10 Tips Ageless Beauty

Posted: Mon 23 Aug, 2010

We all want to age gracefully and maintain the beauty and vitality of youth for as a long as possible. Whilst cosmetic surgery may play a role in helping to minimize the physical effects of aging, over reliance upon it can produce results that are anything but graceful – think Jocelyn Wildenstein. No one wants to turn heads for a second look because they’ve had a bad Botox job.

The following suggestions will help you to infuse your skin and hair with health so that it glows with ageless beauty. As cliché'd as it sounds, good health is the true elixir of youth, but beware, politically correct nutrition and healthcare may be sabotaging both your health and your youthful complexion.

1. Never diet.

Malnutrition and extreme fat loss caused by dieting is a guaranteed recipe for premature aging. Deep in our hearts we all know diets don't work – they wreck your metabolism and destroy your skin's elasticity making it prone to wrinkling, scarring and sagging. Feeling stressed and cranky due to food cravings does not make you feel or look beautiful.

2. Choose your skin care products wisely.

Cosmetics are designed to make your skin look and feel good at the cosmetics counter (so you buy their products). Lines and wrinkles become less noticeable as wetting agents puff your skin up while optical diffusers hide blemishes and give your skin a false glow. Many of the chemicals in skin care products slowly degrade and damage your skin over time leaving you more reliant upon cosmetics. Most face creams are designed for stability and a long shelf life which is at extreme odds with your skin's health as living tissue.

3. Avoid sugar.

Yet another reason to avoid sugar - it speeds up chemical reactions producing 'advanced glycation end products', also known as AGE's. AGE's accelerate the cross linking of proteins in your skin making it stiff, inflexible and more wrinkled. AGE's also damage other proteins in your body such as blood vessels, eyes, lungs, tendons. AGE's are also implicated in Alzheimer's disease. Avoid all foods that cause spikes in blood sugar such as fruit juice, breakfast cereals, soft drinks, white bread, pasta and rice crackers.

4. Eat plenty of protein.

Your skin cells are built from fat and protein and a deficiency of this nutrient shows up in your hair, skin and nails first. Aim to eat a palm sized serving of protein 2-3 times daily. Good protein choices include small fish, organic chicken and eggs, free ranged beef and lamb as well as organic organ meats such as liver.

5. Get enough of the right kind of fat.

Animal breeders know the secret of a glossy coat and healthy skin – plenty of fats and oils. Fatty acids in fish and cod liver oil, coconut oil, egg yolks, organic butter, avocados, nuts and seeds will all improve the texture, tone and appearance of your skin. Symptoms of essential fatty acid deficiency (found in fish and egg yolks) include dry but oily skin on the face, dry brittle hair and dull skin that has lost its ‘luster’ and ‘glow’. Avoid polyunsaturated vegetable oils such as canola, sunflower, corn, soy and safflower oil which increase free radical damage. Free radical damage literally rusts your body from the inside out.

6. Take a good antioxidant rich supplement.

Antioxidant defenses in your skin drop by as much as 80 percent between the ages of 15 and 60. Skin friendly antioxidants include the minerals zinc and selenium; Vitamins A, C and E as well the herbs turmeric, rosemary and grapeseed. Antioxidant rich foods include green tea, berries, raw chocolate and fresh herbs such as parsley and basil.

7. Drink plenty of pure, filtered water.

Dehydrated skin looks much older than it really is.

8. Get a good night's sleep.

Not only does lack of sleep make you look hollow eyed and haggard it really does age you faster. Your body heals, repairs and regenerates while you’re sleeping.

9. Ditch alcohol, caffeine and cigarettes.

Smoking is a definite no-no if you want to slow the aging process. Enjoy coffee and alcohol in moderation. The key words are enjoy and moderation. There is nothing enjoyable or moderate about ditching a healthy breakfast for a take away coffee or drinking a bottle of wine with dinner every night of the week.

10. Be patient.

Your body and your skin can only rebuild and regenerate itself at a set pace. Remember the tortoise and the hare? Tortoises live for well over 150 years while hares live for about 10 years. Slow and steady wins this race.

About the Author

Sarah Luck uses a combination of food, homoeopathic remedies, specific nutrients and herbal medicine. She has also practiced pregnancy massage for the last 10 years. She is passionate about using food as medicine wherever possible and specialises in PCOS, Fertility and Hormonal Problems (men and wemon). For more information on this article or to make an appointment with Sarah, contact Levity Health (02 9389 0278) or email Sarah directly at sarah@levityhealth.com.au.