your health would get the best out of it. Well, even without all these benefits in mind, who wouldn’t die for a serving of blueberries? Hmmmm… Anyone?
Do you want to shed off those extra pounds you’re carrying?
Do you want to have a healthier looking body?
Nowadays, people are so into diet fads, such as the high protein low carbohydrate diet that they don’t know that this is not very healthy for the body. It may slim you down, but you will put so much strain in your kidneys and liver that the insides of your body may not be as healthy as you might think it is. If you really want a healthy body and also a slimmer one, then eat the right kinds of food and drink green tea.
Yes, that’s right, green tea. For thousands of years, the Chinese and the Japanese have been drinking this miracle brew because of its medicinal properties. Only recently, this tea has been introduced to the west and it definitely was a great hit. Today, you will see all sorts of people drinking green tea. From the elderly, to middle aged people and even teens, almost everyone is now drinking this miracle tea.
So, what’s so good about it and how can it help you lose weight?
First of all, green tea is known to contain natural antioxidants that helps fight cancer. And, if that’s not reason enough for you to drink this tea, then another reason is that it helps overweight people to lose weight.
If you are overweight, then you will definitely want to drink this tea as it has properties that naturally help the body burn fat and at the same time, keep the body healthy.
The great thing about this tea is that it has essential vitamins that helps raise the metabolism rate of your body. This means that you will be able to burn fat much more efficiently and convert it in to energy. Aside from maximizing your body’s efficiency to burn fat and convert it in to energy, it will obviously make you more energetic and more active.
So, if you are feeling really tired or you feel that you need an extra boost of energy, then you will want to drink green tea. By doing so, you will be sure that you will feel the difference. You will feel as if you need to do something physical, such as exercising and you will feel as if you are so full of energy that you can spend all day at the gym having an intensive work out.
Because you will have a higher metabolism rate, you will be able to burn more fat much more efficiently. Combine exercise, then you will definitely be able to lose weight much faster. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean that drinking green tea will make you slim overnight. You still need to work hard and exercise. You have to remember that this brew will not burn fat by itself. However, it will give you that energy that will allow you to burn fat through exercise.
Another great thing about this tea is that it helps keep the bad cholesterol out. It will mean it will lower the risk of stroke and heart disease for a healthier body that can withstand rigorous exercise.
This is how green tea works. If you want to lose weight the natural way, then eat right, exercise and drink at least four cups of green tea a day.






