Aging Gracefully…

Life has no guarantees and the beautiful are not yet born right? But can you stand growing old? There is this famous aunt of mine called Tuffy. Aunt Tuffy never sees herself growing old. To her anything goes. The best bits of her life are summed up with make-up regimes, pulling skin and taking a million and one vitamins and minerals supplements. Since I am not her and with all respect, love her for who she is… Let’s try aging gracefully, shall we?

The skin is the largest organ that we own. The younger you are the more tender and sensitive our skin might be. Women however, age faster than men. That should explain the very many beauty products that are on supermarket and cosmetic shelves. Regardless of our many differences, aging is dependant on three factors such as: age, genetics and lifestyle.  The tell signs of aging individuals are the presence of constant decrease in the naturally produced skin oils called sebum. Elasticity and a long healing process in case of injury is also a cause for worry.

Laura M. Cummings an Esthetician with a well of experience on skincare says, in her articles that are published on the www.pioneerthinking.com that, we should forget about aging gracefully instead we should realize that we are never too young or too old to combat the signs of aging.

Laura goes on to say that, “By living and maintaining a healthy lifestyle throught your years, you increase your chances of overall balance-especially when it comes to your skin. All of us will have aging skin at some point in our lives, but with proper care, anyone can have a vibrant complexion and look beautiful at any age.”

Two things cannot be stressed enough and that is exercise and a good diet.

What to include in your diet:

1.      Eat more carrots, apricots and squash in your diet. These red, orange food groups have Beta Carotene. Beta Carotene has plenty of antioxidants that increase cell generation and prevent pre-mature aging of the skin.

2.      Include vegetable oils, raw nuts and seeds.  They to have antioxidants that help maintain all tissues by slowing aging cells. One can evade scar formation when feasting from this category.

3.      Oranges, Kiwi fruit and bell peppers should also be consumed regularly. They make the skin stronger.

4.      Zinc and Selenium which is necessary for normal growth can be found in whole grains, fish, broccoli and onions.

5.      Drink Water. Water is an essential element. Keep drinking up throughout the day. Water acts as an internal moisturizer. It maintains the skin suppleness and clear while preventing pre-mature aging.

Exercise

Exercise is very important. Making a program in which exercise can be a part of your lifestyle three days a week or more will be good for your skin. Walking is one of the most beneficial exercises that one could do. Not only does it provide plenty of air for your skin to breathe of, it gives your skin plenty of elasticity. This simply implies that you could say good bye to droopy skin. The benefits of walking are many but one you will embrace is the after glow.

Bad Habits

Saying goodbye too bad habits can be hard. But what you can do to have good skin is keep alcohol at bay, quit smoking and protect yourself under the sun. Alcohol weakness the immune system and causes unnecessary problems to occur by depleting the body of vitamins and minerals while depriving the body of its minerals.

Smoking on the other hand robs oxygen from the skin and gives you a ghost grey look.

Avoid the sun between 10am and 3pm and apply sun lotion that has a sunscreen or vitamin E. Another good practice would be to wear a brimmed Hat.

Good Practices

• Stick to well conditioned gyms and rooms. Bacteria multiply at a still rate when in a well aired area.
• When applying your lotion use upward strokes that massage the body and improve on circulation.
• Sip on herbal teas throughout the day such as: Jasmine, lemon grass, rose hips and forest berries. Most herbal teas have anti-aging components and will give you a young feeling.
• Sleep. Researchers say that skin renews itself between 1am and 3am in the morning. So make sure these timings find you in slumberland.

Growing old is a good thing. Besides I really do not care how you grow old just let that skin age gracefully. As Mark Twain one of my favorite personalities once said, “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” Age Gracefully!