How to look younger (skin anti aging)

HOW TO LOOK YOUNGER

These are just some simple tips on how to stay looking more youthful for a longer period of time. The earlier start the bigger the pay off. So if you start at age 20 years of age, you could literally still look in your 20's - 30's at ages 40 - 50 years. Prevention is the key, not waiting until the damage has already been done. Although the anti-aging skin creams do have some benefit, there is no miracle cream just yet. So far the most promising looks to be Copper peptides, Retinol, and Vitamin C topicals. To those that do a bit of research or generally keep up with the latest in skin aging then most of this will already be known to you. This is for people that have limited knowledge of skin care.

SUN AVOIDANCE - Well what an obvious one! If you like to get a nice healthy tan, you will age your skin faster and look older. 80% of skin aging is caused because of the sun, simple everyday exposure. Use sun protection and avoid the sun between 10am - 3pm. Make sure you take vitamin D3 because we normally get our vitamin D from the sun in the spring and summer. At least 2000-5000 IU of D3 is good enough to keep level optimal (which in itself protects you from such damage).

AVOID SMOKING - Do not smoke and make sure you're not exposed to smoke. This is one of the things that will age you the quickest.

EXERCISE - Generally improves overall health and circulation to the tissues giving a more glowing appearance to the skin

OMEGA 3 - Takin Omega 3 supplements. This helps lower inflammation and increases lipid levels in the skin to have a more soft and smoother feeling to the skin, also increasing radiance.It will also help keep you looking younger by preventing inflammation from sun burn, which causes damage and aging skin.

LUTEIN - (found at high levels in Kale and cooked spinach (or blended)). Here are some details on how Lutein performed. You can search where to find lutein here [ 2,3]

Improved skin photo-protection

Skin photo-protective activity improves 2.5 times when FloraGLO Lutein is used in oral application and 4.2 times when the oral and topical treatments are combined - demonstrating a clear synergic effect between the two treatments.

Improved skin elasticity

After 12 weeks of the topical treatment or by combined oral supplement and topical application, the study shows an increase of skin elasticity of 68% in comparison with the initial value. With oral supplementation alone, the increase is 56%.

Improved skin hydration

Skin hydration improved by 82% after 12 weeks of combined oral and topical treatment. Meanwhile those who took only oral supplementation saw an increase of 60% while though who used only the topical treatment had an increase of 62% after 12 weeks.

Effect on skin lipid levels

Finally, the study revealed a positive and significant effect on skin lipid levels. An increase of 63% was reported for the patients who followed the combined treatment of FloraGLO Lutein while an increase of 46% was noted among those who only took the oral treatment.

Furthermore, after 12 weeks, a decrease of 65% lipid peroxidation was observed when an oral and topical treatment with FloraGLO Lutein was used and a decrease of 63% when subjects only used the topical treatment.

LYCOPENE - This is found in tomatoes and is essentially what makes a tomatoes red. A study was released last year showing that consuming lycopene with a bit of olive oil increased skin procollagen levels by. Heres a quote from the researcher

""The tomato diet boosted the level of procollagen in the skin significantly. These increasing levels suggest potential reversal of the skin ageing process. This is in addition to the significant reduction in sunburn."

BETA CAROTENE - This gets converted to vitamin A and is stored in the body. Also is good as a skin antioxidant. Eating too many foods high in beta carotene can cause the skin to go slightly orange/yellow however. But this is different from jaundice in liver disease. This is completely safe and beneficial. Beta carotene can be found in carrots, kale, sweet potatoes, broccoli among other foods.

GREEN TEA - Green tea is simply less processed than black tea, otherwise they're both from the same plant. Green tea contains compounds called Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). It's believed from some recent studies that they prevent oxidation to the skin, they also inhibit collagenases, elastinase and certain MMP enzymes responsible for breakdown down the tissues and causing fine lines and wrinkles. EGCG is also a good anti inflammatory and has some effect on protecting you from from UV rays. [5,6,7,8]. There was also a study done using topical green tea extract and they found although there were no significant changes in the short term, there was a significant increase in elastin in the skin. Longer studies are needed to compare the effects of long term application of green tea. [9].

There is also some evidence that Green Tea can treat mild - moderate acne. Placing a used green tea bag when cooled down onto a spot will in my experience decrease the size by 50% and make it less red and this happens within 30 minutes of applying it for about 10 minutes.

EAT GARLIC - Garlic contains sulfur, which helps your body produce collagen.

Eat Less - It's simple, the more calories you take in the faster you will age. The fewer calories you take in the slower you will age, upto a certain point at least before it because detrimental to health. Eating a low calorie nutrient dense diet in animals like worms, flies, dogs, cows, monkeys slows the signs of aging, they grey later, the monkeys don't wrinkle or it's delayed significantly [11]. They just generally look much younger at all ages, and they go on to live very long healthy lives equivalent upto 150-180 human years depending on the time the restriction was imposed.

Avoiding sugar - This causes cross linking of proteins and ultimately wrinkled skin. The high sugar sweets, drinks and foods that are on the high GI index will all cause accelerated skin aging. If you make toast or burning food and consuming it this will lead to AGE's.

"Collagens are important proteins for the skin, as they are essential for structure and function of the extracellular matrix in the dermis. Thinner and
wrinkled skin, the typical signs of normal aging, are the consequence of reduced collagen. Protein glycation contributes to skin aging as it deteriorates
the existing collagen by crosslinking. Accelerated skin aging is especially noticeable in diabetic patients, where glycation is increased because of the high serum glucose level." [12]

IS NUTRITION GOOD ENOUGH?
A lot of the above advice is through simple and non expensive methods on how to maintain younger looking appearance, and they do work. Almost anyone can looks 'years' younger by doing all the things above and the difference can be noticed within 4 weeks and improvements can continue months and even over a year later.

TOPICALS - Although there are always claims that product x is the real deal in anti aging, and the industry is worth billions of dollars, you have to be careful what you're buying. I would recommend a good product like 'Juvess' which http://www.juvess.com/ingredients.html . It has 'proven ingredients' such as Copper Peptide, Carnosine, CoQ10, Vitamin E, Beta Glucan. All of which help repair the skin damage that you have but also prevent further skin aging. The product is also on sale from a fraction of the price of some top brands line Creme de la mer which would cost you over $200 for the same amount you get from Juvess. It's literally an identical copy. I've provided a link here to the cream so if you want to you can try it out. Almost everyone i talked to say they have seen amazing benefits from using it. It can heal scars, hyperpigmentation, skin dryness, uneven skin tone. I personally cannot use it because I think I'm allergic to one of the ingredients, however everyone else I know who tried a sample from me never had any issues. Using a high SPF protection will also improve your skin and is a good idea when you're trying to repair. Especially when using retinoids for example.

Using topicals and changing your diet will have a synergistic effect so that you can get younger instead of older.

REFERENCES

[1] Omega 3 for Skin Health - Get a Radiant and Glowing Complexion Naturally
http://ezinearticles.com/?Omega-3-for-Skin-Health---Get-a-Radiant-and-Glowing-Complexion-Naturally&id=852876

[2] New Clinical Trial Shows Lutein Can Help Improve Skin Health
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/70700.php

[3] Lutein Sources
http://www.luteininfo.com/whereraw

[4] Lycopene improves skin and protects against sunburn
http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Research/Study-supports-lycopene-protecting-skin-from-within

[5] Green Tea Polyphenols Induce Differentiation and Proliferation in Epidermal Keratinocytes
http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/306/1/29

[6] Inhibition of UVB-Induced Skin Tumor Development by Drinking Green Tea Polyphenols Is Mediated Through DNA Repair and Subsequent Inhibition of Inflammation.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19020550

[7] (-)Epigallocatechin gallate hampers collagen destruction and collagenase activation in ultraviolet-B-irradiated human dermal fibroblasts: involvement of mitogen-activated protein kinase.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18226437

[8] Green tea extract suppresses the age-related increase in collagen crosslinking and fluorescent products in C57BL/6 mice.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14743550

[9] double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial to determine the
role of a combination regimen of systemic and topical green
tea in UV protection and the improvement of skin appearance http://www.spabeautyathome.com/global/library/flash/spabeauty/media/tfessence_greentea_clinical.pdf

[10] which foods promote collagen?
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=fightdz&dbid=6

[11] Modulation of Cutaneous Aging With Calorie
Restriction in Fischer 344 Rats
http://archfaci.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/7/1/12

[12] Collagen glycation and skin aging
http://www.mibellebiochemistry.com/pdfs/Collagen_glycation_and_skin_aging_-_CT_2002.pdf